While the Masters is the first major of the year, routine approach shots still don’t get significant limelight. But that’s exactly what happened when Justin Rose took his time over it. It was not just a basic calculation he did with his caddie, Mark “Fooch” Fulcher. They had a lengthy conversation about how to proceed. What followed was a flood of reactions, sharp, divided, and impossible to ignore, not just for him, but for the commentators, too.

“Two minutes, 50 seconds of Rose-Fooch dialogue on this approach into 9. Not one word from Bacon or Wagner. Beautifully done,” Josh Carpenter wrote in an X post.

The post features a 2-minute 50-second video of Rose and Fulcher communicating about the iron shot to take.

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“I think it’s a strong nine iron, but it’s touch and go. I mean, eight, I think, is just, like, skipping up through the back. Okay. Ideally, like, a little slight lull in the wind,” Justin Rose said.

To which Fulcher replied, “Okay. I’m not feeling there’s enough there to, you know, to get the right shot here, it’s going to be enough. I’d be happy with that.”

Justin Rose is in contention to be one of the top finishers midway. It is a good chance for him to get past the finish line this time after a heartbreaking playoff loss against Rory McIlroy last year. Therefore, he is taking every step very thoughtfully this time, discussing everything with his caddie in detail.

He is even using a new device for his putting. The aim of using the device was to reduce the rotation in his left forearm. Justin Rose’s putting coach, Phil Kenyon, noticed that there’s a lot of rotation in his left forearm, which opens the face of the club.

Their conversation included debate around wind direction, yardages, club choice (strong 9-iron vs. 8-iron), and pin position on the par-4 9th, which is a strategic hole at Augusta National with its elevated green. However, some fans felt that such an in-depth discussion over basic calculations was unnecessary and a waste of viewers’ time.

Their frustration, hence, became evident when Josh Carpenter shared his post on X.

Fans split as “slow play” debate takes center stage

For many viewers, the issue wasn’t just the nearly three-minute exchange. Per them, it was a relatively straightforward approach into the 9th. One user wrote, “Big Rosie fan, but yeah, almost 3 mins to do some pretty basic calculating with a 9i from 140 out in the middle of the fairway during the second round can’t be a thing.”

Well, Rose has already hit a lot of similar shots. For instance, at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational, he hit a 207-yard approach shot on the par-4 9th hole. He made a birdie there. So, while there were shifting wind conditions at play, many fans felt the situation still didn’t justify such an extended breakdown.

One fan said, “Put him on the clock!” while another wrote, “It’s not beautiful. It’s slow play! I love Rosie but this is taking the piss!!”

The Masters’ pace policy relies on “reasonable time” guidelines. While there’s no official number, most shots typically take around 40 to 50 seconds. However, unlike PGA Tour events, there are rarely any clock activations at Augusta National.

But these comments make even more sense given the similar backlash the host faced during the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Bailey Shoemaker, who underwent surgery to repair cubital tunnel syndrome in her right arm in October 2025, was taking multiple practice shots before actually hitting the ball. She was doing it to figure if she would feel pain when playing the shot. However, fans called it a case of ‘frustrating’ slow play.

Yet, in a welcome display, the commentator’s silence was lauded as professional.

“Good commentators know when to say nothing,” one fan wrote. Another chimed in, writing, “Thought the exact same thing. They left it alone and it was glorious!”

Well, this comes after the PGA Tour ran a “Fan Forward” survey of some 50,000 people in 2025, asking for what innovations they wanted to see. And more conversations between players and caddies were one of the top responses from both casual and core fans. The Arnold Palmer Invitational respected the demand by cutting down its commercials then.