“Slow down, you move too fast, I want to make this golf round last!”
This is not a phrase I want to hear from someone in my golf foursome. My walk in nature is meant to be serene and an escape from the frenetic pace of daily life. Sure, there are times — when my round ends — I hope these moments on the golf course last a wee bit longer. But, when a round equals the same amount of time as driving from my hometown to Pittsburgh, Pa. you can’t get me to the parking lot fast enough.
Golf is a methodical game that requires a combination of concentration and physical strength; that does not mean a game should feel like waiting in the security line at the airport on a holiday weekend. Nothing drives me further from the game than a slow round. As a teenager, my best friend and I prayed we did not get stuck playing behind one of these “turtles.” Another friend I played with sometimes in my early 20s had a pre-shot routine that featured more wiggles than a toddler sees during a Saturday morning cartoon session. Frustrating? You bet.
Pace of play is a conversation as old as the game. The United States Golf Association recommends players take no more than 40 seconds to hit a shot. The average 18 hole round should take between four and four and a half hours. In 2025, slow play is again a hot topic in the golf world.
PGA Tour players should set an example, when it comes to pace of play, right? Mostly, they do, but it takes just a few slow players to drag down the reputation of the TOUR.
Dottie Pepper, TV analyst and a 17-time winner on the LPGA Tour, could not refrain from speaking out on slow play a couple of weeks ago, following the third round of the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, when it took the final group close to three hours just to play nine holes and just shy of five and a half hours to complete 18 holes! Speaking to colleague Frank Nobilo, Pepper said:
“You know, Frank, I think we’re starting to need a new word to talk about this pace-of-play issue, and it’s respect — for your fellow competitors, for the fans, for broadcasts, for all of it. It’s just got to get better.”
Damn right we need to get better. Not just for our personal enjoyment, but for the growth of the game. Post-Covid-19, golf participation in Canada surged, but slow play is sure to cause many new participants to leave the sport. Time as a barrier for why more people do not play gol f— or why people leave the game — is not new.
Can you play too fast? Sure. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the fastest round of golf by an individual is twenty-seven minutes and nine seconds. Now, that’s extreme. And, if that excites you, join a speed golf league. Like life, it’s about finding balance.
Golf’s governing bodies have debated the time challenge for decades. One solution is cresting courses that offer alternatives to the traditional 18 holes such as Pitch & Putt, short course loops, putting courses, virtual golf and other innovative ways that give people a taste of what golf is about and how much fun the game can be if you just give it a try. Because, at the end of the day, golf is meant to offer enjoyment, and a slow round is far from fun.