Time Will Tell

With the European Tour now in full swing and the lucrative Middle Eastern, desert swing events about to take place, the pace of play rules have been unveiled. I won't bore you with them and I’m sure, for you avid golfers you will hear plenty about them after this. Will it solve the problem of watching the best players drag themselves around the course? I hope it does the job. Shorter times for shots and earlier penalties looks like the crux of the changes though. Personally as with slower golfers in most places.

If they just walked a little quicker between shots they could warrant a little more time at the ball (if really needed) OK, the courses are longer and perhaps more challenging than our Club courses but they haven`t got to follow the lines with trollies or even clean their equipment and rake bunkers!

In Japan on their Major Tours, they have to stick rigidly to the time rules or penalties are passed on even sooner. It has made Tour golf in Japan "fast" by modern Professional standards, so why does it work there? Japanese people by and large are very respectful and not rule-breakers. Anyone who has been to Japan would agree. Trains run on time, everyone gets a seat and courtesy is never forgotten. Perhaps it`s just a case of respecting the rules and sticking to them.

Anyway, time will tell, the only problem might be the TV people could slip more adverts in the viewing slot!