[BigEdSC]

No one has mentioned it yet.  Mahan and Westwood teed off at 9:10 Eastern, and when they put the flag in the cup on 18, it was a little before 1pm.  A final round in a major in less than 4 hours.  That ought to tweek the noses of the blue shirts at the USGA.

[Brent Hutto]

Surely it didn't have anything to do with several groups of "notables" being on the clock earlier in the tournament and one young man being assessed, you know, an actual penalty for playing too slowly.

Nah, it couldn't be that simple.

[Jon Wiggett]

Yes, a real breath of fresh air

[Andrew Brown]

That's pretty impressive.

FWIW, the R&A issued a memo regarding pace of play to national associations and referees, which stated they were committed to improving pace of play at their championships. So it was great to see them true to their intended word.

Note their aim is not to penalize, but to have players become more aware of their responsibilities to play golf at a reasonable pace.

[Mark Pearce]

I walked the first 10 holes with Ogilvy and Lawrie on Saturday.  They were about 10th group out and played the front 9 in 1hr 45 minutes.  Night and day compared to the last professional golf I watched, the Womens British Open at St Andrews, which saw 6 hour rounds.

[Ronald Montesano]

I walked the first 10 holes with Ogilvy and Lawrie on Saturday.  They were about 10th group out and played the front 9 in 1hr 45 minutes.  Night and day compared to the last professional golf I watched, the Womens British Open at St Andrews, which saw 6 hour rounds.

That's because the guys' caddies line them up on every shot, then get out of the way quicker...I think.

[Tom_Doak]

I noticed the pace ... I was playing in a member-guest this weekend, and we teed off before Westwood did, but the Open was over by the time we putted out on our last hole.   

[Craig Disher]

I wonder if the reasonable rough (remember Woods losing his ball on the 1st at RSG in front of spectators and marshals) and slower greens which didn't require grinding over 2' putts were major contributors.

[Garland Bayley]

I noticed the pace ... I was playing in a member-guest this weekend, and we teed off before Westwood did, but the Open was over by the time we putted out on our last hole.   

Time to pick up the pace Tom.

[BigEdSC]

I just kind of find it ironic that the USGA started the "While we're young" movement, during the US Open, but the rounds took forever.  Then the R&A actually followed through on telling the players that it wasn't going to be tolerated

[Brent Hutto]

One player penalized a stroke will have more effect than every commercial that will ever run from now until the heat death of the universe.

To paraphrase an old saw, once you've got 'em by the scorecards their hearts and minds will follow.

[Wayne_Kozun]

I just kind of find it ironic that the USGA started the "While we're young" movement, during the US Open, but the rounds took forever.  Then the R&A actually followed through on telling the players that it wasn't going to be tolerated

Or that only of the three majors played so far in 2013 hasn't had a slow play penalty and that was the one run by the USGA.

[Charlie_Bell]

For what it's worth, Matsuyama's best round was his 70 on Sunday.  If not for the slow-play penalty, he would have  tied for 3rd.

Pretty good for a 21-year-old..

[Tim_Weiman]

Ed,

They do things better on that side of the pond.

[Bill_Yates]

The real reason for the smooth fast play was:

1. Plenty of daylight (necessary particularly for Rounds 1 & 2)
2. The proper spacing between groups, giving them room to move and make a few mistakes
3. They are playing on a UK course with an old, traditional routing and design

[Tony_Muldoon]

The real reason for the smooth fast play was:

1. Plenty of daylight (necessary particularly for Rounds 1 & 2)
2. The proper spacing between groups, giving them room to move and make a few mistakes
3. They are playing on a UK course with an old, traditional routing and design

Bill I don't see the relevance of No 1, will take your word for it that No2 is different to normal but not sure I agree with No 3.  There are walkbacks at Muirfield added over the years to lengthen the course. The rough was brutal. Average score was higher than at most PGA events. and According to Phil they had 2 or 3 desicinson to make before each shot.


So the reason for faster play?  Help me out guys, you know I'm just here to bash the R&A.

[David_Elvins]

Tony,

I think Bill is wrong on point 2 too.  Tee time spacing at the open was 10min, compared to 11min at US Open.

[Brad Klein]

Item 3 on a championship course is especially significant. Not only are the green-to-tee walks shorter but there's less involvement and crossing over through spectator crowds along the way. Passage between holes at Merion and Sebonack was continually hampered by this.

[Andy Shulman]

Speaking of the USGA, on Saturday I attended a portion of the morning 18 at the US Amateur Public Links championship match at Laurel Hill Golf Course.  It took almost exactly two hours to complete the front nine, which seemed excessive for a match play format two-ball playing on a completely empty course.  I bailed after watching Niebrugge and Kim play holes 9 through 12 - holes they had already played at least seven times that week in two rounds of stroke play qualifying and the five matches needed to reach the championship.  With only about 100 spectators on hand, crowd control was definitely not the problem!     It was simply brutal to watch!

[Jason Topp]

Tony,

I think Bill is wrong on point 2 too.  Tee time spacing at the open was 10min, compared to 11min at US Open.

Considering Bill studies this stuff and makes a living doing so, I am guessing he knows what he is writing about.

The green to tee walks appear surprisingly longer at Merion, due to some significant walk backs as they squeezed yardage into the course.  However I do not know whether this tour of Muirfield captures all of the back tees.

Merion: http://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/merione/aerial.htm
Muirfield:  http://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/muirfieldsc/aerial.htm


Does the Open use split tees for the first two rounds?  I don't think so.  I wonder what impact the use of split tees has on pace of play.  

I also suspect it makes a difference that the first sequence of holes at  Merion consist of a short par 4, a reachable par five and then a par 3.  That sequence has to be problematic.

[Brent Hutto]

Absent any incentive to play more quickly, the normative pace of play among golfers in competitions nowadays is well over 15 minutes per hole no matter if they're in a twoball, threeball or fourball. All it takes is one person to be just slightly slower than average and the game will be over five hours. Even with an empty course in front and even shooting around par.

Unless something is done, I see no reason why that gradual slowing down of the game will not continue. There are too many people making a living, or trying to, by advising players to slow down. When you have anything pushing in one direction and absolutely nothing pushing back in the other, the norms will change. That's what we've seen the last couple decades with pace of play.

And by "something is done" I mean penalty strokes or disqualifications. Media campaigns or talk-talk might move the occasional hacker to spend a couple minutes less chatting up the beverage-cart attendant but it is totally meaningless to all the self-styled "deliberate" and "careful" players and their coaches.

[Dan Herrmann]

The real tests for the R&A will be the upcoming Sr. Open and Women's Open championships.  Get them around in 4 hours, and I'll be thrilled!

[Craig Disher]

The green to tee walks appear surprisingly longer at Merion, due to some significant walk backs as they squeezed yardage into the course.  However I do not know whether this tour of Muirfield captures all of the back tees.

Merion: http://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/merione/aerial.htm
Muirfield:  http://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/muirfieldsc/aerial.htm

Does the Open use split tees for the first two rounds?  I don't think so.  I wonder what impact the use of split tees has on pace of play.  

I also suspect it makes a difference that the first sequence of holes at  Merion consist of a short par 4, a reachable par five and then a par 3.  That sequence has to be problematic.

Jason - I thought the walks at Merion were quite short with a couple exceptions, 1-2 and 13-14. The sequence of holes might have had an affect on pace of play. Tee shots in the rough on #2 removed the chance to go for the green but if one player was in the fairway the group had to wait until the green cleared. The next hole was a brute with a wealth of problems - lost balls, unplayable lies. Follow that with another par 5 and you have a recipe for a slow start. I think green speeds were also a factor but I'm inclining to Brent's view - the real threat of a penalty stroke has more influence on pace of play than anything else.

[Jason Thurman]

Considering Bill studies this stuff and makes a living doing so, I am guessing he knows what he is writing about.

+1. Of course, this same group has another thread where a bunch of 15 handicaps are opining on what Tiger Woods needs to do to win a major, so I'm not sure how much I expect anyone to care about Bill's experience...

Does the Open use split tees for the first two rounds?  I don't think so.  I wonder what impact the use of split tees has on pace of play.

You're right, it doesn't. And that makes a BIG difference. Remember that at the US Open, after all the complaints about the 5+ hour rounds on Thursday and Friday, the final round took a bit under 4 hours for the final group. I'm still not sure how the guys posting about slow play expected groups to finish in under 4 hours on Thursday/Friday with groups going off 1 and 11 over a 2 1/2 hour timespan. No one ever offered to explain that one.

I think this is why Bill mentioned the daylight being a factor in his post. Lots of daylight reduces the need to jam the course full with split tees, which in turn makes it easier to keep things moving for the groups on the course.

[Bill_Yates]

I'm enjoying this thoughtful discussion.

David - My comment was that the "proper" interval was chosen.  At Muirfield, with a more free-flowing sequence of holes, the 10-minute interval was the proper interval for twosomes on Sunday, and at Merion with it's many short par 4's and long par 3's, an 11-minute interval was the proper one for twosome Sunday play.

Jason - Regarding split tees and starting intervals - You nailed it! +1

Let me make a comment about the courses (as this is a GCA forum):  Both were surprisingly similar in total yardage, with a difference of only 33 yards. Merion played at 6,996 yds with an additional 1,624 yds of Green to Tee distance, while Muirfield played at 7,192 yds, and adding approximately 1,461 yds for getting from greens to tees.  And like I mentioned to David above, my guess is that the sequence of holes (and their lengths), which determines the rhythm and flow of play on the course, was the reason for needing different starting intervals for the play of twosomes on the weekend. 

Both the R&A and the USGA used 11-minute intervals for the play of rounds 1 & 2. The difference there was because of the daylight available, the R&A could use a single tee start, and even add gaps between every 13 groups, to provide plenty of room for today's players and equipment.  At Merion, not only did they have to use a split tee start, play started on holes 1 and 11. 

Please keep in mind that one organization was not right and one was not wrong. Both the R&A and the USGA thoughtfully scheduled and managed play by adapting to the unique need of the course.  Interestingly, that's precisely what every course needs to do to win the "slow play" battle.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()