About Time

The PGA Tour’s new pace-of-play policy, which will go into effect at the RBC Heritage in April, is not intended to turn tournament golf from a marathon into a sprint.

For the most part, spectators and television viewers won’t notice a big difference. The goal was never to shave 15 minutes off how long it takes a typical group to play.

What will be different – perhaps substantially – is how players adjust to the new guidelines, which are designed to single out the slowest players with increased fines and an enhanced chance of having strokes added to their scores.

“I love it. We’re proactive. That’s the first thing,” said Zach Johnson, a member of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council, which had a big role in formulating the new policy.

“To be perfectly honest, the policy that’s in place has not changed and will not change. But there’s like a tangent arm to that that’s going to try to make the game a little quicker.”

Zach Johnson says the PGA Tour has become proactive regarding the players' relationship with the clock. P...