Professional Golf Is Starting To Crack Down On Slow Play... But Which Tour Is Doing The Most?

Professional circuits are doing more and more to stamp out slow play, with the various Tours implementing different strategies to combat it.

Whether it's monetary fines to its players, or shot penalties in tournament-play, the top circuits have found ways of penalizing those who aren't able to match the required pace of play.

In fact, the Korn Ferry Tour has even started publishing the Average stroke time (AST) data on its website, whereby it shows how players rank relative to the field averages, both for the tournament and season-long standings.

Other Tours haven't made this information public but, on the DP World Tour, it was revealed by Eddie Pepperell in 2024 that "one player paid over £100k in slow play fines."

What's more, along with the financial aspect, players are also given an immediate one shot penalty for two ‘bad times’ in a tournament rather than for two ‘bad times’ within a round.

In terms of timings, if players are out of position, then it's 50 seconds for the first individual to play, then 40 seconds for the second and 40 seconds for the third.

When in position, the time allowed to play a shot when being monitored is reduced by 15%. This means that it goes from 100 seconds and 80 seconds down to 85 and 70 respectively for the first player, and then the second and third to play.

Doing some digging since the updated pace of play policy, we can only see a few times where a penalty was publicly enforced for slow play, with it involving Gregorio de Leo and Jacob Skov Olesen.

Playing the 2026 Turkish Airlines Open, de Leo was in the hunt for the title going into the final round, but was penalized at the par 3 11th when, having been on the clock for slow play, he overstepped the 50-second time limit by an additional 30 seconds.

Handed a one-stroke penalty for his actions, Olesen also received a one-stroke penalty during the 2025 Australian PGA Championship, albeit his was less costly, as it came during the first round.

Reportedly, the Dane took nearly 130 seconds to hit his approach at the par 4 10th hole, with Olesen's score going from a par to a bogey. He would comfortably miss the cut, following rounds of 74 and 74.

The DP World Tour is certainly strict on slow play but, when it comes to publicly outing players, none are more vigilant than the LPGA Tour, which has distributed numerous pace of play penalties and fines.

Following two of the circuit's biggest players, Nelly Korda and Charley Hull, calling out slow play in tournaments, the LPGA Tour announced a new Pace of Play Policy, which it hasn't been afraid to enforce.

At the Buick LPGA Shanghai, Carlota Ciganda and Yealimi Noh were given two-stroke penalties for going over their allotted time, with both previously falling foul of stroke penalties and fines.

A few months earlier, the Slow Play Policy impacted Arpichaya Yubol, who was handed a one stroke penalty during the ShopRite LPGA. What's more, the Thai player missed out on a playoff spot by a single stroke, with the penalty the key difference.

It was a similar story for Chisato Iwai in 2025, as she narrowly missed the cut due to a two-stroke penalty being implemented.

The list doesn't stop there, as Jin Hee Im had a one-stroke penalty at the 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship and Yan Liu a two-shot penalty at the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship.

Infamously, at a US Women's Open qualifier in 2025, a massive nine players received penalties because of slow play, with one group called out in both the morning and afternoon rounds.

Seemingly, the LPGA Tour is leading the way when it comes to enforcing slow play and, during its short history, the LIV Golf League has not been shy to call out their players for not keeping up with play.

Richard Bland was the first victim to be given a slow play penalty, as he received an extra shot on his score in Valderrama.

In fact, the Englishman received a second slow play penalty a year later in Chicago, as the time to play his second shot exceeded the 40-second time limit. Along with a one-stroke penalty, he was fined $10,000.

A slow play penalty for Adrian Meronk two years ago cost the Polish star $240,000, as he was assessed a one-stroke penalty for taking more than two minutes to play a shot during LIV Golf Jeddah.

Since 2022, when the LIV Golf League's first event took place, it has handed out significantly more penalties for slow play than its PGA Tour counterparts...

This has been a topic of conversation for some time now as, when it comes to which circuits have been the most lenient on slow play, it's hard to argue that the PGA Tour tops that list.

Although John Catlin received a slow play penalty at the 2021 PGA Championship, the last time a slow play penalty was handed out in an official PGA Tour event was at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Obviously, the reason for not imposing penalties might just be down to the fact that the professionals are matching the required pace of play, including the designated shot timings, which sit at around 4 hours 45 minutes.

As fellow Golf Monthly writer, Fergus Bisset alluded to, players on the PGA Tour do tend to speed up when warned, but perhaps the four hours and 45 minute time period is too long an average target time for the world's best.

Either way, when looking at the broad spectrum of professional circuits, it's quite clear to see that the measures are being done, and that the most impact being made is when these pace of play incidents are made public to the golf loving viewer.

Notable Slow Play Penalties In Professional Golf