It’s no secret that the PGA Tour needs to get players playing faster, but the question of “how?” is always the inhibiting factor for any real change.
While the PGA Tour adopted a new pace-of-play policy in 2020, it still hasn’t had access to a slow-play penalty since the 2017 Zurich Classic, which was the first in 20 years before that.
So how exactly is the PGA Tour going to enforce pace of play and combat slow play? Veteran CBS Broadcaster and 1991 Open Championship winner Ian Baker-Finch has some ideas.
On this week’s episode of GOLF Subpar, the Aussie was asked by co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz what he would like to change about golf on TV, and Baker-Finch used it to play at the PGA Tour’s funeral pace at times. .
“I’m not a big fan of slow play,” Baker-Finch started. “I wanted to try to find a way to speed it up where you had to play in four hours and you really only had 30 seconds to play each shot and only you could read the putt. Things like that would just speed up the game. Because 5.5 hours is ridiculous and I think it kills the game.”
Outrageous David Feherty stories? Ask his old friend, Ian Baker-Finch
Zephyr Melton
Stoltz carried CBS’ final broadcast of the 2024 season two weeks ago at the Wyndham Championship, when the tournament was scheduled to play 36 holes on the final day and just barely (actually, didn’t really) make it.
The pace of play for each of the two rounds was five hours and 20 minutes.
Baker-Finch says the problem goes back before players get to the PGA Tour because they’re used to playing in five-and-a-half hours in college and junior golf. But when it comes to the pro level, Baker-Finch says the PGA Tour claims it has done all it can without penalizing players.
“But if they say at the start of the week the time is par 4:23 for a course in triangles, stick to 4:23,” he said. “I don’t understand how 5:30 is okay?”
Another solution Baker-Finch suggests is to allow the use of rangefinders. He says it’s an unpopular view, but Knost pointed to the recent US Amateur where the pace of play was pretty good throughout the event. Rangefinders were allowed at US Am.
“I know a lot of the caddies think I’m down on the caddies for that. No, not at all. I’m a fan,” Baker-Finch said. “It seems that over the last decade are more and more caddy conversations. You know, it seems like a minute’s worth of discussion. before they even have time to line up for the shot. And I think it’s something, I don’t know how you change that rule or what you do, but that it would be something.”
For more from Baker-Finch, including some outrageous David Feherty stories, watch the full episode of Subpar below.
