PGA Tour's Slow Play Policy Needs Work (First)

As the European Tour unveils a shot clock this weekend at GolfSixes, AP's Doug Ferguson considers the PGA Tour's first slow play penalty in nearly 22 years and says the policy is the problem.

Talking to players who did cite the right causes (fast greens, Brian Harman) or reasons no action has occurred sooner (tournaments somehow finishing on time, Pat Perez), it still comes down to policy.

Here's what is not in the book - when players are put on the clock, that's not their first interaction with a rules official. They first are asked to pick up the pace, a courtesy to allow for outside circumstances (such as a lost ball). Secondly, while timing is not an exact science, players are not given a bad time if they go a few seconds over the limit. A bad time generally is a really bad time.

Either way, it's a bad policy.

''If a slow player gets behind and they're asked to pick it up, the first question they ask is, 'Am I on the clock?' Because if they're not on the clock, they're not going to change,'' Haas said. ''If they are on the clock, they change. I don't like that. Because then all they do is run down the fairway.''