I Timed 100 Golf Shots Hit By Club Pros – Their Pace Of Play Puts Slow Tour Players To Shame
I spent the day watching my local PGA event at Sand Moor Golf Club and I was impressed by the pace of play, so why is slow play such an issue on tour?
I am a fairly obsessed golf fan and watch almost every minute of the weekend action at many of the PGA Tour events on the schedule... but I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the slow play epidemic that is plaguing the top level of the game.
I've already written about how pace of play is a serious problem on the PGA Tour and at some Major Championships, evidenced by the ludicrous six-hour rounds at the 2026 PGA Championship, but with the luxuries afforded to elite professionals I am struggling to accept that they can't make the situation better fairly easily.
I spent the day at the PGA North 2026 and gathered some very interesting data on pace of play
The data from my investigation at the PGA North presents a stark contrast to the pedestrian pace of play that I regularly see on tour. These competitors, by comparison, where pretty rapid to be honest.
It's worth pointing out the parameters of my investigation before we get into the numbers.
I started the timer when the player was clear to play and it was their turn (for example, once their playing partner had hit and vacated the teeing area or the green had fully cleared ahead of them).
These are the same parameters I used for a similar experiment where I measured the pace of play at a PGA Tour event, which suggested that there were at least 26 instances of 'bad times' where players hadn't adhered to the pace of play policy.
After settling in at Sand Moor, I watched a total of 100 shots.
Of the 25 tee shots I witnessed, some professionals were taking as little as 25 seconds to hit. While others took up to 61 seconds, this was a real outlier and the average 'off the tee' time was a respectable 36 seconds.
A similar picture was seen on approach shots, with an impressive low-time of 12 seconds and a much less acceptable high of 90 seconds. The average once again measured around 36 seconds.
The fastest area of the game to complete was short game shots, ranging from 10 to 40 seconds barring one particular outlier that took 79 seconds (it was a particularly difficult shot over a bunker to a tight pin).
The slowest area of the game was putting, which is a similar picture to what I regularly see on the PGA Tour, but it was still much quicker than what we'd see from most top tour professionals.
The faster players were taking between 15 and 25 seconds to hit their putts, while the slower competitors took more like 50+.
Tee Shots
Time taken to hit a tee shot by pros at PGA North 2026
Time Taken (sec)
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| Tee Shot 1 | 49 |
| Tee Shot 2 | 33 |
| Tee Shot 3 | 55 |
| Tee Shot 4 | 30 |
| Tee Shot 5 | 33 |
| Tee Shot 6 | 61 |
| Tee Shot 7 | 52 |
| Tee Shot 8 | 23 |
| Tee Shot 9 | 25 |
| Tee Shot 10 | 61 |
| Tee Shot 11 | 20 |
| Tee Shot 12 | 25 |
| Tee Shot 13 | 32 |
| Tee Shot 14 | 45 |
| Tee Shot 15 | 25 |
| Tee Shot 17 | 40 |
| Tee Shot 16 | 28 |
| Tee Shot 18 | 25 |
| Tee Shot 19 | 33 |
| Tee Shot 20 | 37 |
| Tee Shot 21 | 46 |
| Tee Shot 22 | 42 |
| Tee Shot 23 | 25 |
| Tee Shot 24 | 29 |
| Tee Shot 25 | 34 |
I am aware that this sample size isn't indicative of every PGA pro at every PGA event, in the same way that pace of play is not a problem for every top tour pro, but it does paint an interesting picture to reflect on.
I must admit, watching proceedings at the PGA North tournament was like a breath of fresh air - and one notable difference was the absence of caddies.
The PGA Professionals in the field autonomously navigated their way around the golf course without the need to discuss every shot in detail with the person who carries their bag, which in turn improved the pace of play.
Don't get me wrong, some players in the field at the PGA North did have 'caddies', but their role appeared to more functional and limited to pushing the trolley or holding the umbrella.
The professionals on show at Sand Moor still went through a pre-shot routine, of varying lengths and degrees depending on the player, but in my experience it was consistently carried out swiftly without the need for minutes of discussion.
Elite professionals across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf seem to rely heavily on their caddie for support throughout the round, removing autonomy from the player and adding an unnecessary extra layer to the slow play problem.
As my colleague Joe Ferguson often says, perhaps it's time to get rid of caddies to improve slow play.
Are caddies negatively impacting pace of play at the highest level of tour golf?
Another interesting point of difference, which you would think actually gives an advantage to tour professionals, was a lack of spectators on the ground at Sand Moor.
There were pockets of golf enthusiasts on certain holes, but nothing like the three-deep waves of fans lining every hole at elite tour events.
Golfers in the PGA North were required to search for their own ball and maintain an efficient pace of play at the same time, which makes you wonder why a pace of play problem exists when tour professionals have so many extra eyes on their golf ball.
It's clearly important to note that the difficulty level of the courses being played on PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf events will be more challenging than the test posed at tournaments of this standard - but with the added support the players receive I would argue that this should at least nett out. Sadly, it doesn't.
There is also the fact that top tour pros are competing for ludicrous amounts of prize money and potentially even Major titles, so you can understand on a human level why they might take a little longer over each shot.
We do, however, have to hold professionals to account and ensure they are adhering to pace of play policies and setting a good example for other golfers.
Slow play affects everyone, from those on the course to those spectating, so we must all do more to solve the issue.
If professionals at the PGA North can hit shots in an average of 33 seconds without caddies and ball spotters, tour professionals should be held accountable for why many of them struggle to achieve a similar standard.
