Amid Paige Spiranac’s Hot Take, Lucas Glover Gives Brutal Suggestions To End PGA Tour’s Biggest Headache

You know how something just keeps happening over and over again until it becomes the hottest topic around? Well, that’s exactly what’s going on with the PGA Tour’s never-ending slow-play debate. It’s not a new issue, but lately, it’s all anyone in the golf world seems to be talking about—broadcasters, fans, players—everyone’s fed up.

Paige Spiranac has been all-in on the conversation, dishing out some blunt advice: “If you’re good, play fast. If you’re bad, play faster.” Well, that advice seems a good start, but to be fair, deep down every player knows that. But when you’re out there, grinding over every shot, trying to make it perfect, that’s when rounds start dragging.

As for the advice, we have plenty. Shot-clock, limiting field size, allowing rangefinders, you name it, it’s been suggested. But PGA Tour pro-Lucas Glover has come up with some real, practical solutions, and if Jay Monahan is paying attention, he should probably be taking notes.

Glover recently appeared on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio and didn’t hold back when it came to fixing one of the PGA Tour’s biggest headaches—slow play. He had some blunt but seriously good suggestions, starting with something most fans probably don’t even think about: sprinkler heads. Yes, you read that right. It might sound like a small thing, but according to Glover, the fact that not all of them are marked is actually a huge issue.

“Every sprinkler head should be marked, not by a tour caddie that’s walking the course on Monday. This should be up to the tour or the tournament,” Glover said. That makes sense, right? If a player or caddie finds themselves in a weird spot, they shouldn’t have to waste time wandering around, trying to find a yardage. Just mark all of them and boom—problem solved. And while we’re on the topic of speeding things up, Glover’s got another simple fix: lasers.

“Lasers, they can only help. Not everyone will use them all the time, but it sure would help given the option,” he explained. NUCLR Golf recently mentioned that the PGA Tour is actually considering letting players use rangefinders during play. And it does sound like a pretty good idea. If someone’s in the trees or stuck in a bad spot, why waste time hunting for a number? Just grab a laser, shoot the distance, and move on—exactly like they do at the PGA Championship.

And when it comes to bunkers (which nobody likes), Glover has some even bolder suggestions…

A raker for every group

Ever thought about how much time is wasted in the bunkers? Lucas Glover sure has. And his solution is to bring in dedicated rakers just like they do at The Open Championship. “Every group needs a raker. Like the Open Championship. Have someone with each group to rake the bunkers,” he said.

It may sound extreme at first, but hear him out. Right now, caddies are the ones handling bunker duty, and while they do a solid job, it takes time—time that adds up fast. Players are left standing around, waiting for the group ahead to finish tidying up the sand. Having a designated raker with each group would not only speed things up but also save players from the frustration of waiting on slow-moving bunker cleanups.  

So far, his suggestions seem pretty reasonable, maybe even doable for the PGA Tour. But he’s also got some controversial takes (you can hear the frustration in his voice).

Lucas Glover is not a fan of honorary observers

Glover didn’t stop at bunkers—he also took aim at honorary observers, the folks who get VIP access inside the ropes, usually as a perk from sponsors.

And yeah, he’s not exactly thrilled about it. “Honorary observers are a couple people that the tour puts in a group. To walk inside of the ropes that probably work for the sponsor or I guess to the sponsor. Guess what? They get in the way, “ he said. According to Glover, these observers don’t always know where to stand, when to move, or how not to disrupt the game. And when they slow things down, it doesn’t just affect their group it actually ends up holding up the entire field.

Now, to be fair, Glover isn’t just ranting for the sake of it. He’s out there grinding every week, dealing with rounds that are way longer than they need to be. Take American Express for example. The final group took five hours and 39 minutes to get through 18 holes. Yeah, nearly six hours.

So you can see why he’s frustrated. And honestly, he’s got a point. But whether the PGA Tour will actually do anything about it? That’s up to Jay Monahan and Co. One thing’s for sure, though—if they don’t figure it out soon, the only thing getting faster on Tour will be the complaints.