Golf is a sport that demands an extreme amount of etiquette to be followed. It’s a game that expects players to be cultured, and considerate of other players and staff involved. Overall, it requires one to carry themselves in the most socially acceptable way possible. Mostly the players adhere to the expectations, but sometimes they do slip up. 

One common complaint that is often raised by the golfing community against a player, though, is their pace. When a player slows down without warranting a genuine acceptable reason, it irks viewers and fellow players alike. One such moment happened in the Solheim Cup 2023 as well.

Harsh reaction to a certain moment during the Solheim Cup

A user recently uploaded a picture on X (formerly Twitter). The photo shows a player standing inches behind a hole. The pole is taken off of the hole, and a staff member near the player is holding it. 

The post stated that anyone who does that from that close of the hole is either selfish or clueless. And the comment section seemed to agree with him for the most part. One person pointed out that maybe the picture was timed wrong. They claimed that the player was actually looking at a ball marker she had dropped earlier. 

The exact circumstance remains unclear. Although, in the picture, the player is looking down at the hole intently. It looks like she is studying the hole for something. However, it’s not clear what she is trying to assess. Could this be part of the infamous Aimpoint Express technique?

AimPoint Express is a technique often used for reading greens in golf. Some golfers who follow this method might get very close to the hole for precise readings. Although the core idea of the concept is to determine the preferred aim point for the putt, which is not necessarily always the hole. 

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And in some cases, the act of following procedure could come across as redundant or a bit extra to some. A recent incident that happened in the golf scene might explain the harsh reactions a bit more clearly.

The BMW PGA Champions time delays

The recent BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth was a display of chaos to some extent at least. The event got delayed on the first round, which resumed on day 2. Then the same was repeated on day 2 as well.

The reason for the delay was mostly stated as some players not playing fast enough. Apparently, the management did not pay attention to that, as per reports. Prominent players had to wait for their turns while previous groups of players were still playing. 

The lack of proper pace maintenance was cited as the primary reason for the major delays in the event. It’s easy to lose track of time in golf when one plots the shots. 

However, anything is subject to perspective. Just because delays are bothersome, players can’t be expected to rush through their shots. That would defeat the whole purpose of the sport. But players should generally be concerned about not causing havoc in other players’ games. 

What happened here is quite unclear, in fact. While some claim this to be an intentional slow-paced game, others claim this is a misconceived viewpoint.

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