Slow play has been a huge talking point on the PGA Tour over the last few weeks, with rounds at The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open taking a near six hours to complete.
Many have been divided on the matter but, according to one PGA Tour professional, there are a number of ways slow play can be improved on the circuit, with Lucas Glover claiming that banning the green reading method, AimPoint, is one of them.
How can we fix slow play? Lucas Glover has a list of ideas, and he shared them on the latest episode of The Lucas Glover Show.Check out part 1 of Lucas's solutions and listen to the full episode on the SiriusXM App!🔊 https://t.co/ix9AQeNInn pic.twitter.com/X70CFpWz15January 30, 2025
Aimpoint is used by a number of professionals and involves reading the upcoming putt via the use of your feet. Essentially, golfers stand facing the hole and estimate the severity of the putt on a scale between 0 and 6, which then helps them pick out a starting line.
The process can take some time and, according to Glover, "AimPoint statistically hasn't helped anybody make more putts since its inception on the PGA Tour, statistics have borne that out."
Not only does the 2009 US Open champion find it slow, but the American also explained to SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio that he thinks the method is “rude,” adding “it’s also kind of rude to be up near the hole and stomping around, figuring out where the break is in your feet. It needs to be banned. It takes forever."
However, although Glover is against AimPoint, many use the green reading system and, speaking to Golf Monthly, Europe's senior instructor Jamie Donaldson, stated: "I think if everyone used AimPoint, it would speed up play as it takes an average of 10 seconds to get a read.
"If you're organised, and get your read before it's your turn, everyone would be missing closer. If a group of four players has three less putts per green, that's got to save a couple of minutes (per hole). In my opinion, people should be taught it from the start, as you would get into less bad habits. The 'weekend hacker' would have fewer stroke issues if they knew where to aim from the outset."
In the four-minute video posted to SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio's social page, Glover fires off a number of aspects that could be improved to help the pace of play, claiming that every sprinkler head should be marked with a yardage, as well as lasers being introduced to help when offline, and honorary observers and sign bearers knowing where to walk when on the course.
Continuing his rant, Glover also stated that groups should have individual bunker rakers, like at The Open Championship, as well golf carts being "the number one reason why players back off their golf shots."
Having listed several ideas to help with pace of play, the six-time PGA Tour winner signed off with a slight dig at the recent news that the PGA Tour will reduce the number of full-time tour cards from 125 to 100, stating: "There's my list at what could have been done before we cut 25 (PGA Tour) cards, and should still be looked at when we do cut these 25 cards."
Lucas Glover’s checklist to improve pace of play
- Yardages on every sprinkler heads
- Introduction of lasers
- Every group should be assigned a raker for the bunkers
- Honorary observers "get in the way" and should be removed from inside the ropes
- Sign bearers to be removed
- AimPoint to be banned
- Reduce the number of golf carts on the course
Recently, it was announced that the PGA Tour is set to allow players to use rangefinders in a bid to try and cure the problem of slow play and, speaking about the issue, PGA Tour pro Byeong Hun An claimed that handing out penalty shots to players is the way to "definitely" help with slow play on the PGA Tour.
However, although the issue of slow play has been brought into the light, two-time Major winner Justin Thomas argued that, according to a Fan Forward survey, fans "like harder golf courses, (and) they like watching us play difficult places, but they want us to play faster, so those two don't go together. You've kind of got to pick and choose your battles."
