How to finally solve slow play? Oh, do Nelly Korda, other pros have thoughts

NAPLES, Fla. — Angel Yin, 1 of master golf’s astir perky souls, says she felt for illustration she was being put to sleep, though the sedative astir surely wasn’t her golf, nor the play people she was playing. 

It was the effort being put distant by immoderate different folks, whose names she safely kept hidden, but it’s OK to opportunity they made viewing blades of writer sprouting up beneath her a much lively game. 

“When I first came retired connected tour, I could return a nap,” Yin said.  

“It was terrible.”

Yes, the taxable present is slow play, whose sanction mostly tells you everything: Play is slow — and that tin frustrate. It came to ray past weekend, astatine the LPGA’s Annika tournament, wherever the play bogged down, rounds stretched good past 5 hours, pros battled acheronian — and Charley Hull, a unfortunate and not a perpetrator, went viral pinch immoderate of her thoughts connected the matter. 

“It was crazy,” she began. “I’m rather ruthless, but I said, listen, if you get 3 bad timings, — each clip it’s a two-shot punishment — if you person 3 of them, you suffer your circuit paper instantly; spell backmost to Q-School. I’m judge that would hurry a batch of group up and they won’t want to suffer their circuit card.

“That would termination the slow play, but they would ne'er do that.”

When asked if it was successful issue, Hull continued on. 

“It’s ridiculous and I consciousness sorry for the fans really slow it is retired there,” she said. “We were retired location for 5 hours and 40 minutes yesterday. We play a four-ball astatine home, connected a difficult play course, and we’re information successful 3 and a half, 4 hours. 

“It is beautiful crazy.”

Of course, this is thing new. You’ve publication astir this before. It’s raised connected some the women’s tours and the men’s tours. There are fines and changeable penalties, too, but present we are. At this point, you could possibly telephone it conscionable SP and group would cognize what you were inferring. So you past wonder: How, again, hasn’t this been solved?

Helluva question. 

Ahead of this week’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, immoderate of the LPGA’s champion and brightest dug much into Hull’s thoughts. They were asked whether slow play is an issue, and really they’d lick it if they thought it was. 

Opposingly to the subject, the responses came quickly. 

Is slow play an issue?

“So I person my opinions,” Yin said erstwhile asked. As did Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and others. And clearly, Hull. 

We’ll effort to commencement positively. To Yin, there’s been immoderate progress, though possibly that was a (s)low barroom to clear. After past week, the representation is besides fresh, truthful you expect the answers to sound much dramatic. Time hasn’t healed the wound, truthful to speak.  

Then again, arsenic noted above, present we are again, and players weren’t unsighted to that. Ruoning Yin said past week was “pretty rough.” Jeeno Thitikul said past week’s five-and-a-half-hour rounds were “a small excessively much.” Thompson expressed that rounds shouldn’t widen past 4 and a half hours — and based on the problem has really worsened. 

Korda said if she were a fan, she’d beryllium annoyed. 

Notably, she’s besides 1 of the tour’s speediest players — and it’s present wherever possibly we tin find immoderate solutions. 

“Jason really has to slow maine down sometimes,” the world No. 1 said of her caddie, Jason McDede. “I don’t know. Just ever for illustration my first small heart is conscionable the champion instinct. You spot it, you deed it. 

“Today pinch Charley — Charley and I played together coming again, 3 rounds successful a row, believe round. She was talking, and it’s for illustration either a 5 [iron] aliases a 6 [iron], for illustration you sewage 2 options. It’s either upwind is disconnected your correct aliases upwind is disconnected your left, upwind is into, upwind is down. You can’t — it’s conscionable group conscionable effort to overcomplicate it.

“I conscionable ever opportunity your first small heart is your champion instinct, I would say. Just beryllium fresh erstwhile it’s your turn.”

Then there’s Ko.

One of the tour’s much thoughtful minds, she said the rumor has its layers. 

“Nobody, I mean, moreover if you’re the biggest golfing fan, cipher wants to beryllium retired location for arsenic agelong arsenic possible,” Ko said. “Sometimes for illustration past week, it was a really difficult play people pinch accelerated greens and undulating greens.

“Even if you’re playing well, but you deed 1 changeable retired of position, it’s going to return a batch much clip than the personification hitting it successful the mediate of the greenish and two-putt. And moreover two-putts astir a play people for illustration Pelican didn’t travel easy.

“Yes, it depends connected the situation. U.S. Women’s Opens thin to return longer because we person a bigger field. It is really 1 of the toughest tournaments we play each year.

“So conscionable is lawsuit by case.”

Most certainly. But could that beryllium solved?

The past connection present is for Ewing. This week is her last. She’s retiring.  

And adjacent twelvemonth astatine this time?

“I’m going to beryllium hopping successful a play cart zipping astir successful my retirement,” she said. 

She past continued. 

“You know, it’s ever been a taxable of speech since I’ve been connected Tour. I do deliberation pinch immoderate players it’s an issue. You person your accelerated players and we each cognize who those are.

“I don’t person immoderate answers, but it decidedly is difficult to play pinch astatine times, and I’m judge it’s ace difficult for the rules officials. Every twelvemonth astatine the extremity of the year, they’re like, really are we going to make this better?

“You know, group are playing for their livelihood truthful I get it why group return their time. I deliberation location is simply a statement we person to draw.”

How do you lick slow play?

Let’s try. Let’s tie that line. 

What opportunity you, Angel? The floor’s yours. 

Look astatine spacing, Yin said. 

“Because we get up to the tee container and we’re already delayed and we’re successful a greeting tee time,” she said. “So really tin that autumn onto a player? And that’s besides going backmost to wherever I deliberation we tin amended arsenic a tour, a mini issue. I can’t constituent fingers excessively much, but location are definite types of group who I consciousness for illustration they should beryllium capable to negociate that better. I deliberation the easiest measurement to constituent fingers without reasoning excessively heavy into it is players slow-play, but it takes a batch for the schedules to fit, and if the schedules don’t fit, past we’re conscionable sitting connected a hole. And I deliberation that’s wherever it’s showing up. At the U.S. Open, we had a slow spread wherever location was for illustration 4 groups stacked up there. But that’s besides because the pin was successful a really ridiculous [position]. …

“Nelly sewage a 10, I think. So worldly for illustration that. It has thing to do pinch the player. I’m beautiful judge Nelly is going really fast. When you’re taking drops and you’re doing this and that, there’s thing we tin do astir it.”

Jeeno?

Thitikul mentioned a timepiece connected each hole. 

Lexi? Ruoning?

Hull wasn’t wholly misplaced, it appears. “I deliberation Charley is amended than maine connected this one,” Yin said.  

“Yeah, hers was a spot of an fierce comment,” Thompson said. “I don’t disagree pinch it. It has to beryllium done. Something has to beryllium done to quicken up the play retired there, whether it’s fines aliases immoderate it is. Needs to beryllium done because we request to play quicker. Fans aren’t enjoying being retired location for 5 and a half hours successful the heat.”

Nelly?

Penalties, for sure. But she wanted to spell backmost to her original thought, connected mentality. 

“To beryllium opinionated complete a putt for 2 to 3 minutes, that’s ridiculous,” Korda said. “When a group successful beforehand of maine is connected the greenish and I’m successful the fairway, I’m already getting ready. I’m getting my numbers ready, talking astir the shot, truthful by the clip it’s my turn, I already person my crippled plan.

“Like I’m already — I’m hitting correct aft the personification that conscionable deed successful beforehand of me. I deliberation group conscionable request to beryllium — group overanalyze, one, and I deliberation group conscionable request to beryllium fresh faster.

“People commencement their process a small excessively precocious and they guidelines complete it excessively long. Again, I deliberation we request much group connected the crushed to show gait of play. I don’t deliberation we person capable group to show it.”

Lydia?

In a word, immoderate understanding. 

“I honestly deliberation the biggest point is conscionable the situation,” Ko said. “If it did return longer past week, I deliberation location are 2 factors. Golf people was tough, and the 2nd point is location were players trying to get their paper aliases activity their measurement into CME.

“So for illustration each these benignant of situations, I think, play a factor. It doesn’t mean that, oh, yes, past you should return longer aliases not beryllium capable to return longer. I conscionable deliberation those are the variables that you person to return into relationship erstwhile we person longer rounds than possibly usual.

“I don’t cognize really agelong we took exactly, but I was fortunate capable to beryllium capable to service connected the LPGA committee and beryllium a subordinate head for 3 years. Before that time, I would deliberation things and opportunity things. Why would they make that benignant of decision? After serving connected the board, I recognize location is simply a batch much to it than what we see.

“I judge that everybody is doing their best, and arsenic players, we’re ever going to continuously do amended to effort and support up pinch the gait of play. I don’t cognize if 1 strategy aliases 1 measurement is going to instantly make a information 30 minutes faster.”

So wherever do we guidelines now? 

Are things solved? Are they unsolvable? Perhaps someone’s listening. 

There is astatine slightest 1 different answer, of course. 

A nap.