Golf rewards patience, but Ryan Fox believes there is a difference between taking time to play a difficult shot and wasting time. The reigning Open champion has made his position clear. He believes professional golfers should be ready when it is their turn, not starting their decision-making while everyone else waits.
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Speaking ahead of the 2026 DP World India Championship, Fox revisited one of his biggest frustrations with the pace of play.
“My pet peeve is just guys not being ready when that’s their turn. I don’t think you can legislate that by rules. It’s just a bit of education, going, hey, guys it’s not hard to get your number, to have made your decision, and when it’s your turn to go you can be ready to go,” Ryan Fox said when EssentiallySports asked him about formulating a policy around pace of play.
However, the New Zealander was not hard-bent on it. He acknowledged that challenging course conditions and the pressure to earn ranking points and prize money can make decisions difficult. But he believes some delays are entirely avoidable, and fixing them does not require every golfer to adopt his exceptionally quick routine.
“There is obviously going to be some exceptions to that around a ruling or you’re directly in someone’s line or whatever else. But I guess, yeah, if we could have more guys ready when it’s their turn that would be great. I think a lot of guys do a good job of that, but there is definitely a select few that struggle with it. I guess it is what it is.”
Professional golf requires careful calculations, particularly when firm greens, challenging rough, and difficult pin positions complicate shot selection. The 39-year-old recognizes that these conditions can justify taking extra time. He also understands the financial and ranking implications attached to every tournament.
His frustration begins when a player waits until his turn to start working through those decisions.
This isn’t the first time; he voiced his frustrations in July 2026 on the Fore Play Podcast.
Back then, he said the same thing: his pet peeve is golfers not being ready during their turn. He even said that there are many other fast golfers who feel that way about the slow pace of play.
Fox’s comments carry additional weight because his quick playing style has become one of his defining characteristics. His approach was especially evident during his 2026 Open Championship victory at Royal Birkdale.
In the final round, Fox sank his winning 11-foot birdie putt just 22 seconds after his playing partner, Sam Burns, removed his ball from the hole. The moment showed how quickly Fox can prepare for a shot, even with a major championship on the line.
He has previously explained that limiting the time he spends thinking can keep unnecessary doubts from creeping into his game.
“The less time I have to think about it, the less bad stuff can creep in there,” Fox said.
His caddie, Dean Smith, has also described that consistency. He noted that Fox’s routine has remained unchanged across hundreds of tournaments.
But despite his frustration, Fox recognizes that introducing a straightforward rule to address the issue is easier said than done.
Having previously served on a DP World Tour committee, he has participated in discussions about possible ways to improve playing speed. He explained that common-sense rules can be hard to implement because players expect clear, written requirements.
That creates a challenge for tournament officials.
The Rules of Golf already encourage prompt play. Rule 5.6 recommends that players make their strokes within 40 seconds when they can play without interference or distraction. However, applying pace-of-play policies consistently remains a challenge for tournament organizers.
Recent enforcement efforts demonstrate that officials are taking the issue seriously. At the 2026 BMW PGA Championship, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood received bad times under the DP World Tour’s pace-of-play procedures.
The New Zealander also knows that his pace of play is unusual. Therefore, he ended his assessment with a touch of humor.
“If everyone played as fast as me that would be nice, but I know that’s not going to be the case,” he added.
Scottie Scheffler himself has acknowledged Fox’s speed. The two were playing in the same group with Zecheng Dou at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open. On the ninth tee, Scheffler said that it doesn’t feel like Fox is in the group because he plays so fast.
That admission captures the distinction at the center of Ryan Fox’s argument. He understands that golfers have different routines and that some shots demand more thought than others. What he finds difficult to accept is the time lost when players could have prepared earlier but chose not to.