WGC Dell Technologies Match Play - Slow Play

[larmen]

I keep thinking about it, and cycling always comes to mind.

Pursuit, if the group behind you catches up you are out.
Road cycling, if you get caught by the broom wagon you are out.
Tour, if you take longer than winner + x% you are out.

No penalty, you are just done with that competition.

on another note, just this weekend YouTube recommended me Ebdon v. OSullivan as well as rants and discussions about it. Not just a golf problem.

 

[Orikoru]

I keep thinking about it, and cycling always comes to mind.

Pursuit, if the group behind you catches up you are out.
Road cycling, if you get caught by the broom wagon you are out.
Tour, if you take longer than winner + x% you are out.

No penalty, you are just done with that competition.

on another note, just this weekend YouTube recommended me Ebdon v. OSullivan as well as rants and discussions about it. Not just a golf problem.

Doesn't really work does it, because the 'winner' is more than likely in the last couple of groups, so he'll be as slow as the rest of the field was.

 

[Steve Wilkes]

Honestly though, how bad would it have to get before enough people stop watching to make a difference?? The average golf fan has no idea which players are slow because the TV coverage clips that out and only shows them hitting the ball. It's only from what we're told on social media about who's the slowest, for the most part.

I think this is where the problem arises, It's what's trending at that moment.
"Someone I don't like is hitting the ball too far" so we should ban 460cc drivers.
"Someone we don't like is taking too long over a putt" so ban Greens books, lines on ball, caddies lining up.
"They're taking too long over an approach shot" so ban caddies altogether
It was 2 guys who are not charismatic in an uneventful final. if it was a thrilling on edge final with peoples favourites involved, then you wouldn't have notice the speed (ie Bryson v Westwood & Thomas v Westwood recently)
Like I said in an earlier post, I'm sure they were taking nearly 5 hours to play in the 70's and 80's, but it was Watson v Nicklaus, It was a duel in the sun, it was tense and everyone love it

 

[Swinglowandslow]

"Someone we don't like is taking too long over a putt" so ban Greens books, lines on ball, caddies lining up.

Some may use that reason, but it is not the reason for which I would ban those things.
My reason is that it is the player's skill which is under test, and he alone should make the decisions and the play on the green, without any outside aids.

 

[DanFST]

Match play makes it tough.

But normally I couldn't care how long it takes a pro to play a round. Means I get to watch more coverage.

 

[Steve Wilkes]

Some may use that reason, but it is not the reason for which I would ban those things.
My reason is that it is the player's skill which is under test, and he alone should make the decisions and the play on the green, without any outside aids.

That's a fair point, I don't like greens book either, but it's just another form of notes, and I would say it's a fallacy it makes bad putters more skilful putters. Let's think about it, The books says you need to hit this putt with 16.5 newtons of force on a line 17.5 degrees of angle, if you can do that than surely that's a skill, I know this is an exaggeration. but no different to it's 176 yards with a 8mph breeze blowing south westerly, you still have to hit it.

 

[4LEX]

Yes agree .
But what really gets me is it’s the same adverts mostly for hours.
Plus sky advertising themselves ,? Don’t get that as we are already watching Sky.

Sky get the feed from the US and the adverts out there are 50% more than here, so that's why Sky do a lot of talking and shots in the simulator with the coaches. But I agree Sky do tend to advertise themselves a lot. The peak coverage tends to be 8-11pm on a Sunday UK time so maybe the ad revenues then aren't great? The US channels are an advertisers dream though and Sky feeds off the scraps.

 

[larmen]

I guess we don’t really look at green books because we play the same 18 greens every weekend. A lot of us anyway.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Yes agree .
But what really gets me is it’s the same adverts mostly for hours.
Plus sky advertising themselves ,? Don’t get that as we are already watching Sky.

Well, to my mind the advertising world is strange. I get what you are saying about the same adverts, time and time again in one evening etc.
Just narks me so much that I swear I won't ever use that product cos of that drip drip bloody advert.
( don't give me that chestnut that it's done it's job if it's "got to you". If they think they've scored on that basis, then , with me, they've just got the opposite result?)
However, all tv advertise themselves. Even the jolly old BBC do it.

 

[clubchamp98]

I guess we don’t really look at green books because we play the same 18 greens every weekend. A lot of us anyway.

It’s one thing ams don’t copy from the pros thankfully.

Pro golf is very slow ,but normally we are watching a full field so don’t notice that much.
But in matchplay especially the final they had only two other players on the course.
This really showed how slow they are.
It was that bad I turned it off.

 

[need_my_wedge]

Whilst not at the WGC, surprised no one has mentioned the young American rookie fined $10K on the LPGA for slow play. I know that it's the LPGA and not the PGA, but there does seem to be double standards out there, both tours seem happy to penalize the rookies and amateurs, but not bothered about the seasoned pro's who abuse it more often.

 

[Imurg]

The problem with this is that you're dealing with "Pros".
They know what they an and can't do and they know how to do enough to escape a penalty.
The young Chinese lad at the Masters that everyone keeps on about..he was put on the clock with the rest of his group
The rest of his group, seasoned Pros, sped up.
He didn't and thats why he got pinged.
When they get put on the clock they speed up just enough to come off the clock so they don't get pinged.
The LPGA player obviously didn't speed up when put on the clock..I assume the rest of her group did..
They're wily these Pro golfers you know.....

 

[slowhand]

Whilst not at the WGC, surprised no one has mentioned the young American rookie fined $10K on the LPGA for slow play. I know that it's the LPGA and not the PGA, but there does seem to be double standards out there, both tours seem happy to penalize the rookies and amateurs, but not bothered about the seasoned pro's who abuse it more often.

By all accounts she is absolutely glacial. The LPGA version of JB Holmes.

However, I agree there is a double-standard. Fine 'em all I say! And add penalty shots. 1 shot for first offence, then another 2 for a second, etc. That'd stop it pretty quick I reckon

 

[USER1999]

Heard an interview with Koepka once where he was explaining how if he is drawn with a slow player, he deliberately slows down to the point where the group get put on the clock, and the offending player will then have to speed up.

Trouble with slow play, as aside from being tiresome, is that it controls the speed of play for everyone. It is incredibly selfish and self centred.

I watched a 4 ball tee off on 8 at The Grove today. Par 4, elevated tee, dog leg right. No player ready to play. All stood about chatting. Then yardage books come out, discussions about line of play, practice swings, faffing, and eventually they all got off. The best drive was less than 180 yards, and none of them made it to the fairway.
If they were all hitting driver, and they were all rubbish, what was to discuss? Just get to the tee, pull out your driver, and hit it.
Where do they get these ideas? TV.
The 4 in front were putting out.

 

[need_my_wedge]

By all accounts she is absolutely glacial. The LPGA version of JB Holmes.

However, I agree there is a double-standard. Fine 'em all I say! And add penalty shots. 1 shot for first offence, then another 2 for a second, etc. That'd stop it pretty quick I reckon

Not suggesting she didn't deserve it, she accepted she was in the wrong. I just find it a shame that they are all too happy to hit the lesser evil, they should be doing something to deal with persistent offenders, once they're on the clock, they shouldn't be taken off