Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Time travel into future
I BELIEVE we saw the future of golf at last week’s successful Shot Clock Masters in Austria.
The players embraced the challenge of having a time limit placed on their shots and slow play was tackled head on in an exciting format.
Coaches – who drill a mantra of routine and time-consuming structure into the sport’s up and coming stars – have a lot to answer for these days.
Modern players are programmed to within an inch of their lives and they’re performing like slow motion puppets.
It is mind-numbingly dull for the galleries and viewers watching at home.
The Shot Clock initiative encouraged a quicker, more instinctive style of golf and rounds were reduced by an average of 40 minutes. The product was a lot better as a result.
It remains to be seen if it becomes the norm, but I genuinely hope the new format is introduced to more tournaments before the year is out.
Granted, it is more expensive to monitor every group, but if the spectacle is more fluid and entertaining as a result, it’s a price worth paying.
The European Tour deserves a lot of credit for being innovative and while it has taken time to address the blight of slow play, the waiting could now be over in more ways than one.