The final group at the Farmers Insurance Open trudged through their round in a staggering 5 hours and 29 minutes, with the front nine alone consuming nearly three hours. This pace drew sharp criticism from CBS on-course reporter Dottie Pepper during the broadcast. Just a week earlier, at the American Express Open, another glacial pace saw the final group require 5 hours and 39 minutes to complete their round—taking almost as long as two NFL playoff games combined!

In response to these concerning developments, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced several measures in October 2024 for the 2025 season. The changes included reducing fines for “Excessive Shot Times” from $10,000 to $5,000 and “Bad Times” from $50,000 to $10,000 while introducing a new “Average Stroke Time” (AST) policy. Under this system, players receiving 10 ASTs face a $50,000 fine. However, these modifications have done little to address the fundamental issues plaguing professional golf’s pace of play.

The Tour’s relationship with slow-play penalties has a long and complicated history. Not since 1995, when Glen Day received a stroke penalty at the Honda Classic, has the Tour penalized a player with stroke additions in a regular individual event. The last recorded slow play penalty in any PGA Tour event came at the 2017 Zurich Classic, given to the team of Brian Campbell and Miguel Angel Carballo. This remarkable gap in enforcement highlights the growing disconnect between policy and implementation.

As the debate over slow play intensifies, one PGA Tour star has stepped forward with a powerful message: “Time for Real Penalties.”

Jay Monahan’s dilemma: The case for strict penalties

PGA Tour star Byeong Hun An didn’t mince words when addressing this issue on social media. “Giving penalty strokes will DEFINITELY help slow play,” he declared, directly challenging the Tour’s reliance on monetary penalties. An’s critique strikes at the heart of the matter—in an era of unprecedented purse sizes, financial penalties may no longer serve as effective deterrents.

The current system allows 120 seconds for the first player in a group to play their shot, with subsequent players allocated 100 seconds. However, An pointed to the complexities of implementing a more stringent system in a follow-up post: “I see the tough part. They HAVE to have it right. Exactly same for everybody when to start the clock. It’s not going to be easy.” This insight reveals the challenging balance between enforcing penalties and ensuring fair implementation across an entire field of players.

The effectiveness of the current penalty system has come under increased scrutiny. Groups are only timed when deemed “out of position,” a subjective measure that has led to inconsistent enforcement. The Tour’s reluctance to issue stroke penalties, combined with the minimal impact of fines on well-compensated players, has created a system many view as toothless.

Industry response and PGA Tour’s operational changes

Other tours have taken more decisive action. LIV Golf recently issued a $250,000 fine and one-stroke penalty to Adrian Meronk for slow play at their Jeddah event. Richard Bland faced a one-stroke penalty at Valderrama for taking 1 minute and 50 seconds on a tee shot. The DP World Tour has also shown greater willingness to enforce penalties, as demonstrated by Jacob Skov Olesen’s one-stroke penalty during the first round of the 2024 BMW Australian PGA Championship.

The Tour’s operational response includes testing distance-measuring devices during tournaments, plans to reduce field sizes in 2026 to space out tee times, implementing a new video review center for quicker rulings, and adjusting the definition of “out of position” for groups on par-3 holes. However, these measures have yet to significantly impact round times.

The slow play crisis represents an existential challenge for professional golf’s future. With rounds regularly exceeding five hours and younger audiences increasingly favoring shorter, more dynamic content, the pressure for meaningful change continues to mount. The question remains: will the Tour heed An’s call for stricter penalties, or will the tradition of marathon rounds continue to test the patience of players, broadcasters, and fans alike?

What’s your take on this ongoing debate? Should the PGA Tour implement stroke penalties instead of fines to address slow play? Share your thoughts on this crucial issue facing professional golf.