Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsiTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
The PGA Tour’s scarce stroke penalties for slow play do not, by themselves, prove that pace is acceptable—or that the policy is failing. Golf Monthly reported that Brian Campbell and Miguel Angel Carballo were each penalized one stroke for a second bad time in the first round of the 2017 Zurich Classic, and that the Tour’s median round time in 2025 was 4 hours 46 minutes against a reported average target of 4 hours 45 minutes. Those figures point to a median close to target, not a verdict on every event, group, or player. The stronger case for change is to make targets, individual timing, legitimate-delay allowances, and public reporting work together.
What the absence of penalties does—and does not—show
Golf Monthly’s 2026 report identifies the 2017 Zurich Classic penalty as the latest PGA Tour stroke penalty for slow play: Brian Campbell and Miguel Angel Carballo each received one stroke after a second bad time in the first round of the pairs event. The same report gives a 2025 Tour median round time of 4:46 and an average target of 4:45. Read Golf Monthly’s account and figures.
A one-minute difference between those reported figures is not proof that every round is moving well. A median can sit near a tour-wide target while particular events, groups, or stretches of a course run slowly. Nor does the lack of a stroke penalty tell us how many players were timed, how often officials recorded bad times, or whether the policy changed behavior. Penalties are an enforcement outcome; round duration and the experience of groups are separate measures.
The policy question is therefore not simply whether the Tour should issue more strokes. It is whether event-specific targets are realistic and consistently enforced, whether officials can address an individual who is slow even when the group is in position, and whether spectators can see enough data to judge results.
#1 Best Overall
How the available PGA Tour handbook handles slow play
The 2024 PGA Tour Player Handbook uses pace charts set for each venue rather than one universal group time. A following group may be deemed out of position if it exceeds its allotted time and reaches an open par 3, a par 4 before playing from the tee, or a par 5 before all players have teed off. The Rules Committee also retains discretion to time a group when necessary, or an individual it considers unreasonably slow regardless of the group’s position. See the 2024 PGA Tour Player Handbook.
Timing and shot limits
After a warning, officials may time a player or the group. A player who is being timed generally has 40 seconds to play a stroke, with 10 additional seconds in specified situations when playing first. The handbook separately defines excessive shot times as more than 120 seconds for the first player or 100 seconds for subsequent players, absent a valid reason.
These are different thresholds serving different purposes: the ordinary time allowance applies during individual timing, while the higher excessive-time definition identifies particularly long shots. The handbook’s stated exceptions and officials’ judgment matter because a difficult lie, unusual circumstances, or another valid reason can affect whether a time counts.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
When a bad time becomes a stroke penalty
Under the 2024 handbook’s tournament progression, a first bad time brings no penalty, a second brings one penalty stroke, a third brings two, and a fourth results in disqualification. Bad times carry over through the tournament. The system therefore allows a player to accrue a violation before losing a stroke, and its practical force depends on officials timing and recording violations.
Rank #3
- Conforming Design: USGA/R&A Rule Conforming PGA Tour yardage book (rule 4.3) sized at 6.5 x 3.75 inch. The essential golf journal.
- What's Included: 4 blank golf yardage books with 22 pages (Holes 1-18 + extra notes pages) on high quality 60 lb paper. Fits easily inside your Golf scorecard holder.
- Designed to fit easily inside your golf notebook back pocket, this yardage book is ideal for keeping track of your golf club distance card and improving your game.
- This 4-pack of golf books serves as a comprehensive golf journal and log book, allowing you to record every detail of your rounds and enhance your putting practice.
- Tour Design: Fits in your back pocket or in any standard yardage or scorecard book holder or without because of our high quality gloss covers.
What has been changed or tested
2020 policy enhancements
In January 2020, the PGA Tour announced policy enhancements that included higher fines, the possibility of more frequent stroke penalties, and individual timing of a player observed as slow even when the group remained in position. The Tour’s announcement describes the changes. That individual-timing authority addresses one weakness of relying only on group position: a slow player need not hold up the group long enough to make it officially out of position before officials can act.
2025 developmental-tour test
In April 2025, the Tour reported tests of Speed of Play Working Group recommendations on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour, and said PGA Tour Americas had adopted a revised policy before its 2025 season. Under that developmental-tour policy, the first bad time carries a one-stroke penalty. The Tour said it would evaluate data from the tours and that a new policy could be implemented on the PGA Tour as early as 2026. Read the Tour’s testing announcement and its PGA Tour Americas policy announcement.
Rank #4
- Portable Golf Rules & Club Distance Cards: This product includes a set of 8 cards with golf rules quick reference 2024 and golf club distance chart. These truly are a must have with your golf bag.
- Rules at your fingertips: Flipping through a rule book or googling rules on the course is tedious. During tournament-level play, you can hang this on your bag—it's great to have everything at your fingertips when something comes up. And if a casual group gets into a rules dispute, having these cards on hand is invaluable. Every golfer should have this on their bag; it clears up any rule confusion!
- The best golf accessory: The club distance card is also extremely practical, especially for beginners. It lists the distances for each club based on three levels: Beginners, Standard, and Experienced. Using these numbers, you can get a pretty good idea of how far you would hit particular club. This rocks!
- Easy to attach and keep handy: It easily clips onto your golf bag, roughly the size of a credit card. An ideal companion for practicing and improving your skills on the course. These are waterproof and are of high quality. The tags are durable, laminated rule cards and range cards that are easy to read and resistant to wear and tear, even in outdoor conditions.
- A great gift for any golfer, this essential addition to golf bag accessories is ideal for golf training aid and practice. Whether you're searching for golf gifts for men, golf gifts for women, or golf gifts for dad, this practical tool belongs in every golfer’s collection of golf gear.
That announcement describes a test and a possibility, not confirmation that the main PGA Tour adopted the first-bad-time penalty in 2026. The available 2024 handbook and 2025 announcements establish the rules and test described here; they do not establish a later main-tour policy change.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Public pace statistics
In March 2025, the Tour said it would begin publishing speed-of-play statistics as a transparency measure. See the Tour’s announcement. Publishing measurements can help fans and officials identify where pace problems occur and whether policies coincide with improvement. The announcement does not demonstrate that publication alone shortens rounds.
Best Value
- FOR THE PATRIOTIC GOLFER: This golf yardage book, golf notebook, and golf notepad is a must-have for any patriotic golfer looking to deliver those winning shots every time
- WHAT'S INCLUDED: Get four blank golf notebook back pocket golf yardage books, each with 42 pages, including a golf club yardage chart (similar to as golf club distance card) to help you track your distances on the course
- MADE IN THE USA: Our high-quality golf log book pocket size is manufactured in the USA with thick, premium-quality paper, and is the perfect golf journal & log book, golf yardage card and golf notebook for club yardage
- CONFORMING DESIGN: USGA Rule Conforming PGA yardage book (rule 4.3) sized at 4x6.5 inch
- PRACTICAL SIZE: Our golf notebook fits most golf yardage book holders in your back pocket
Which policy would be more effective?
There is no causal evidence in these cited materials that identifies a single winning intervention or quantifies how much any one change would shorten PGA Tour rounds. The useful comparison is between what each option targets and what it risks:
| Policy lever | What it addresses | Trade-off or evidence limit |
|---|---|---|
| Shorter, course-specific group targets | Congestion at the group and course level; targets can reflect venue layout and conditions. | Targets that ignore legitimate delays or difficult course setups may be unrealistic; the sources do not quantify a round-time effect. |
| Consistent individual timing, including in-position players | Individual responsibility that can be obscured by group-based thresholds. | Requires officials to observe, time, and record players reliably; the sources do not establish the staffing or enforcement burden. |
| A stroke penalty for a first bad time | Raises the immediate consequence compared with the handbook progression, where the first bad time has no penalty. | Could make enforcement more consequential, but the developmental-tour test does not establish its effect on main-tour round duration. |
| Public event and player statistics | Visibility into which events, groups, or players are slow and whether outcomes change over time. | Measurement supports accountability; it is not evidence by itself that rounds will become faster. |
The R&A’s pace-of-play resources also frame pace as a matter of management practices, course setup, and player behavior, not sanctions alone. See the R&A’s pace-of-play resources. That broader frame matters: a policy focused only on punishing a player cannot, by itself, resolve delays created by course congestion or operational choices.
A practical policy proposal
Golf Monthly contributor Fergus Bisset, identified by the publication as a qualified Rules official, argues that the reported 4:45 average target is too long. He proposes a target of about 4:20 and considers reducing the standard shot allowance from 40 to 35 seconds. These are his recommendations, not adopted PGA Tour rules. Read Bisset’s proposal in Golf Monthly.
A defensible reform would combine tighter venue-specific targets with clear individual timing, preserve a defined allowance for legitimate delays and unusual shot conditions, and publish event- and player-level pace statistics. A first bad time could carry a stroke, as in the PGA Tour Americas test, but only if the Tour also makes timing criteria and valid reasons clear enough for players and spectators to understand. The Tour should evaluate the package by event and over time rather than treating a single median or the number of penalties as a complete measure of success.
That approach distinguishes individual accountability from group and course congestion, while making it possible to tell whether faster targets are realistic and whether enforcement is applied consistently. The cited reports establish experiments and measurements, but not which mix has already reduced main-tour round duration or by how much.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
