Let’s face it. The
USGA’s 10 amateur championships are played more
or less in a vacuum—beyond the
friends and families of the
competitors,
almost no one notices who wins, much
less what
the pace of play is. At
the U.S. Open, however, the USGA has the
opportunity to set a shining
example for a worldwide
television audience of
millions.
OK, the system isn’t perfect. So what? Golf isn’t an exact
science.
In fact, it’s not a science at all, despite the proclivity of some tour
players to treat each shot as an exhaustive experiment in physics,
geometry,
agronomy, meteorology, kinesthetics and psychology.
Say the
USGA comes down hard
on a few players. What’s the
downside? A whine or
two from the likes of Ben
Crane? I
suspect they’d be drowned out by the
chorus of approval from their
peers. Besides, the system has a built-in
appeals process, so
every accused
offender has the opportunity for a
postround
hearing.
Moreover, when it
comes to pace of play, there is no reason for the
USGA or R&A to be as
fearful as they are of regulating
equipment—imposing a limit on time will not
bring a
billion-dollar
lawsuit from Rolex. Nor can they hide behind the other
rationale
they’ve used on equipment—that most amateur golfers
want to keep the
status quo. Most amateurs may want to hit the
ball longer, but they
don’t want
to stay on the course longer.
Still the sense is that the USGA is taking the
same timid stance as
they have on the question of throttling back the golf ball:
Let the PGA
Tour take the lead.
Fine. Now that a sound and defensible system
is in place, maybe Tim
Finchem will show some courage and business sense. Seven
years
ago, the
commissioner challenged the game’s movers and shakers to
transform golf
into America’s No. 1 spectator sport. Instead,
television ratings
are
down and golf participation over the
past decade has been flat at best. One
big reason: Golf is slow, both
playing and watching.
So commissioner,
perhaps “for the good of the game” and to enhance
your legacy, you’d like to
step up and do what those amateurs
at the
USGA won’t. My guess is that Tiger
Woods will applaud
you for it, and
once that happens, a lot of things will fall
into place.
Faster pros will mean faster amateurs, making the game more
appealing, especially to young people. That will translate
into more
rounds,
more equipment sold, more lessons, more hot
dogs and beers
consumed. It will
also mean more viewers,
higher sponsor fees and
fatter broadcast rights—and as
we all
know, those are the numbers that
really matter to the Tour.
It will
become crystal clear who the fastest and slowest players
are. I’d suggest, Mr.
Commissioner, that said list be
published weekly
so we all know the identities
of the winners
and sinners. Indeed, if I
were in your shoes, I’d look at the
list at the end of each year,
identify the slowest 25 players
on Tour, and
summarily revoke their
playing privileges. Do
that for a few years, and my guess
is that
everyone will be
nicely up to speed!
