What Tiger said to Joe Lacava

[Bryan Izatt]

Behind the 18th green while waiting for his playing partners to putt out, the TV coverage briefly showed Tiger talking to Joe Lacava.  It was easy to lip read,

Tiger, pointing to wrist:  What time is it?

Joe:  7:25 p.m. (At least that was the time on my PVR)

Tiger: Wow!

They were supposed to tee off at 1:42 p.m.  Did it really take them about 5 hours and 45 minutes to get around.  Was nobody in front of them on the clock?  Did the Masters Committee lose the clock?

Was there too much interfacing with the architecture going on?  Is most of the time wasted on trying to read the greens?

[Jay Flemma]

It was absolutely ridiculous how long it took...and with only 92 players. You are dead on and Luke Donald's wife tweeted the same thing. 5 hours and 45 minutes

[Jud_T]

and that was in threesomes!  maybe they can get it down to 5:15 in twosomes today...

[Dan Herrmann]

One guy's wife apparently tweeted that it took 5:45 to play.

Who was the bozo that put the 3 slowest players in the world of high-end golf together?

[Jay Flemma]

Is it possible that the "bozos" are actually the reedonkyoulously slow players themselves.  Ben Crane is almost deliberately relishing in how slow he plays...

[Dan Herrmann]

Jay - good point.  The AGJA molasses has hit the big time, and it's NOT good.

[Richard Choi]

As I have said before, I would rather face a thousand Tiger outburst than one slow play like Crane's. At least Tiger's outburst only affect those immediately around him, if that. What Crane does affect the entire field.

Crane is a FAR bigger a-hole for not being considerate to every other player in the field.

[Todd Bell]

I think he missed his massage appointment.

[Matthew Rose]

I think they teed off a bit late. I had Golf Channel live on at 12:15 (mountain time) and they said he'd only just teed off, so it sounds like they were running behind.

But that's still a five hour round regardless.

[Michael Tamburrini]

I found it interesting to learn that in the 1967 US Open players were only allowed to mark the ball once per green. Officials didn't want rounds to take more than 4 hours. Similarly they played in pairs for all for rounds of the 1962 US Open.

Nowadays officials seem to have no interest in speeding up play. Does a professional golfer really need to mark their ball and rotate it when it's a foot from the hole? Do they really need to consult their notebooks before a putt?

I was amazed a few years ago when I saw Phil's caddy tell him to wait for the wind to die down before hitting a shot. That staggered me. And this isn't a digg at Mickelson - I'm guessing that it's pretty common. It's no wonder rounds are getting longer and longer.

[Jon Wiggett]

Crane is a FAR bigger a-hole for not being considerate to every other player in the field.

Richard,

while I wholeheartedly agree with you about Crane's slow play showing a disrespect for the whole field I think the quoted sentence from your post highlights the problem being discussed. Language or behaviour such as this should not be accepted or tolerated. It is not about freedom of speech rather to do with simple plain decent MANNERS. It does not belong on the golf course nor on this website.

Jon

[Jim Tang]

Pretty much all of the guys out there seem to be a problem.  Michael, it was painful to watch guys actually wait for the wind on 16.  No wonder it takes them almost 6 hrs. to play a round of golf.

That sort of pace would drive me crazy (more so than I am currently).

[Jon Wiggett]

Jim,

I wonder what would happen if one group decided to request to be allowed to play through as they were quicker?

Jon

[Matthew Rose]

Let's add Peter Hanson.

He was downright excruciating to watch this afternoon. He took at least three or four minutes on a couple of tee shots.

[Michael Tamburrini]

Let's add Peter Hanson.

He was downright excruciating to watch this afternoon. He took at least three or four minutes on a couple of tee shots.

It surprised me that he didn't fall behind the group in front. Seemed like no-one could hit a shot without a huge conversation with their caddy.

[Ulrich Mayring]

I have a lot of respect for Ben Crane. He is far from what he has been called in this thread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB6lHHRwrNI

Ulrich

[Harris Nepon]

I don't see anything wrong with these guys taking their time. They are doing their job trying to make millions of dollars and one putt could cost them a couple hundred thousand dollars. No different then a CEO taking his time to make the right decision, at least in my opionion it's no different.

[Jon Wiggett]

I don't see anything wrong with these guys taking their time. They are doing their job trying to make millions of dollars and one putt could cost them a couple hundred thousand dollars. No different then a CEO taking his time to make the right decision, at least in my opionion it's no different.

Harris,

the problem is that if all the players took the time that Phil took over his shot to the green on the 15th than we would have the 10 hour round. A player should be capable of making a decision and executing the shot within 45 seconds of reaching the ball according to the Euro tour rules (as were anyway) but the problem is no one enforces them. Maybe if the slow play becomes a problem for the TV schedules things might alter

[Bill Seitz]

I don't see anything wrong with these guys taking their time. They are doing their job trying to make millions of dollars and one putt could cost them a couple hundred thousand dollars. No different then a CEO taking his time to make the right decision, at least in my opionion it's no different.

I personally don't have a problem with Ben Crane or Sean O'Hair or whoever taking a long time to play a competitive round of golf.  It doesn't really affect my viewing experience.  But there are two things (at least) to consider that I think make slow play a problem.  The first is that people watch these guys, then go out on the course and emulate what they see on TV.  Slow play on Tour doesn't directly affect me, but it does indirectly filter down into longer rounds at your local muni. 

Second, it's incredibly disrespectful to many of the other guys that are also in the competition.  It's like the pitcher who takes 45 seconds to throw a pitch.  At least in baseball, the hitter can step out and re-set himself.  But in tournament golf, the slow player has a distinct advantage over the fast player.  A fast player is only as fast as the slowest guy in his group.  A fast player forced to play slow is at the mercy of his fellow competitors, whereas a slow player is allowed to set the tempo for the group.  Unfortunately, neither the Tour nor the players themselves want to police it, despite the lip-service.  And I'm not sure I blame the other players, because even the fastest players may need to take an extra minute once in a while to grind over a tough shot.  Then again, we just had one of the quicker players win a tournament with extremely long rounds, so maybe I've overstating that second point.

[Jordan Caron]

I noticed this Friday as well and thought that had been on the course a very long time!

What can be done to stop people from thinking what they see on TV is acceptable?

A disclaimer on the bottom of the screen? Constant mentions of it from the announcers? Some sort of ad campaign that can be played during telecasts?

[Tim Johnson]

Thank god for PVR!!!. The delay between shots is becoming too much but thankfully I have PVR and I just fast forward until the players looks ready to hit....which sometimes is still another 60 seconds until contact.

Bill is correct, this does filter down to the public. the main reason I stopped playing beer league hockey was guys started to emulate the pros. After every whistle there was a scrum and grown men start acting like they are in an NHL game, pushing, smack talking but never, ever having the balls to drop the gloves to back up thier mouths. After all the bravado, the only things accomplished are adding time to an already late game.

I have started to notice for a while now that this is the same thing in golf. Players started folding their hands around the brim of their hats while lining up putts(ala Tiger) even on cloudy days. Players are now dropping their clubs during a follow through after hitting a bad shot(again like Tiger). 30 handicappers stopping their shot routine to pick up grass to see if the wind has changed. It is amazing how quickly the public picks up on these things. Right after Weir won his Masters, everybody and his uncle up here in Canada started using the same preshot routine, pull the club back and then reset and actually hit the ball. While I can appreciate looking for every advantage by emulating the pros, why dont they start with the obvious, pounds out some seeds on the drving range. Actually use a practice green to hone putting. Dont use the course as time to practice making your 3 footers, do it on the putting green. You wont get better at golf by making that 3' putt for a snowman.


History being the teacher, rounds of golf will only get longer not faster. In all honesty, not really sure it can be fixed. Personally, I just try and be polite and remind my group that we need to pick up the pace.