What makes slow play the secret killer of contemporary golf? Imagine spending your whole afternoon watching your favorite golfers compete on the course, only to annoy yourself as the action moves slowly and sluggishly. The sport has always been plagued with this issue and the recent Hero Dubai Desert Classic and American Express events have rekindled the discussion. But, what is the underlying source of this issue, and why does it still appear to exist despite numerous concerns?

Although both events featured top-tier golfing, the painstakingly slow progress left an unpleasant impact. To start, groups played one hole in 40 minutes at The American Express, and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic saw a final round that lasted 5.5 hours! Analysts, therefore, took to the internet to call out for not making volunteers ‘work harder’ to increase the pace of play. Let’s find out what they had to say in particular!

Jay Monahan’s PGA Tour faces criticism for slow play.

The focus of a recent edition of the “DropZone” golf podcast, “Solving Slow Play, What LIV’s Deal Means, TGL’s 4 Challenges,” was the PGA Tour’s approach to slow play and a startling indictment of its volunteer army. The show’s hosts, Sean Zak, Claire Rogers, Dylan Dethier, and James Colgan, began the conversation by examining whether slow play was being enforced. Zak answered by saying it was not. “The rules don’t exist in a way that allows them to be enforced,” Rogers continued.

However, Detheir held a different viewpoint, stating, “I think they do! I think the tour has become very clear on the expectation of how much time you’re allowed before you have to play tee and how much time you have to play the fairway and the greens.” Zak and Dethier made a controversial statement by saying, “For the enforcement, you need to build up an army of volunteers which is ironic because the PGA tour employs an army of volunteers but they need to push them or pivot them to work harder and to look in a certain direction.”

This comment suggested that even though the tour has always relied on its committed volunteers to maintain operations, their services are not being used to their full potential. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has come under increasing fire from the podcast crew for failing to adequately handle slow play concerns, especially at high-stakes tournaments like the recent $8.8 million American Express. The crew remarked, “If you are a marshal, it may need not be your sole focus to keep people when guys are playing as much as it is to use a shot clock or to use a stopwatch!”

The Golf Monthly channel offered suggestions for managing sluggish play. They made clear that taking action is just as important as issuing warnings. Additionally, FedEx Cup or Order of Merit points should be deducted rather than fined players because if they miss the season finale by two points for slow play, then they will be alert.

Most players are multimillionaires, therefore even if they are penalized $5,000 for playing slowly, they will gladly accept the $5,000 if it means reaching $300,000. Aside from the issue of slow-speed play, let’s examine what the PGA Tour’s next phase is.

Farmers Insurance Open 2025: the next PGA tour stop

All eyes are on the Farmers Insurance Open, a premier tournament hosted at the renowned Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California, which is scheduled to enthrall golf fans from January 22 to 25 as the 2025 PGA Tour season unfolds. The winner of the tournament will get a sizeable portion of $1,674,000 and 500 FedExCup points, with a total reward of $9.3 million.

The event, which is well-known for its dramatic endings and star-studded fields, is set to have yet another exciting chapter. Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia, Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, Maverick McNealy, Sahith Theegala, and Will Zalatoris are among the 156 participants in this week’s competition.

On the sponsorship front, though, big changes are expected. Farmers Insurance has stated that it will dissolve its long-standing relationship with the PGA Tour by not renewing its title sponsorship after the 2026 tournament. This choice creates the possibility of future event rebranding and new sponsorship possibilities.

While Slow play has plagued prior tournaments, Jay Monahan and his team are trying to address this widespread problem as the competition draws near. This event might set the standard for resolving tardy play while maintaining to excite golf enthusiasts around the world owing to an outstanding field and a spectacular location like Torrey Pines. Are you excited for this tournament? Drop your thoughts below.