PGA Tour to impose $20,000 fines for slow play during 2024 season

Slow reading the PGA Tour has been a hot topic in recent seasons, especially earlier this year. Players complained, but those groans became too loud for the Tour to ignore.

Thus, there will be slight changes in 2024 for those penalized for playing slowly, according to Golfweek.

On Tuesday, the PGA Tour informed its players of the changes approved as part of the Meeting of the Orientation Council.

The Players Advisory Council (PAC) instituted an average shot time offense.

What is this concept?

This means comparing a player’s average hitting time with the field average at the end of a tournament. If that player’s average shot time is seven seconds or more above the court, it will result in an average shot time penalty.

This differs from their last resolution attempt to correct slow play, which took place in 2021. Then, the tour instituted the “Watchlist”, which focused on changing the individual habits of the slowest players. In the report to the players, they said the observation list was a success and allowed the rules committee to work with these players to improve the pace of play.

However, it was time to improve how they applied pace of play rules and eliminate this tactic.

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Hence the institution of the average race time infraction.

These infractions accumulate over the course of the season before monetary fines are applied. When a player reaches their 10th infraction, they must pay $20,000. Subsequently, if the golfer commits 11 to 14 of these violations, he will pay an additional $5,000 for each penalty. A fine of $10,000 will be added to his total if the golfer has 15 or more.

If a player commits fewer than 10 violations in a season but the ratio of average strike time violations to tournaments played is 50% or more, they will be penalized $2,000 per violation.

However, they must participate in at least five events.

All average course time violations on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and Champions Tour will count together. But fines will be prorated based on the number of events on each tour.

The PGA Tour also updated its rules and regulations, making four small policy changes.

There will be no more official warnings.

For excessive shot times, the PAC changed the rule to reduce the time allowed for second or third players to play from 120 to 100 seconds. The time given to the first player to make his shot will remain 120 seconds.

In addition, instead of 12 timings, the policy reduced it to 10 before financial penalty.

Finally, a financial penalty exemption was introduced, based on the average of a golfer’s 10 shots during a tournament, to recognize variation in levels of play among members.

Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

The number was 5 seconds above the Tour average, in accordance with the warning policy. According to the new rule, a player completing 10 timings per season will inevitably be subject to a financial sanction.

The last player to receive a slow play penalty was John Catlin in the first round of the 2021 edition. PGA Championship. However, the PGA Tour did not mandate it; the PGA of America did it.

LIV Golf imposed penalty for slow play during its Valderrama event earlier this year.

The LPGA also penalized one of its players, Carlota Ciganda, heroine of the Solheim Cup, for playing too slowly. This led her disqualification at the Evian Championship.

But the PGA Tour appears to be having trouble enforcing slow play policies. Tour commissioner Jay Monahan followed what Tim Finchem did before him: avoid using the full extent of the pace of play rule.

The financial penalties may seem high to some, but for most of these PGA Tour players, it will be chump change for them.

Will this new system help improve the pace of play, or will these slow players pay the price and maintain their own pace?

Savannah Leigh Richardson is the golf staff editor for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check @_PlayingThrough Also.