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When the PGA Tour went public earlier this year with steps being implemented to improve the pace of play, it was careful not to suggest round times were suddenly going to drop by 20 minutes.
Think slow but steady progress.
That’s what the tour has found through its initial phase of testing the use of distance measuring devices and a more aggressive enforcement policy on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
Overall, round times are down by approximately five minutes on the PGA Tour and the use of DMDs (also known as rangefinders) seems likely to become a permanent part of the PGA Tour by next year.
As part of its emphasis on pace of play, the tour began posting how long it takes on average to play each hole as part of its hole statistics at the Rocket Classic. Within those numbers, it can show how long each group takes to play each side and compare it to the average.
That doesn’t matter as much when a group is “in position” on the course, meaning it has kept up with the group in front, but it is a significant factor when a group falls “out of position,” necessitating an official nudge to pick it up from a tour official.
In a video presentation to media members last week, the tour used the example of Scottie Scheffler and Ben Griffin at the Memorial Tournament, where the pair received an official warning after falling out of position. They played the seventh through 11th holes nearly 26 minutes above the designated “time par” but did not receive a warning because they were not out of position.
When it took them 6 minutes, 43 seconds above time par to play the 12th hole, they did fall out of position and were warned to speed it up.
Though the tour isn’t to the point of providing timing details for individual players, it’s possible that could be available in the future as the tour makes an effort to be more transparent in that area.
It is part of an initiative to address a long-standing issue that does not have a simple solution. It’s a fact that threesomes take longer than twosomes to play and that some players are quick and others are not. Field size also impacts pace of play as do some weather conditions.
The tour allowed the use of DMDs during a recent four-week period and came away with positive results.
“Those of us who sit out there each day and watch these players in the field of play, we saw a mixture of the DMD usage, whether it be the player using the DMD himself or a caddie working the numbers as well as working the numbers in the book. But the bottom line is it seemed like the process was going quicker,” said Gary Young, the tour’s senior vice president of rules and competitions.
“I would also add to that list, off-line shots, those shots that ended up outside the rope line, it seemed like those shots to us, they were really picking up a lot of pace on those shots as well.”
According to the tour’s ShotLink data, approach shots and par-5s are being played more quickly and shots from the 40- to 60-yard range are being played 4.9 seconds quicker from the fairway and 5.1 seconds quicker from the rough.
How much time do DMDs save?
According to the tour’s ShotLink data, approach shots and par-5s are being played more quickly and shots from the 40- to 60-yard range are being played 4.9 seconds quicker from the fairway and 5.1 seconds quicker from the rough.
Billy Schroder, the tour’s senior vice president of competitions and special projects, said 82 percent of players and caddies used rangefinders during the four-week period.
“We see that the majority of players believe that the overall speed of play improved, and we see that the majority of players feel that their individual speed of play improved,” Schroder said.
“We also see in the data that three-quarters of the players on both [PGA and Korn Ferry] tours support the use of DMDs being permitted on a permanent basis on our tours.”
The findings from the use of DMDs will be shared with the tour’s Player Advisory Council, which could recommend making them a permanent part of the competition.
“I think it’s a recognition of a generational change in the sport where we have younger players now coming up who have just been using these devices day in and day out as they play the game, and it doesn’t surprise me that 70 percent plus are saying that they’d really like to see DMDs,” Young said.
Play on both the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Americas was modified this year so that a player receives a one-stroke penalty if they receive one bad time. Previously, it took two bad-time warnings to get a one-stroke penalty.
“During the same time period in comparison year over year, they went from having 10 bad times during that time period on the Korn Ferry Tour to simply one bad time with this change in policy,” Young said.
“There’s no doubt about it that the warnings themselves, when a referee goes out to warn a group, it’s carrying a lot more weight, and also less number of holes where groups are being timed.”
Ultimately, the tour is chasing improvements in pace of play based largely on input received in its Fan Forward initiative but the goal is more general than specific.
“I think it’s important to say that we don’t have a target number or something. That’s not the focus. We’re trying to hit every aspect of this. This was one of the very most important things to fans. So it’s worth the effort,” said Tyler Dennis, chief competitions officer.
“We have a lot of smart people thinking about it. But there’s no sort of one thing you’re going to put your finger on and go, wow, that’s the panacea for this. It’s a very multidimensional thing, and we’re really trying to look through all lenses but through that fan focus. I think that’s been key to how we’ve looked at this.”