Martin Dempster: Swift action against slow play is a move to be welcomed

Published on 26/06/2012 00:00

START at the top in the hope it will permeate downwards. Recent action against slow play taken by the European Tour and – during last week’s Amateur Championship at Troon – the R&A is great news for the game at grass-roots level.

Club golfers think slow play is acceptable because they watch the game played at a snail’s pace on television and some don’t seem to mind if a round takes up half their day.

Others do and have become so fed up with the pace of play that they’ve started to turn their back on the sport.

The R&A have woken up to this and let’s hope the one-shot penalty imposed on English teenager Nathan Kimsey at Troon is a sign of things to come.

“We do have a concern that the game is getting slower and slower and there is a potential for affecting the membership of golf clubs throughout the world because it takes so long to play and people don’t just have the time required,” acknowledged Jim McArthur, chairman of the championship committee.

Part of the problem at club level in particular is that players are not in position when it’s their turn to play, hence the R&A feeling there is need to “educate” people. “You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that a lot of games are played in sequence when they should be played in parallel, people should be ready to play and getting to ready to play,” added McArthur.

“We realise we’re not going to change this overnight, but it’s a process we’ve started and will develop.”