Anyone who has ever yelled at their TV screen watching another group crawl round a golf course will have something to cheer next season after the European Tour unveiled a new hard-line stance on slow play.
A four-point plan, coming into effect at the start of next year, will see players potentially given shot penalties quicker, will require all members to pass an interactive online rules quiz as part of retaining their membership, and will see fines for consistently slow players increased significantly.
The policy was approved last month by the tour’s tournament committee, which mandated chief executive Keith Pelley to be “even firmer in dealing with the issue”.
The plan was announced barely a week after Bryson DeChambeau was pilloried on social media for his perceived pace-of-play at The Northern Trust during the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup play-offs.
Although the new approach officially comes into effect at the start of 2020, it will kick off in earnest next month when a trial pace-of-play system is unveiled at the flagship BMW Championship at Wentworth.
That will give referees the precise times for every group, through every hole, to ensure that no gaps are missed.
On tee-displays, linked to the system, will provide the players with immediate information on their position in relation to the group in front.
Pelley said: “We are already at the forefront of pace of play management in the professional game, but after being mandated by our tournament committee to be even firmer in dealing with this issue, the time was right to take these additional steps.
“I believe the plan we are implementing for the 2020 season will bring about meaningful change that will make golf even more enjoyable for the players and our fans, whether they are at the course in person or watching on television.”
The plan revolves around regulation, education, innovation and field sizes. Players would only need to breach time allowances twice during a round to pick up a one-shot penalty, while a player who consistently offends is going to be hit hard in the pocket.
A ‘slow’ player timed 15 times next season will have to pay £26,000 in fines. This year, they would only fork out £9,000.
The amount of time players have to execute a shot when they are being monitored while in position is being cut by 15 per cent, and referees are being given licence to target known slow players for ‘position timing’.
Education is also a key part of the Tour’s plans, with all new members assigned a ‘dedicated’ referee to educate them on pace-of-play as they embark on their journeys.
Existing members will have to pass an online rules test towards the end of this year, with all new members following suit early in 2020. Players will have to repeat this every three years.
And sizes at full tour events are being reduced from 156 to a ‘minimum of 144’ players providing that players in Category 18 and above get into the field.