Shot Clock Masters - Breath of Fresh Air

[Radbourne2010]

Watching the Shot Clock Masters from Diamond Country Club in Austria today. What a great idea & innovation from Keith Pelly & The European Tour. 40 seconds to take a shot with a caddie who has walked the course & knows the yardages inside out should easily be achievable.
Tour are hoping for sub 4.5 hour rounds. First signs this morning are rounds taking just over 4 hours. Scoring already comparable to last year's first round.
This low profile event has added publicity for its sponsors & can justifiably be proud of helping lead the way in bringing the Pro game into the modern era.
Not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure but worth persevering with if it gets the slow players to catch up with the normal paced players.

 

[r0wly86]

Watching the Shot Clock Masters from Diamond Country Club in Austria today. What a great idea & innovation from Keith Pelly & The European Tour. 40 seconds to take a shot with a caddie who has walked the course & knows the yardages inside out should easily be achievable.
Tour are hoping for sub 4.5 hour rounds. First signs this morning are rounds taking just over 4 hours. Scoring already comparable to last year's first round.
This low profile event has added publicity for its sponsors & can justifiably be proud of helping lead the way in bringing the Pro game into the modern era.
Not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure but worth persevering with if it gets the slow players to catch up with the normal paced players.

Fantastic idea, be interesting to see what the final scores are like

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Completely agree and the quicker is spreads to the other events the better. Also iirc think I read tennis is also starting to go that way.

Sports need to be watchable and entertaining to watch, not yawning to watch.

 

[Garush34]

I think the key thing is that the time they are given is meant to be the norm, and this is just highlighting the fact that they can play to those times. Will be interesting as they get down the stretch on Sunday how it goes but looks good so far.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

After the appalling last group dirge at The Memorial tournament on Sunday then this gets my vote. I am looking forward to seeing some highlights tonight.

I saw a discussion the other night which said the European Tour has already knocked an average of 15 minutes off a round compared to last year by pressing the players to speed up but this takes it another step. I really hope the week goes well and it gets taken up more and more.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Maybe allow about that time for a shot before the cut and extra 10 or 20 seconds after the cut for normal events.

Only the quick guys end up making the cut that way but the pressure isn’t on all 4 rounds and critically the back 9 on Sunday pressure is all natural and not shot clock dictated.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Maybe allow about that time for a shot before the cut and extra 10 or 20 seconds after the cut for normal events.

Only the quick guys end up making the cut that way but the pressure isn’t on all 4 rounds and critically the back 9 on Sunday pressure is all natural and not shot clock dictated.

You clearly didn't see the last group on Sunday evening over in America. 3-4 minutes for a shot compared to 40 seconds. No thanks.

 

[ScienceBoy]

You clearly didn't see the last group on Sunday evening over in America. 3-4 minutes for a shot compared to 40 seconds. No thanks.

I don’t watch live golf, I found it too slow.

A minute should be sufficient right? 40 seconds for rounds 1 and 2 then up it to a minute for rounds 3 and 4 as I suggested.

Would be a shame if it was too shot so that it took away from the natural pressure of a back 9 on Sunday but enough to stop 5+ hour pro rounds and all the bad stuff that comes from them.

 

[Orikoru]

What's the penalty if you go over the time limit? And when does it start, the moment you arrive at your ball?

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

1 shot penalty as soon as it's breached.

First player has 50 seconds from when he arrives at his ball, then playing partners have 40 seconds to play after that.

 

[Garush34]

What's the penalty if you go over the time limit? And when does it start, the moment you arrive at your ball?

All explained here: http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2018/tournamentid=2018048/news/newsid=349469.html

 

[Deleted member 1147]

What happens if they need a ruling or to move people/objects?
Is 40 seconds after that has been done?

 

[thesheriff]

Highest ranked player is Wade Ormsby at 132 and only 4 players inside the top 200 in the world. Would be nice to see a stronger field.

 

[Orikoru]

Funnily enough I just got an email from my club pertaining to the club champs this weekend. Saying that rounds must not take longer than 4 hours, if you're behind you will be put on the clock to 40 seconds, same as this.

 

[NorwichBanana]

About bloody time. Who do we need ages to hit a shot. I understand people have pre shot routines and that is fine. a practice swing, line up, hit. That doesn't take 40 seconds!

 

[Slime]

Groups are coming in at under four hour with scoring about 1½ shots better than last year!
MAJ has just finished at -5 in 3hrs 53mins and said that he didn't realise how long 40 seconds actually is.
He said the art is simply to be ready when it's your turn, having got your yardages and club selection sorted whilst the first guy is having his go.
This is why the first player to hit gets 50 seconds rather than the 40 seconds the other players get.
This is a great idea and, if it becomes the norm, will only encourage the slow players to speed up.
I see no negatives to this format, both before and after the cut.

 

[Imurg]

What happens if a player, 35 seconds into his allowance, is distracted by a shout from a spectator?
Does he get another chance or does he have to play the shot anyway?
What about a scenario where a wayward shot goes into the crowd..when the player gets to their ball they have to assess what shot they can play next, they may have to move a hundred spectators in order to be able to play that shot. Is all that going to happen in 80 seconds maximum..?

I'm not looking for problems with the format, I'm totally in favour of speeding things up. But it needs to be remembered that not every shot is a straight forward " pick a yardage, pick a club and hit it"
And, sometimes, it's great theatre to watch players working out what to do. Spieth at the Open springs to mind. If this format was in play at The Open, JS may well have not won and we'd have been robbed of the drama surrounding the final holes.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

It’s a good idea to try It but it’s pretty much a challenge Tour event and I doubt it will be done at a main tour event or major.

 

[Slime]

What happens if a player, 35 seconds into his allowance, is distracted by a shout from a spectator?
Does he get another chance or does he have to play the shot anyway?
What about a scenario where a wayward shot goes into the crowd..when the player gets to their ball they have to assess what shot they can play next, they may have to move a hundred spectators in order to be able to play that shot. Is all that going to happen in 80 seconds maximum..?

I'm not looking for problems with the format, I'm totally in favour of speeding things up. But it needs to be remembered that not every shot is a straight forward " pick a yardage, pick a club and hit it"
And, sometimes, it's great theatre to watch players working out what to do. Spieth at the Open springs to mind. If this format was in play at The Open, JS may well have not won and we'd have been robbed of the drama surrounding the final holes.

There's a ref with each match who alerts the player exactly when the clock has started.
Obviously, if a player calls for a ruling, the clock will start when that's all sorted out.
I also believe that each player has two opportunities to call the clock void during his round.
I'm happy to be corrected however.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

The player can twice during the round ask for an extension which I believe gives them another 45 secs