As golf changes with stronger players and better equipment, another issue is causing tension- how long it takes to play a round. The pace of play has been a talking point in pro golf for years, with many saying that rounds take far too long. Now, two well-known golfers from different eras have spoken out, taking opposite sides. Their disagreement highlights a deeper split in how the game should be played moving forward.

Scottie Scheffler feels differently

In a recent podcast appearance, European golf legend Colin Montgomerie, a former Ryder Cup star and long-time rival of Tiger Woods, didn’t hold back. The veteran, ranked fourth all-time in European Tour wins, was dismayed by what he sees as the deterioration of the game’s rhythm and discipline. Citing a recent round at Woking Golf Club, it was a stark contrast to the pace of play he now sees dominating the professional circuit. Montgomerie expressed how the slow play has been plaguing professional golf with a minimum of five-hour rounds in every tournament, something contradictory to the three-hour rounds he was accustomed to while playing on the tour.

“You know, the two-ball thing here at uh, at Woking Golf Club works well. It’s a two-ball golf club. Uh, we played what, nine holes this morning in less than an hour and a half without rushing. I didn’t feel I rushed at all. We played in less than an hour and a half. And that was the way I was brought up. I’m older than you guys. I was brought up on golf taking three hours. Whether you’re in a two-ball or a three-ball, golf took three hours to play. And uh anybody that played slower than that, you know, was almost thrown out the club,” Montgomerie said, highlighting that even today, he doesn’t take longer than three hours to finish a round of 18 holes.

But unlike what he grew up with, and the pace of play during his time on the professional tours, he added that rounds now have gone from three to four to even five hours and beyond. “I mean, it was then it got to four hours, which was, and now it’s five, and now it’s is it five plus? You’ll see the open championship coming up, three bowls, no one will get around in less than 5 hours. And it’s and it’s wrong. I don’t know what we’ve got to this stage. I don’t know how it’s got to this stage, but it’s got to change. We have to get it back to uh to 4 hours maximum to play a round of golf, ” the veteran continued to add with a warning about the upcoming Open Championship.

The comments made by Montgomerie came in stark contrast to those made earlier this year by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who brushed off the pace-of-play debate as largely inconsequential to fans and the game’s larger mission. “The pace of play debate is funny. I think people want to watch exciting golf. I think that’s what it’s all about. Let’s say if we do all these changes, and we save 20 minutes off of a round of golf. Is somebody going to sit down on the couch on Sunday and go, ‘Well, I didn’t have five hours to watch a round of golf, but I’ve got four hours and 40 minutes. Now I’m in,” Scheffler said earlier in April in response to the PGA Tour’s coping mechanism to include rangefinders to curb slow play. Scheffler added that it would hardly make a difference and would maybe save everyone only a couple of minutes.

He added that instead of micromanaging the pace of play, energy and resources should be spent more on growing the game —“I think, if we’re going to spend a lot of time and energy, I think where I would want to spend it is get more people involved in the game of golf. More people are able to come and play. It’s a great game. It’s a great sport. You learn a lot of life lessons playing golf.” The contrasting opinions from two of the greatest in golf highlight not only the generational divide but also a broader perspective in the sport. While veterans like Montgomerie view slow play as an erosion of golf’s integrity and etiquette, modern players like Scheffler see the issue as a minor inconvenience, secondary to golf’s growing reach and appeal. But do other players on the PGA Tour feel that the pace of play is as insignificant as Scheffler does?

PGA Tour players on measures to curb slow play

Earlier in March, Jay Monahan announced that the PGA will start releasing the names of players who play the fastest or the slowest as a measure to curb slow play. And several players, including Collin Morikawa, felt it was the right move. “I think it should be released; I don’t know why you wouldn’t want it to be released,” Morikawa said ahead of the 2025 Players Championship.  He continued to suggest, in contrast to Scheffler’s statement, that players should be penalized where it hurts the most, i.e., giving penalties —“I think you just have to start stroking guys and giving guys actual penalties, whether it be strokes or FedExCup. What I’ve learned is that monetary fines are useless.” 

Even Justin Thomas, who admitted to being a slow player himself, was in favour of the names being released. “It definitely is,” Justin Thomas said when asked if he thought releasing the names would be a positive development. “If we put it in the locker room or put it out — nobody wants to be known as that. I’m the first to admit I’m on the slow side of players,” Thomas continued to add.

Even Charley Hoffman, earlier in February, wrote a letter to his fellow players stating that they had to do something about the pace of play. “We all need to take responsibility to be ready when it’s our turn to play and have the awareness to realize that we are out of position and speed up even before the rules official shows up. We do it all the time, we just need to be more aware of it!” the four-time winner of the PGA Tour said in response to the constant heat they were facing about the pace of play.