SAN DIEGO – Slow play on the PGA Tour has been a hot topic for years. Some argue that strict penalties and public pressure could fix it. Others believe it’s simply part of the game and can’t be changed.
This issue has been around since the Tour began. If there were an easy solution, we’d have found it by now. Interestingly, during recent Player Advisory Council meetings at Torrey Pines, slow play wasn’t even mentioned.
Maverick McNealy, a member of the business committee, attended one of those meetings. He has a background in management science and engineering from Stanford and made waves last year by pointing out flaws in the season-long points system, leading to changes in how points are awarded.
After winning his first Tour event last fall at the RSM Classic, McNealy has become more vocal about the issue of slow play. He believes that the numbers tell a big part of the story.
“We played in twosomes today, and it felt faster,” McNealy said after a solid round at the Genesis Invitational. He highlighted that courses designed to take longer, like Torrey Pines, often feature long distances and thick rough, which can slow things down. “If we could play in twosomes more often, we’d be faster. TV time limits make it tough, though. Playing in twosomes could cut an hour off the pace of play automatically.”
Surprisingly, the pace of play on Saturday was over an hour faster than the previous days. McNealy pointed out that playing in twosomes puts pressure on slower players. “When rounds go slowly, slower players can hide. But in twosomes, if you hit a bad shot, you have to hurry back into position,” he explained.
Some star players, like Rory McIlroy, have argued against drastic changes to pace of play. He acknowledged that while there are ways to speed things up, the difference might only be 15 minutes, which isn’t a big deal.
However, McNealy believes that a significant reduction in round times could make a real impact. He suggests that having cuts of 60 players instead of 65 could help. “Having fewer players on the weekend would improve the pace of play when it matters most,” he noted.
McNealy understands that slow play isn’t something that can be fixed overnight. Sometimes, challenging weather can lead to longer rounds, which is unavoidable. “On tough days, like when it was raining and windy, it was just slow,” he shared.
Two days later, under blue skies, McNealy experienced a much faster game. “Playing twosomes is just more fun and enjoyable compared to threesomes,” he smiled.
