The LPGA’s 2026 season has already seen as many as seven players slapped with slow-play penalties. Clearly, the existing rules weren’t doing enough to get players moving. So, the Pace of Play Committee decided to shake things up, introducing policy changes during a Tuesday meeting at The Annika in Belleair, Florida. And Nelly Korda, who has never been penalized for slow play, had a few thoughts on the update.

“I’m a big fan,” Korda said ahead of making her comeback after weeks at Pelican Golf Club. “Anything to get the game a little faster for us players, for fans, for everyone. I think they’re doing a really good job. I mean, at the end of the day, no one wants to be out here for five-plus hours. No player wants to. Nobody wants to watch it. I think we’re just moving in the right direction.”

Despite Korda’s optimism about the changes, the new policies will only come into effect during 2027. So, she and other players might have to endure slow play until next season. But what are the changes? Well, there are four changes to the LPGA’s pace-of-play policy: 

• Fines for 1–5 seconds over: Previously, players received a warning for exceeding their allotted time by 1–5 seconds. Starting in 2027, they will be fined instead.
• Fines added to one-stroke penalties: Players who exceed their allotted time by 6–15 seconds will continue to receive a one-stroke penalty, but will now also face a fine.
• Fines added to two-stroke penalties: Players who exceed their allotted time by 16 seconds or more will still receive a two-stroke penalty, but a fine will also be imposed.
• Reduced timing thresholds: The threshold for accumulating timed holes before facing a fine will drop from 40 to 35 holes. Additionally, the maximum time allowed for an individual shot will decrease from 70 to 60 seconds.

The changes come after a 2026 season in which the number of timed holes increased by 12%, yet the LPGA saw no overall improvement in pace of play. To ensure players understand the revised rules, the tour will also hold a seminar in January 2027 to brief them on the updated policies. And they better pay attention during the seminar because the slow play problem has only gotten worse in the last couple of years.

Just last year, the women’s golf league handed out three one-stroke penalties and two two-stroke penalties for slow play. Comparatively, those numbers have already climbed to five one-stroke penalties and two two-stroke penalties this season. And that was with two more events still remaining on the schedule.

The last golfers to receive pace-of-play penalties on the LPGA Tour this season were Carlota Ciganda and Yealimi Noh during LPGA Shanghai in October 2026. Over the years, both players have developed a reputation for slow play, and they are the ones who will have to make significant changes if they don’t want to lose money while trying to make some. 

Notably, the LPGA had previously overhauled its pace-of-play policy in February 2025, introducing a stricter penalty structure. And a month later, on March 19, 2025, the tour introduced an additional season-long tracking system, under which players accumulating 40 or more timed holes would also face a fine.

Having said that, it might intrigue you to learn which LPGA players received pace-of-play penalties this year. 

LPGA stars who got pace-of-play penalties

Under the current rules for pace-of-play, seven players have received penalties this year. Carlota Ciganda and Yealimi Noh made headlines at the 2026 Buick LPGA Shanghai after both received two-stroke penalties for slow play. Ciganda eventually finished fifth, while Noh was also penalized on Saturday.

However, they were not the only players to lose strokes this season. Five players received one-stroke penalties in 2026, including Jin Hee Im, who lost in a playoff at the JM Eagle LA Championship after being penalized on Saturday. Aprichaya Yubol also suffered a costly setback, losing the ShopRite LPGA Classic by one stroke a day after receiving her penalty.

The remaining players were amateur Victoria Cui, Cocona Sakurai, and amateur Ziyan Meng. 

Hopefully, this new, stricter pace-of-play policy will motivate players to move things along. But only time will tell whether the change translates into results.