In another letter to membership, this PGA Tour veteran called out slow play and commitment

USA Today

05-02-2025

In another letter to membership, this PGA Tour veteran called out slow play and commitment
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Rory McIlroy talks about winning at iconic venues like Pebble Beach
Rory McIlroy wins AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for 27th win on PGA Tour, doing so at an iconic golf course.
Charley Hoffman is the latest PGA Tour player to pen a letter to membership.
Hoffman, the 48-year-old who has won four times in his career, sent a letter to PGA Tour players on Sunday night, as GOLF Magazine's Sean Zak shared on social media.
Among his notes, Hoffman pointed out the Tour's recent issues with pace of play, how players can work better with broadcast partners and also threw subtle digs at players who aren't playing in only PGA Tour events throughout the year.
Hoffman has been on the Player Advisory Council a handful of times and also served on the PGA Tour's Policy Board. Now, he felt as if he needed to speak up, on the heels of Justin Thomas doing the same a couple weeks ago.
"We've taken a lot of heat over the past few weeks about slow play. And yeah, it's an issue — for our fans, for us as players — cutting down field sizes will help, but only by a few minutes a day," Hoffman said. "As players, we still need to make a concerted effort to speed up. Pace of play has been a challenge my entire 20 years on Tour, and it was an issue 20 years before that. Golf is a tough game, and when conditions get extreme, it takes time to play it the right way. We all need to take responsibility to be ready when it's our turn to play and having the awareness to realize that we are out of position and speed up even before the rules official shows up. We do it all the time, we just need to be more aware of it!"
Pace of play has become a big focal point of the Tour in recent weeks, with even broadcasts calling out the issues. Dottie Pepper did so at the Farmers Insurance Open when the leaders took 3 hours to play their first nine holes in the final round, then Tom Kim was under the microscope Sunday when he took more than a minute to hit an approach shot that proceeded to go out of bounds.
Thomas' letter focused on how players can assist in helping broadcast partners by being more receptive to interviews before and during play, which Hoffman agreed with in his memo.
Then Hoffman continued, speaking about the AON Swing 5, which is supposed to award spots in signature events to players who have played their way into them by strong finishes in the week between those elevated tournaments.
"But like anything new, we need to make sure it's working as intended," Hoffman continued. "This year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, only two players got into the field from this category before the deadline, ad three of the alternates also qualified via AON Swing 5. So in my mind we only got two new unique playing opportunities for our members. As a PAC member, we will be sure to continue monitoring this to make sure these initiatives help the guys they're meant to."
His biggest point came last.
'Here's something else to think about; If we truly care about strengthening our Tour, we should be supporting as many PGA Tour events as we can," Hoffman said. "Many of you keep saying you want to play fewer events, yet you still find time for TGL, Race to Dubai, and other non-PGA Tour events, and that's going to continue regardless of field size.
'The best competition happens when the best players go head-to-head in a deep, competitive field — not in small, limited-entry events that leave deserving players on the outside looking in. This Tour was built on open competition, where anyone with the game to compete has a chance to prove it against the best. That's what has made our Tour special for generations, and we need to keep pushing for that.'
Hoffman didn't directly call out any players with his last statement, but with 24 PGA Tour players competing on the TGL this year and others also playing in the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai events throughout the season, including last month at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, there are many names who could fit into the description.
Hoffman's letter finished by saying he wanted players to come together and put on a great show for the fans, giving them the strongest competition and moving the PGA Tour forward in the right direction.
"This is our Tour — let's make it stronger together," he closed.