Nicklaus calls for the ball to be rolled back

[Connor Dougherty]

I'll post this here before commenting on it myself but I do find some of his comments rather interesting
http://blogs.golf.com/presstent/2013/07/pace-of-play-problems-the-golden-bear-blames-the-modern-ball.html?sct=hp4

Connor

[Pat Burke]

Funny to hear one of the slowest players I watched as a kid
talking about speeding up play

[Wayne_Kozun]

Jack seems to want to blame the ball for everything.  The ball doesn't help but surely it is not as significant as the time taken on the greens and slow pre-shot routines with multiple practice swings.

[Doug Siebert]

Anyone who points to any single factor as being primarily responsible for slow play is wrong.

Rolling back the ball would help pace of play, but I think there are other better reasons to do it.  Trying to tie it to another of golf's problems isn't the way to address it.  It is as if (hypothetically) Greenpeace pointed to evidence that the additional CO2 in the atmosphere increases the likelihood of heart attacks, hoping to get doctors on board with measures to reduce CO2 emissions.

[A.G._Crockett]

Curious...

The man who singlehandedly has done as much as anyone could have done (greatly enriching himself in the process) to make golf slower, more expensive, and more about distance now wants others to play a shorter golf ball on shorter courses in less time.

[Stephen Brown]

Anyone who points to any single factor as being primarily responsible for slow play is wrong.

I agree, and I do find this interesting coming from the player who might have ushered in the age of slow play.  The Golf Channel "Morning Drive" highlighted the system used by the AJGA for their tournaments back in June and that plan seemed to have alot of merit.  Apparently it is being investigated by USGA and NCAA.

Here's a link: http://www.ajga.org/tourninfo/pace.asp

And I love Monty's idea of a "shot clock"....

"Even Nicklaus admits that he was no jack rabbit at the start of his career. But he learned to play more quickly."  I guess quickly is a relative term......



 

[Dan Kelly]

Curious...

The man who singlehandedly has done as much as anyone could have done (greatly enriching himself in the process) to make golf slower, more expensive, and more about distance now wants others to play a shorter golf ball on shorter courses in less time.

It's never too late to learn -- or: yet another demonstration that, yes, there are second acts in American life.

A.G. -- How does his having enriched himself have anything to do with this?

[Bill_McBride]

Curious...

The man who singlehandedly has done as much as anyone could have done (greatly enriching himself in the process) to make golf slower, more expensive, and more about distance now wants others to play a shorter golf ball on shorter courses in less time.

But he was advocating the Cayman ball thirty years ago.  Nothing to do with slow play, but he has talked about rolling back the ball for a long time. 

[Nigel Islam]

Curious...

The man who singlehandedly has done as much as anyone could have done (greatly enriching himself in the process) to make golf slower, more expensive, and more about distance now wants others to play a shorter golf ball on shorter courses in less time.

But he was advocating the Cayman ball thirty years ago.  Nothing to do with slow play, but he has talked about rolling back the ball for a long time. 

It certainly would have made things different today if there had been a roll back. Mackenzie talked about it in his book too. People can talk all they like, but until something is done it is just that....talk. I find the single biggest problem with slow play is searching for balls though.

[Lou_Duran]

There is a difference between playing for a living and playing recreationally.  We can blame the pros for slow play all we want, but it is still us individually who play slow.  Having played in quite a few gca.com related outings, I wish we paid attention to what we write some time.  Playing a five hour round burning sunlight for additional golf on a wide open world-class golf course is sinful.  Of course, it is always the other guy who is slow.  

Pat- I've followed Nicklaus a number of times and couldn't keep up with him walking.  He was very deliberate over the ball, but he also hit fewer shots and had to wait on his playing partners.  I don't remember him being out of place relative to the group in front of him, and, as you know, the pace of play is largely determined by the slowest group in front of you.

[A.G._Crockett]

Curious...

The man who singlehandedly has done as much as anyone could have done (greatly enriching himself in the process) to make golf slower, more expensive, and more about distance now wants others to play a shorter golf ball on shorter courses in less time.

It's never too late to learn -- or: yet another demonstration that, yes, there are second acts in American life.

A.G. -- How does his having enriched himself have anything to do with this?

Dan,
That was a parenthetical note.  I'm not in a position to know what personal enrichment has to do with his opinions.

[Jud_T]

The shot clock was the best thing to happen to basketball since they cut the bottoms out of those peach baskets they were using for hoops.  Time for golf to get one and give the refs stripes and a whistle...

[Rick Shefchik]

The shot clock was the best thing to happen to basketball since they cut the bottoms out of those peach baskets they were using for hoops.  Time for golf to get one and give the refs stripes and a whistle...

For tournament golf, sure. For recreational golf, impossible. And our concern here, really, is how to get the guys in front of us -- and in our own group -- to play faster. Maybe there'd be a trickle-down effect.

[Garland Bayley]

The shot clock was the best thing to happen to basketball since they cut the bottoms out of those peach baskets they were using for hoops.  Time for golf to get one and give the refs stripes and a whistle...

Some of us think the game was diminished by the shot clock. Taking strategy out of the game is dumbing it down.

However, with golf there is little strategy lost by playing faster. Or maybe it even helps those that can decide strategy faster.

[Ulrich Mayring]

Rolling back the ball would make rounds longer, not shorter. Everyone would play a much longer golf course with a shorter ball.

The hope that somehow, magically all golf courses in the world would shorten their holes to accommodate the shorter ball is bizarre. Just as bizarre as the idea that I would let go of my Pinnacles - in fact, I'd be happy to outdrive the Pro who is using the shorter ball

Jack Nicklaus has it wrong. We need a tournament ball for the Tour players, but everyone else should play with the longest and straightest ball possible.

Ulrich

[Wade Whitehead]

If Mr. Nicklaus is serious, he should require a common ball for the Memorial event he runs.

WW

[Patrick_Mucci]

Funny to hear one of the slowest players I watched as a kid
talking about speeding up play.



Pat,

It's amazing how everyone's memory fails them.

Nicklaus, as great as he was, was exceedingly slow, not just methodical, but really slow.

I'll never forget Trevino, announcing at the USGA Senior Open at Ridgewood, that if Nicklaus had played at pace that he wouldn't have been so far behind and caught in the cloud/wind and maybe squall that resulted in his problems on the 71st and 72nd holes, causing him to lose the tournament.

For whatever reason, the USGA and PGA seem to give the best players more leeway on pace of play.

The Amateur from Duke, Jenny Chuasiriporn was allowed to be iced by her opponent Si Ri Pak who took an eternity to hit her shot on 18, in the1998 Women's Open.
And The USGA officials on site permitted this travesty
Had it been an 18 year old Freshman from Boise State, they never would have allowed that extended delay, which probably altered the outcome of the tournament.

If you want to increase ace of play, don't penalize someone who's an amateur or 121 on the money list, penalize a slow superstar.
Set an example and you'll get the desired results  

[Jim Nugent]

If Mr. Nicklaus is serious, he should require a common ball for the Memorial event he runs.

WW

A good idea, but isn't that ultimately in the hands of the PGA Tour? 

[Wade Whitehead]

A good idea, but isn't that ultimately in the hands of the PGA Tour?

Jim:

He furrowed bunkers.

The Tour works for Mr. Nicklaus and his corporate sponsors (for one week), not the other way around.

WW

[Niall C]

Just been watching the ladies at St Andrews. They play a shorter course and hit the ball less distance but it doesn't seem to make them faster 

Niall