When the PGA Tour went public earlier this year with steps being implemented to improve the pace of play, it was careful not to suggest round times were suddenly going to drop by 20 minutes.
Think slow but steady progress.
That’s what the tour has found through its initial phase of testing the use of distance measuring devices and a more aggressive enforcement policy on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
Overall, round times are down by approximately five minutes on the PGA Tour and the use of DMDs (also known as rangefinders) seems likely to become a permanent part of the PGA Tour by next year.
As part of its emphasis on pace of play, the tour began posting how long it takes on average to play each hole as part of its hole statistics at the Rocket Classic. Within those numbers, it can show how long each group takes to play each side and compare it to the average.
That doesn’t matter as much when a group is “in position” on the course, meaning it has kept up with the group in front, but it is a significant factor when a group falls “out of position,” necessitating an official nudge to pick it up from a tour official.
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