Amid the division in golf, there has been an internal conflict which has been a major concern for the leagues. The unavoidable pace of play issue has been the top topic of discussion in the golf world. Starting off with the first event of the 2025 calendar year, the Sentry. Now coming almost at the end of the month, it has been seen even at the International Series India.

While netizens are opposing the issue, Rory McIlroy has chosen to be on the other side of it. Despite being a co-founder of TGL, which promotes a shot clock, the golfer has turned out to support slow play, which critics do not like. An in-depth discussion was done on the Foreplay podcast’s recent video.

While opposing the golfer, Trent, a panelist on the podcast, shared his thoughts. He said, “I do think he came out a bit stubborn with the pace of play thing.” He continued to point out that there are things that need to be addressed. Also, how McIlroy has looked at the issue is totally opposite to what Justin Thomas thinks.

Further, he expressed, “he’s [Rory McIlroy] saying, he likes it the way that it is but like there is a viewership and that of people who don’t like it the way that it takes so long.” As pointed out by Trent, the fact that the PGA Tour event has struggled as compared to the previous season in terms of viewership is true. The Sentry saw a 34% decline, while the American Express saw a 56% downside.

Even his statements were collated with his career. During the podcast, Trent continued saying, “I thought he came off a little stubborn with that where was just like things are pretty good, you know. He’s Rory McIlroy, he’s had a great life in the game of golf. Like he’s made a sh-t ton of money, of course, he’s happy with it.”

The disheartening expression from fans and even from the rest of the golf world is nothing that wasn’t expected. The statement of the 35-year-old, instead of supporting the fans, was totally on the other side.

What did Rory McIlroy say about the pace of play issue?

In the podcast, the entire audio clip of McIlroy was played where he addressed the issue and shared his take on it. The Northern Irishman started to point out how the NFL started a shot clock in the last season, but it isn’t working out for them. Continuing further, he said, “There are many different things about golf that are very different from other sports, but I think that’s also what makes it unique. I don’t think we should try to dumb down golf to appeal to more people, like golf is golf.”

He even backed the statement by saying, “I really like the way golf is and you know, I think a lot of other people do too.” However, he also agreed that the way critics look at things could be better for the entertainment product-wise.

Now with the dropping viewership of the PGA Tour event and long hours of play bothering fans, critics, and even journalists. Things seem to slip away from the hands of the PGA Tour. As suggested by many professionals and critics, the pace of play can only be addressed with stricter rule application and penalties for slow play. What are your thoughts on the pace of play issue? What, according to you, is the solution to it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.