Less waiting, more golf. Slow play in golf has been one of the most stressful topics in golf. Lexi Thompson suggested last year, “Something has to be done to quicken up the play out there, whether it’s fines or whatever it is.” But, implementation? There was none, at least till now. However, fans can now say bye-bye to slow golf. Here is why.

The LPGA Player President Vicki Goetze-Ackerman and the Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford were with Meg and Matthew on the Mixed Bag podcast. They discussed two rules the committee is fixing in the pace of play policy. Goetze-Ackerman started with a statement, saying, “We have been talking about the pace of play for a while; it’s been something players have asked to work on despite the fact that the end of the season seems to have longer rounds than expected.” The tour put together a pace-of-play committee with an open-door policy. No exclusivity. Any player with thoughts about speeding up the game was welcome to join, ensuring that every voice was heard and every idea was on the table.

However, there were some golfers who weren’t heeding the warnings to fix that and to make the players understand these rules ASAP. The LPGA sent out a memo to the golfers last month, which explained that a player in a group that is out of position may be penalized for unreasonable delay if:

a. The player takes more than 60 seconds to play one shot, including putts, and/or

b. The players exceeds the maximum allotted amount of time for the total strokes timed on a given hole by more than 10 seconds.

There will be a fine for going 1-to-5 seconds over the allotted time. And one-stroke penalty will be given for taking more than 6-to-15, and a two-stroke penalty will be given for any violations more egregious than that. The stakes range from small fines to a real hazard – a two-shot penalty that could derail a round. It sounds tough, that’s for sure.

For the second rule, Goetze-Ackerman had an interesting story in mind. She said, “There are people that understand how to beat the system.” She also cited an example of a golfer saying, “There was a person last year that had took 88 holes with extra time and they never received a fine or we did have a two stroke penalty. And that person, unfortunately, is causing angst with our process here.” For that, the committee issued a “season-long par” rule, where “if you had 40+ holes, there would be fine structure.” The Player President didn’t reveal how much exactly that fine would be. These new rules will be effective  March 27 at the Ford Championship, and it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Before finalizing their new policies, they took in a flood of feedback, from emails to phone calls, ensuring players felt comfortable with the changes. Now, with these new rules in play, the big question remains: Will it speed up the tour? And more importantly, what do the pros really think?

LPGA golfers’ take on the new polices

There are indeed some golfers who like to start slow to get into the paces. Like, during the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España in December, Carlota Ciganda took 1 minute and 20 seconds to hit an approach shot, blowing past the 40-second limit, but somehow escaped without a penalty. But, golf isn’t limited to one player, right? Back in 2023, Carlota Ciganda was disqualified from the Evian Championship for slow play. Later, Nelly Korda talked about it, saying, “I really like Carlota. She’s a great person. I enjoy playing with her. I am a fast player, but I would say at the end of the day the rules of golf are the rules of golf, and it’s good that it’s being enforced.” Not only Korda but also Charley Hull addressed slow play last November, proposing a strict rule.

According to her, if a player receives three bad timings, each results in a two-shot penalty. Accumulating three such instances would lead to an immediate loss of their tour card, requiring them to return to Q School. Now that the rules have been implemented, Nelly Korda talked about it with golf.com. She said, “I like it, I think that the way to change it is to just toughen up the rules… if you get a one-stroke penalty, I bet you’re never gonna get one again. It’s all about toughening it up.” So, it’s time for the LPGA Pros to buckle up and look at the clock from time-to-time.

What kind of changes do you think these new rules can bring? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!