I was reading the March 2008 edition of Golf Digest this week and saw a little side story titled "Venting". It shared the thoughts of some PGA players and their caddies on the biggest breaches of golf etiquette that amateurs make during Pro-Ams.
No surprise, the number one was the amateur moving while another player is hitting. Hard to believe anyone who actually plays the game does that more than once. Even at municipal courses, new players are given the evil eye if they try that.
Anyway, the 2nd most unpopular practice was "slow pace of play". According to Aqua-man Woody Austin, "Nothing tops pace of play. Amateurs refuse to pick up their ball or they take too long to make a decision."
I find it amusing to hear the pros talk about pace of place. I guess they are oblivious to their own failings in that area. I watch a lot of European Golf and it is rare that I don't see at least one group being "put on the clock". However, I've never seen them actually penalized for slow play.
The rules of golf are severely enforced by officials all the time in the PGA (even calls in from spectators can make an official go back and watch replays of a shot to see if a rule was broken. They have no qualms about enforcing a rule long after the fact.. But pace of play is a joke in the PGA.
Last week's PODS Championship was a good example. The winner, Sean O’Hair is a really nice guy, and his history with his estranged father gets him the sympathy vote, but on the course, he's the guy you want to report to the marshal.
I’m a regular reader of sports writer, Karl MacGinty of the Irish Independent. And as he puts it, "This guy spends so much time agonizing over the most obvious options on the golf course, one wonders how he manages to get out of bed in the morning. It probably takes a couple of calls to the tailor before deciding which trouser leg to pull on first."
O’Hair was put on the clock on Sunday in Florida, but it made little difference to his play. And no penalty ensued. Why? I expect the answer is something like, “How do you penalize a player who's in contention?” And my response would be, “Oh, you don't know? Easy...just watch the LPGA. Angela Park was "awarded" two extra shots for slow play at the SPG in Hawaii, without warning. And she was in contention - if they hadn't penalized her, she would have finished 2nd at worse. Who knows, she may have actually won the tournament, but having to play 8 more holes knowing she was dinged really could have been the difference between winning and losing for her.
Back to the PGA...
JB Holmes is another example. I love MacGinty's description of JB, " Holmes resembles a preying mantis painstakingly stalking its lunch as he goes through his staccato pre-shout routine."
Wood's website posted a plea for action against slow play a week after Tiger beat Holmes at the Accenture Match Play. Coincidence? I don't think so.
But even when the world's number one complains, the "entitled" Holmes could care less, "You’re playing for $1m. If someone thinks I’m slow or taking too long, I don’t care.” Hey, maybe that's the difference between the PGA and LPGA. The LPGA is only playing for $150K, while Holmes is chasing a million! Oh, don't get me on that rant again!
Slow pace of play isn’t new. Remember back in 2005 when hothead, Rory Sabbitini walked off the 17th green and headed to 18, because he was so angry at Ben Crane's painstakingly slow pace of play (Crane was still on the fairway!)? Sure Rory isn't my favorite sportsman, but it's hard to judge him too harshly on that move. If I was playing with them, I'd probably have laid down on the grass for a nap at the 17th green to get my point across.
There are a lot of slow players in the PGA. So I ask again, why doesn't the PGA do something about it like the LPGA? Maybe it all comes down to "balls" and who has them.
Golfgal
www.golfgal-blog.com
Photos by: © Anita Patterson Peppers | Dreamstime.com
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