What are early returns on PGA Tour pace-of-play tests? Rules chief dishes on rangefinders

USA Today

08-05-2025

What are early returns on PGA Tour pace-of-play tests? Rules chief dishes on rangefinders
FLOURTOWN, Pa. – The PGA Tour's Distance measuring device test is coming to an end.
Pros have been allowed to use rangefinders at Tour events at six events over a four-week span beginning at the RBC Heritage last month and through the Truist Championship and Oneflight Myrtle Beach Classic this week. [Technically, pros have one more week since the PGA of America, which runs the PGA Championship next week at Quail Hollow Club, has permitted them for several years, but starting at the Charles Schwab Challenge the following week and for the remainder of the season they are back on the 'no-can-do list.']
Other than Davis Riley being dinged for misuse – he used the slope function, which isn't allowed – Gary Young, the PGA Tour's Chief of Rules and Competitions, said 'so far, so good,' on the test of new speed of play recommendations.
'We had that one unfortunate penalty last week with Davis Riley, and other than that, it's gone pretty well,' he said.
It's a small sample size but enough Young hopes to get feedback from players and caddies and crunch the numbers to determine if the DMDs are making a difference in pace of play. Young noted that the pace has been improving since it became a hot topic during the West Coast Swing. He said the average time at the RBC Heritage was 3 hours 50 minutes at Harbour Town Golf Links, arguably the flattest and easiest walk on Tour and as little as 3 hours and 20 minutes for certain groups. [The 72-man signature event field was played in twosomes allowing for the faster pace.]
'I think the guys are taking ownership and realizing they have got to make a change or something bad is going to come their way. They've heard all this talk about shot clocks and things that they don't feel having any place in the game,' Young said.
Announcing pace-of-play times is still a maybe
The Tour also has stated publicly that publishing a list of pace-of-play times, which would publicly shame the slowest players, is under consideration.
'What is eventually going to change their behavior, it's going to be stuff like that,' Young said. 'Mark Russell (former chief of rules and competitions) used to say it all the time – every player thinks they're a fast player until you show them on paper.
'The data's going to be important. When you sit down with them, and you say, 'This is over thousands of golf shots. Look at your average. Stop trying to make excuses. Don't tell me about the volunteer you had at such and such that you think was [the reason you had a slow time].' That's garbage. All that stuff's thrown out. When you're talking thousands of golf shots, you've got a problem, and you need to address it. When they hear that – and we're upfront with them on that – they need to change their behavior. You need to become more like the norm. I'm not asking you to be a fast player, but I do need you to be more like everyone else. You don't get more time to play than everyone else out here. That's what it boils down to.'
Distance-measuring devices are not the only testing going on
DMDs isn't the only test underway. The Korn Ferry Tour is evaluating a second pace-of-play measure. Under the revised Pace of Play Policy, which is in place for the remainder of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, the first offense of a 'bad time' will now result in a one-stroke penalty. Under the previous policy, a one-stroke penalty was not applied until a player received a second 'bad time.'
'The feedback I'm getting is that when they go out to warn a group, guys are afraid to get on the clock. Unless we stop the DMD period, we won't really have a chance to see which one of the two things that they're doing is resulting in the better place of play,' Young said.
It's a process, but at last, the Tour is making real strides to shore up one of its timeless problems.