With mental rhythm and physical timing so important in the game of golf, any lull in the action can significantly impact a golfer’s effectiveness and overall experience on the course
By Michael Mattingly | July 5, 2026
Happy 4th of July!
Nothing ruins a good round of golf faster than waiting.
Not the slice into the trees.
Not the missed three-footer.
Waiting.
Every golfer knows the feeling. You stripe a drive down the middle, grab your club, and then…nothing. The group ahead is still searching for a ball, reading a putt from every angle, or taking one more swing to escape a bunker that has become a temporary residence.
The rhythm disappears.
Golf is a game of tempo, and nothing steals that tempo faster than slow play.
At your local course, the solution is usually simple. A slower group can—and should—wave a faster group through. It’s one of golf’s oldest courtesies.
Professional golf doesn’t have that luxury.
Every group is playing for millions of dollars, trophies, and careers. No one is stepping aside. When one group falls behind, every group behind them inherits the delay.
That’s why slow play has become one of professional golf’s biggest problems—and why the LPGA deserves credit for finally deciding to enforce pace of play.
But enforcement isn’t the finish line.
It’s only the beginning.
The LPGA’s new policy matters. Slow play has dragged down the product for years, and for the first time, there are real consequences for players who consistently fall behind.
But until timing is fully transparent and consistently applied, it’s always going to feel a little incomplete.
And that’s the tension.
The rule is right.
The experience isn’t there yet.
Because it never feels great when a technical rule influences a major championship—just as it never feels great when a blown call changes a game. Even when the ruling is correct, the reaction is always the same:
Did they get it right?
That’s where the LPGA still has work to do.
Nelly Korda said it plainly:
“Fans want a sport that keeps moving, and they want officials to enforce the rules.”
She’s absolutely right.
But enforcement only works when people trust what they’re seeing.
Right now, they don’t fully.
Timing in professional golf is still partly invisible. A rules official decides when a player is officially “on the clock.” Fans don’t see when that clock starts, how much time remains, or how close a player is to receiving a penalty.
So when a penalty arrives—even if it’s completely correct—it can feel sudden and, at times, subjective.
That’s the gap.
And that’s where trust breaks down.
The goal isn’t to rush players. It’s to eliminate dead time while making pace of play a visible, consistent part of the competition. Right now, it’s enforced. It just isn’t fully visible.
There’s a straightforward solution:
Put the clock on the course.
Start it the moment it’s clearly a player’s turn. Display it on tee boxes, near greens, and on television broadcasts. Let everyone—players, officials, commentators, and fans—see the exact same countdown in real time.
And if golf needs a partner for that clock, it already has one.
We’ve all seen the oversized Rolex clocks sitting beside tee boxes.
Maybe it’s time they started counting down instead of simply telling time.
Now the conversation changes.
Fans don’t have to guess whether a player exceeded the limit.
They see it.
Players feel it.
Everyone understands it.
Just as the shot clock transformed basketball and the pitch clock transformed baseball, the discussion shifts from “Was that fair?” to “Manage your time better.”
Once the clock is visible, there is no ambiguity.
Only pressure.
And pressure is part of sports.
That’s where the LPGA is headed—and they’re right to go there. They’ve taken the hardest step by making pace of play enforceable.
Now they need to make it undeniable.
When that happens, the standard becomes simple.
You had the time.
You saw the clock.
It’s on you.
And once golf reaches that point, the PGA Tour—and eventually the rest of professional golf—won’t have much choice but to follow.
Which brings us back to your Saturday morning foursome.
If you’re the slower group…
Let the faster players through.
Everyone enjoys the game a little more.
Enjoy your Sunday. — MWM
Michael Mattingly is a freelance journalist from Smithton, Illinois, with a background in advanced mathematics and creative writing. He is a student of the game of golf, drawn to its pressure, rhythm, and unpredictability. He is also an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and a loyal Chicago Bears supporter
