Slow Play

[dronfield]

Hi

I see the European Tour showed that they mean business in their efforts to remove slow play, by fining Matt Wallace £3000 last weekend.

That will have hit him very hard, particularly with him only getting a £250k RtD top 10 bonus pot in addition to his 2nd place prize money, and should act as a massive deterrent to others.

I'm expecting to see a significant reduction in round times next year with the shockwaves this will have created on all the tours!

Rich

 

[patricks148]

they should fine the caddies that will sort it

 

[williamalex1]

I don't think fines are the answer, a 1 or 2 stroke penalty would get their attention.

 

[casuk]

Hi

I see the European Tour showed that they mean business in their efforts to remove slow play, by fining Matt Wallace £3000 last weekend.

That will have hit him very hard, particularly with him only getting a £250k RtD top 10 bonus pot in addition to his 2nd place prize money, and should act as a massive deterrent to others.

I'm expecting to see a significant reduction in round times next year with the shockwaves this will have created on all the tours!

Rich

If they are really serious they would take a stroke off, I'm sure they will start playing quicker then, 3k fine that's a joke

 

[dronfield]

I don't think fines are the answer, a 1 or 2 stroke penalty would get their attention.

Agree 100%. The quicker this is introduced, and somebody loses a tournament as a result of it, the better - is the only way to remove 5/6 hour rounds.

Rich

 

[jusme]

I don't think fines are the answer, a 1 or 2 stroke penalty would get their attention.

Whilst I don't disagree, it impresses me that they are trying to address this cancer

 

[williamalex1]

Whilst I don't disagree, it impresses me that they are trying to address this cancer

Once they penalise one of the top players hopefully it'll make a difference

 

[Mr Hip]

Whilst I don't disagree, it impresses me that they are trying to address this cancer

I wish I could agree but I don't think one fine even begins to address the problem. At our level, my club (and others I have played) have signs at certain holes indicating how long it should take to get there but with no active enforcement it's a waste of signs.

 

[clubchamp98]

Whilst I don't disagree, it impresses me that they are trying to address this cancer

Token gesture to look like they are doing something.
The only thing pros are interested in is the final score .
This is where it will hurt them and get their attention .
But there is a lack of commitment from the powers that be.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Hi

I see the European Tour showed that they mean business in their efforts to remove slow play, by fining Matt Wallace £3000 last weekend.

That will have hit him very hard, particularly with him only getting a £250k RtD top 10 bonus pot in addition to his 2nd place prize money, and should act as a massive deterrent to others.

I'm expecting to see a significant reduction in round times next year with the shockwaves this will have created on all the tours!

Rich

Not having a go at you, but it’s not quite how you’ve described it!
He was fined on Thursday the 1st day of the tournament, he was put on the clock on the 7th and 8th holes (which he birdied) he then par’d the 9th and it was after that hole he was punished, his par putt put him over the clock, he wasn’t fined for the pace of his whole round.
He was informed he would be punished after he left the 9th green and given the punishment after he signed his card.

 

[dronfield]

Not having a go at you, but it’s not quite how you’ve described it!
He was fined on Thursday the 1st day of the tournament, he was put on the clock on the 7th and 8th holes (which he birdied) he then par’d the 9th and it was after that hole he was punished, his par putt put him over the clock, he wasn’t fined for the pace of his whole round.
He was informed he would be punished after he left the 9th green and given the punishment after he signed his card.

Hi
i understand what you are saying, but the bottom line is that he had already been given 2 warnings before the "insignificant" fine was imposed. Surely players are put on the clock as soon as an issue comes to light, in order to make them speed up and prevent an entire slow round , ie, if they didnt do anything then whole rounds could potentially become even slower?
The point i was trying to make is that fining multi millionaires £3k will have no impact on efforts to speed up play - i wasnt having a specific go at Wallace, merely using this recent case as an example of lack of meaningful action by the Tour.
Rich

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Hi
i understand what you are saying, but the bottom line is that he had already been given 2 warnings before the "insignificant" fine was imposed. Surely players are put on the clock as soon as an issue comes to light, in order to make them speed up and prevent an entire slow round , ie, if they didnt do anything then whole rounds could potentially become even slower?
The point i was trying to make is that fining multi millionaires £3k will have no impact on efforts to speed up play - i wasnt having a specific go at Wallace, merely using this recent case as an example of lack of meaningful action by the Tour.
Rich

Or, as an alternative point of view, Pro Golfer during first round of 4 day comp given a warning, didn’t speed up and was then fined, next step would of been shots penalty, player learnt lesson and no further punishment warranted, message received by rest of field and no more fines given out for remainder of tournament, ie, no more issue with slow play in this particular tournament.

As for Wallace his game suffered after the referee informed him of his punishment, the shots he dropped could of made the difference between him finishing higher than his overall 5th and cost him a lot more than just £3000.00.

 

[mister v]

Fining tour players won’t make a blind bit of difference, as others have said dock them a stroke or two and then watch them get a dap on.... £3k fine is nothing to them in the scheme of things, a 2 shot penalty could cost them a tournament and £300k in prize money.
If the powers that be want a drastic change then a drastic action is required...... but we’ll be having this conversation again next week, next month and next year

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Does anyone have the info that shows Wallace had a slow round, what if after the warning he finished the round on time or below it, imo, that makes him slow over a few holes rather than having a slow round.
Is the alternative to let them take as long as they want over 18 holes then take action or step in (as they did) when it occurs.
Wallace admitted the warning bothered him and he dropped a couple of shots after the warning, he finished tied 2nd 2 shots behind Willett, in theory that £3000.00 fine could of cost him over half a million euros, the difference between what he and Willett received.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Warn them, final warning, yellow card with two shot penalty attached and the red card and DQ. That would get the message home but the ET and PGA lack the balls to be that tough so the problem will persist

 

[USER1999]

Nah, let them win, or place, then tap them a one or two shot penulty retrospectively, and remove the title, and the cash in the scorers hut. I can guarantee they will be running round the next event. All of them.

 

[dronfield]

Hi
Looking at it from another angle, if someone "only" plays slowly for 2 -3 holes, could that also not have a detrimental impact on their playing partners and possibly the group behind?
A player may have to wait to long before playing a potentially difficult shot , due to it not being his turn to play, resulting in a poor shot?

Obviously sometimes slow play/waiting around is unavoidable due to a player having to wait for a ruling.
Rich

 

[HankMarvin]

If they are really serious they would take a stroke off, I'm sure they will start playing quicker then, 3k fine that's a joke

Taking a stroke of them would only encourage more slow play for sure.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Hi
Looking at it from another angle, if someone "only" plays slowly for 2 -3 holes, could that also not have a detrimental impact on their playing partners and possibly the group behind?
A player may have to wait to long before playing a potentially difficult shot , due to it not being his turn to play, resulting in a poor shot?

Obviously sometimes slow play/waiting around is unavoidable due to a player having to wait for a ruling.
Rich

I agree slow play is an issue, but, in this instance the tour identified the slow player in the group, stepped in when it was identified and took action, surely we should be supporting and praising their action.
Is Wallace a slow player or was he just slow for 3 holes on the 1st day of possibly the biggest tournament (financially) of his life?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The simple answer is to get a ref and simply time each and every group and the time taken per player per shot and present evidence as part of the first warning and then simply get on the problem hard. If it's one player in a group it can be mentioned/resolved but the bottom line remains none of the main tours have the bottle to take a stand and a firm one, about the problem