Cog Hill Has Lost A Starting Time Per Hour To A Reachable Par-5

Since Jack Nicklaus spoke up about distance impacting pace of play, many have seized on his 20% reference as a nice way of distracting from the Golden Bear's core arguments. GolfAdvisor's Brad Klein joins that frey and while his piece makes a phenomenal case for distance restrictions due to a number of reasons, he tries to make the case that slow play could not possibly be caused by the ball flying longer distances.

Then writes:

Nicklaus seems to think the problem with distance is that it’s causing slow play. The evidence for that claim is scant and fleeting. The closest I have ever seen is a view voiced by course owner Frank Jemsek concerning Cog Hill Golf Course No. 1, part of a multi-course facility the family owns in Chicagoland. Jemsek is adamant that they’ve lost one starting time an hour because of slow play on the opening hole, a par-5 that lots of middle-handicappers think they can hit in two – and so they wait before playing up.

But none of that is relevant to PGA Tour pacing, where a major culprit for slow play is the players who play slowly.

Anyone who has seen pro golf at the same course over the last twenty years can attest that par-5s once barely reachable, can now be reached in two by at least half the field. And par-4s barely drivable are now long par-3s. The examples are extreme compared to the fine example shared by Mr. Jemsek above, but to say PGA Tour slow play is mostly caused by slow players ignores mountains of evidence suggesting otherwise, including from the recreational level where a longtime operator has seen and felt a change.