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Mark Schlabach
The LPGA announced its new pace-of-play policy Thursday that includes lower timing thresholds for fines and penalties, including a new one-stroke penalty for golfers who take too long to hit their shots.
The circuit said the new policy, which is designed to speed up play on the women’s pro tour, will go into effect at the Ford Championship on March 27. It will also be enforced on the Epson Tour starting at the IOA Championship on April 25.
The new policy calls for a fine for any golfer who is 1 to 5 seconds over their allotted time on a hole, a one-stroke penalty for those 6 to 15 seconds over and a two-stroke penalty for those 16 seconds over or more.
Previously, the LPGA fined golfers who were 1 to 10 seconds over the allotted time and assessed a two-stroke penalty to those who were more than 11 seconds over.
“This new policy, which was player-led and developed through an established Pace of Play Committee, was created in what we believe is in the best interest of our brand, fans and the overall LPGA watching experience,” LPGA player president Vicki Goetze-Ackerman said in a statement. “Based on a data-backed approach and direct player input, this policy now acts as a stronger deterrent, ensuring players take warnings seriously before penalties become necessary.
“Our overall intention is to improve the pace of play on tour, and these updates mark a significant step toward creating a more efficient and enjoyable competitive environment, benefiting both our Members and our fans.”
LPGA golfers were informed of the new policy last week during a meeting at the Founders Cup in Bradenton, Florida.
The LPGA said golfers hitting first on par 4s and 5s will no longer receive an additional 10 seconds, except on reachable par 4s. Golfers hitting first on par 3s, approach shots and putts will still receive an additional 10 seconds. Players, for example, get 120 seconds to play a hole that requires them to take four strokes.
Golfers will still be warned and timed before fines and stroke penalties are levied. The tour said the fines incurred due to the accumulation of plus times and excessive shot timing will double each consecutive year a player violates the policy.
“I’m very excited about it,” world No. 1 Nelly Korda said last week. “I think that’s one of the things that I’ve just noticed over my time on tour is that we used to go from five hours, under five hours, to now you it’s just five and a half, typically, our rounds.
“So I think that implementing harsher rules is going to be good for the game of golf. They were saying at the meeting at the end of the day we’re a form of entertainment. If we’re taking really long out there, I mean, that’s not entertaining.”
According to Golfweek, the median time for threesomes in Rounds 1 and 2 at the Founders Cup was 4 hours, 31 minutes and 4 hours, 23 minutes, respectively. The average final round on Sunday was 3 hours, 48 minutes.