HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA | Scottie Scheffler was one official swing into what would be a stress-free first-round 64 in pristine conditions Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links when he and caddie Ted Scott studied the second shot into the par-4 first green.
They did their usual calculations then Scott reached into the pocket of his caddie bib, pulled out what golf administrators like to call a distance-measuring device, and zapped the flagstick in the distance, confirming they were 141 yards from the hole.
The RBC Heritage is the first PGA Tour event to allow the use of what are commonly called rangefinders, one of six tour events over the next four weeks to allow them as the tour tests speed-of-play recommendations from its players.
The use of rangefinders has been allowed in the PGA Championship since 2021 but this the first time the tour has done so. The reality is the use of such devices won’t significantly reduce pace-of-play issues but given their prevalence across the game, it’s a logical step.
Harbour Town, in particular, is a benign test case considering it tends to produce some of the quickest rounds on tour each year because of its compact layout. Throw in the fact that the 72 players are going off in twosomes this week, and four-hour rounds were routine Thursday and some took less time than that.
With virtually every Harbour Town fairway tree-lined, there are relatively few shots hit wildly off line, which is where the use of rangefinders is most valuable and will likely save the most time.
Caddies pride themselves on being able triangulate yardages when they find their players in out-of-the-way spots, and rangefinders could reduce some of the time required to walk off distances.
It’s an easy first step, part of a plan intended to address the perpetual pace-of-play dilemma, which became a flash point earlier this year.
“This gives them that extra tool in their toolbox. Should they start to fall behind, they can quickly get a reference point and calculate yardage. It may also help the groups that are being timed keep up and make up time,” said Gary Young, senior vice president for rules and competitions for the PGA Tour.
When Scheffler, the defending RBC Heritage champion, was asked about the new rule going into effect this week, he had to be reminded about it.
“I kind of forgot about that,” Scheffler admitted.
Players and caddies look at more than just the distance to the flag when they are evaluating their next shot. They like yardages to the front and back of each green, carry distance over various obstacles and how much the elevation impacts the actual distance. They will continue to work those out on their own while adding what the rangefinder tells them to reinforce their own math.
“I think it would help if all things are equal, but it’s not going to overcome a difficult golf course or numbers of players or bottlenecking with tee times,” Brian Harman said, touching on other causes of slow play.
There are other issues – using AimPoint on the greens, regularly waiting for par-5 greens to clear because so many players can reach them in two shots and extended pre-shot routines – but in many cases players need to be prodded to pick up the pace.
Pace of play is one reason the tour has decided to reduce tournament fields in many events, citing evidence that fewer players mean quicker rounds. There are other issues – using AimPoint on the greens, regularly waiting for par-5 greens to clear because so many players can reach them in two shots and extended pre-shot routines – but in many cases players need to be prodded to pick up the pace.
The Korn Ferry Tour began using a revised pace-of-play policy this week that will impose a one-stroke penalty on any player who is given a bad time during competition. Players are typically warned they are off the pace then officially placed on the clock if they haven’t caught up.
If they are still behind, they will be penalized one stroke. On the PGA Tour, players need to get two bad times before a one-stroke penalty is applied, something that has not happened in recent years. The policy being tested on the Korn Ferry Tour could be adopted by the PGA Tour in the future.
“I would say we probably average one or two bad times every couple of weeks. It’s not as common as you would think,” Young said.
Scheffler sounded unconcerned about pace-of-play issues.
“I think people want to watch exciting golf. I think that’s what it’s all about. Let’s say if we do all these changes and we save 20 minutes off of a round of golf. Is somebody going to sit down on the couch on Sunday and go, well, I didn’t have five hours to watch a round of golf, but I’ve got four hours and 40 minutes? Now I’m in,” Scheffler said.
Harman has similar feelings.
“It’s a hot topic right now, but it’s not something that is really fixable in our current game, I don’t think,” Harman said.
“If you’re in a threesome on Thursday and Friday, you are waiting almost all day on the group in front of you, and they’re waiting on the group in front of them. There’s nowhere – there’s no space to operate. So there’s no incentive to play any faster.”
Tour players know who is fast and who is slow. Through Shotlink, that data is provided to them. Some players have to come to officials asking how they could improve their times.
It may be as simple as making the pace-of-play list public.
“We’re just taking a really hard look at that data. More to come on that in the coming months,” Young said.