Clemnet,
I read the article you cited and will concede that the problem of slow play in America is indeed a multi-faceted one.
But the fact remains that you can take the same players off of the congested American courses and over to the courses of GB&I, where the course routing, set-up, management, tee time structure, etc., etc., etc., is conducive to faster play...AND THEY ARE STILL SLOWER PLAYERS.
I have played here and in GB&I, on a casual and competitive level, for almost 20 years, and almost across the board, Americans are slower players.
Period.
I am not a slow player by American standards, but when I feel like Faldo when I play over there.
True, overcrowding courses leads to slower playing conditions (esp. in a shotgun start, which by definition can only go as fast as the slowest group on the course). But on a single tee start, how can a course full of fast players be overcrowded? With fast players the only place overcrowding can occur is on the first tee, if the tee times aren't spaced far enough apart, and then once the round started things would go at a good pace. Think about it, overcrowding off a single tee start can only occur if someone on the course is slow. Otherwise, what would everyone already on the course be waiting for?
In my view, the primary cause for slow play is--PLAYERS WHO DON'T TRY TO PLAY FAST. It may be one group, it may be the whole day's groups, but the primary cause lies in human behavior, and not the secondary causes that Mr. Yates is trying to combat. Not being ready to play, over-reading putts, taking too long to decide on a club to hit, long preshot routines, (not to mention walking slow, taking water/food/bathroom breaks,...) etc. If you don't believe it, just go "over there" and watch how long it takes for the locals to hit a shot. They just step up and hit it, and many times you'll swear they aren't trying.
"It is not my (or our) fault" is a very popular idea nowadays, and Mr. Yates is doing a good job of playing that up in his sales pitch. And there's nothing wrong with that. If he takes it as a given that players are going to play at the pace that they're going to play, and then tries to alter all of the other variables to speed up play, and it results in faster rounds, then that's great. But to deny that golfers in this country don't play as fast as they could is to deny reality.
But don't get me wrong--I sure am glad that someone is trying to do something about slow play, and apparently succeeding.
Disclaimer--not all Americans are slower, not all from GB&I are faster. Just the vast majority.