“Over the past decade we’ve seen an increasing problem regarding pace of play in college golf." **
/A Golfweek Staff item reports on the Golf Coaches Association of America convening a summit to figure out who to solve the slow play problem in tournament golf.
“Over the past decade we’ve seen an increasing problem regarding pace of play in college golf,” Mark Crabtree, men’s coach at Louisville and president of the Golf Coaches Association of America, said in a news release. “Whether it is the size of fields, the increasing use of technology, hesitancy of tournament officials to penalize players or failure by players and coaches to adhere to pace of play guidelines, slow play has gotten out of hand and we as college coaches need to find the best solutions to combat this issue.”
Crabtree and incoming GCAA president Bruce Brockbank will co-chair the committee. Todd Satterfield, who coaches Furman and is on the Rules of Golf Committee, will join coaches Kyle Blaser (Oklahoma City), Devon Brouse (Purdue), Jamie Green (Duke), Mark Immelman (Columbus State), Doug Martin (Cincinnati), Casey Martin (Oregon), Tommy Snell (Mississippi Gulf Coast), Richard Sykes (N.C. State), Matt Thurmond (Washington) and Fred Warren (East Tennessee State). Other members: Tom Meeks, a former USGA senior director of rules and competitions; Tyler Dennis, PGA Tour director of competitions; Donnie Wagner, NCAA assistant director of championships; and Stephen Hamblin, the AJGA’s executive director.
**Former USGA championship agronomist Tim Moraghan recently worked the Big Ten and shared a few observations.
I saw players taking 10 to 20 practice swings per shot. (The record was 22; I'd have to quit the game due to muscle fatigue if I took that many practice swings.) One contestant lined up a putt for more than a minute, squatting, reading, taking eight practice strokes, and still missing three feet right.
