Scottie Scheffler Joins Jim Nantz, Min Woo Lee as He Defends Use of Controversial Green Tools at RBC Heritage

RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links will be a testing ground for six months. For what? Well, for the use of distance-measuring devices. Understood as a solution for the Tour’s slow-play issues, golfers and their caddies can use devices such as rangefinders for four weeks, and post that, officials will analyze the data to see if there has been any improvement. But you see, tradition is quite big in the sport. Remember when reading a putt just meant walking around the hole, squatting down to check the line, and trusting your gut?

Now, we’ve got pros straddling putts, feeling slopes with their feet, and holding up fingers like they’re taking a measurement. It’s enough to make the fans shake their heads because of how long it takes, just as we saw at the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open this season, which took close to six hours to complete. On-course reporter Dottie Pepper had had enough of it:  It all came down to the lack of respect. “For your fellow competitors, for the fans, for broadcasts, for all of it. It’s just gotta get better.” So, perhaps some technological revolution can help out, right?

DMDs, primarily laser rangefinders, provide players with precise yardages to target. They’re designed to speed up play by eliminating the need to pace off distances. Additional features such as course mapping and club selection will stay disabled throughout the event. If these rules are breached, the penalties are quite severe: The first instance of violation will cost the player two strokes, while the second will result in a disqualification. Meanwhile, top players like Scottie Scheffler are offering surprisingly candid perspectives on golf’s newest innovations.

He began with a “You’re not going to like this answer, but I kind of forgot about that,” Scheffler admitted during his RBC Heritage press conference. “I’ll trust Ted what he wants to do. I don’t really care. He’s the one that gets the number. I’m sure we’ll have it in the bag.

“We’ve been using it in the PGA the last couple years, haven’t we? Is it going to help pace of play? Maybe a few minutes. Will it be anything significant? No. This tournament, what affects the pace of play is walking the golf course. I think we’re playing twosomes all week, so it will go from a five hour round to maybe four hours or less.

“When you see the biggest changes in pace of play, it all comes from going from three guys to two guys in a pairing. It’s just easier to get around the golf course. Also, the distance walking from green to tee is a big factor as well if you’re going to save 15, 20 minutes off the round. This golf course is pretty simple in terms of getting around.”

While Scottie Scheffler merely shows indifference toward DMDs, Jim Nantz has actively opposed AimPoint. The CBS broadcaster regularly criticized the method during broadcasts for slowing down play. The contrast in their reactions highlights the levels of controversy surrounding these innovations. Then, Min Woo Lee made headlines earlier this month by playfully mocking AimPoint users. The Australian mimicked the controversial green-reading method after winning the Houston Open. He pretended to use AimPoint for an eight-inch tap-in putt, drawing laughs from spectators and fellow pros alike.

AimPoint is a green-reading system where players feel slope percentages with their feet. They then hold up corresponding fingers to determine the break. The distinctive finger-holding technique is highly visible during broadcasts. Lee later revealed his actions were purely for entertainment. “Doing it for the people. Just for a laugh,” he explained on Dan Rapaport’s podcast.

Scottie Scheffler has a unique point about distance measuring devices!

Yes, he doesn’t have a strong opinion about it, but here is what he said in the RBC Heritage press conference further: “If you’re just punching out and hitting weird shots, I think on some of the bigger golf courses when you get pretty far offline, it can be a little bit of a — a less advantage to a great caddie who maybe has a way of doing the numbers better than other caddies, or maybe has put in the work to get numbers from certain areas. So it could take away a little bit of that.

“I’m not sure if it will have a significant impact on pace of play, but we’ll see. It’s something we haven’t tested out before. Will it save a few minutes? I don’t think it would hurt pace of play, but you never know. My answer is we’ll see what happens.” Golf’s methodological evolution has transformed how players approach the game. From green-reading techniques to rangefinders, the sport has embraced various modern aids. However, this progress hasn’t come without controversy. Critics believe it unnecessarily slows play, while DMDs face similar scrutiny regarding their actual impact.

But what is Scheffler’s personal preference and his opinion on the pace of play? “The pace of play debate is funny. I think people want to watch exciting golf. I think that’s what it’s all about. Let’s say if we do all these changes and we save 20 minutes off of a round of golf. Is somebody going to sit down on the couch on Sunday and go, well, I didn’t have five hours to watch a round of golf, but I’ve got four hours and 40 minutes. Now I’m in.

“I think, if we’re going to spend a lot of time and energy, I think where I would want to spend it is get more people involved in the game of golf, more people able to come and play. It’s a great game. It’s a great sport. You learn a lot of life lessons playing golf.” But what’s important for the golfer is that he wants to spend his time and energy getting people more involved. It’s a special game for him, and hence, he wants more people to enjoy it.

Well, the contrast between embracing new methods and honoring traditional approaches continues to define golf’s evolution. Scottie Scheffler’s indifference and Nantz’s opposition represent different sides of the same coin. Yet the goal is the same: To elevate the sport.

What’s your take on these modern golf techniques? Do they enhance the game or detract from the skill and artistry of golf? Let us know in the comments below!