What are the two most hated things by golf fans? We think you might have a guess. That’s right, the first one is every golfer’s nightmare, bad weather, and the second is a slow game. And the 2024 AIG Women’s Open had both of them. Yikes right? Well, at least that’s how Golf Week’s writer Beth Ann Nichols described it. The first day of the AIG Women’s Open golf tournament at St. Andrews was extremely challenging.

Strong winds of up to 40mph made it difficult for players to make shots. The round took almost six hours to complete, which is very slow. Nichols took to her X account to inform the fans, “Heard there was a backup of four groups on the 11th tee. The last group of No. 10 teed off at 2:16 p.m. local time. Two hours and 45 minutes later, they’ve completed four holes. Yikes!”

Not only that but even some of the golfers were also frustrated with the circumstances. Rose Zhang, one of the players, said it was “tough” and her head was hurting afterward. She had to think carefully before making each shot because of the strong winds. The winds were so strong that they even moved her ball on hole 7, which made the golfer pretty nervous. “You get anxiety thinking, did I just do something?”, she said according to SB Nation.

The organizers tried to help by changing the tee times and slowing down the greens. But the winds were too strong, and players had to keep stopping and starting. Zhang said she had to back off her putts many times, which she had never done before. The slow pace made the day physically and mentally exhausting for the players, but did that stop the fans from bashing them in the comments? No, not at all.

Fans comment on the slow pace at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open

Golf fans can be pretty unforgiving, especially when it comes to slow play. And they have a reason to be mad. Slow play takes away the fun and excitement and makes the whole round boring, sort of. This one fan said, “That’s a pace of play nightmare…wow”, and a nightmare it was indeed! Golfers like Rose Zhang and Jenny Shin were wondering how were they going to play in such weather. “I mean, I’ve never really played in this kind of wind before because it just felt relentless”, said Jenny Shin.

Bad weather can really ruin a game and it seems like this fan understands that. “Shi**y weather = Shi**y Golf“, they said. A lot of fans joined the conversation with their fairly strong opinions, taking a jab at the R&A, that organizes the major. “Biggest issue in women’s golf IMO”, said one fan. While another said, “awful organization and golf tbh”.  Well, the fans are not completely wrong here, but the R&A did do something this time. The pace of play on Thursday was sluggish, with the round taking nearly six hours to complete. However, tournament organizers had anticipated the strong winds and took proactive measures to mitigate the impact.

They implemented split tees to stagger the start times and reduced the green speeds to prevent unplayable conditions. This isn’t the first time this happened. Another slow game occurred at the 2023 AIG Women’s Open as well which had stirred a debate with golfer Carlota Ciganda, who was penalized for slow play.

While others were blaming the weather and the organization this one fan came up with the solution and said, “Shut the course down” and considering the brutal weather, the idea doesn’t seem half bad. What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below!