Shane Lowry calls for shot penalties to end slow play scourge

The curse of slow play should be eradicated by the imposition of shot penalties, according to Shane Lowry, one of the speedier players in the sport, who – ironically – yesterday received an email from the PGA Tour in America informing him he had been placed on the clock five times so far this year.

“I don’t think that’s a reflection of me, I think it’s a reflection of the players I was playing with,” insisted Lowry of the emailed record of his timings on tour.

With the prospect of tough weather conditions for at least the first two days of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open which gets under way here on the Ryder Cup Palmer Course tomorrow, Lowry claimed the only way to counteract slow play was by penalising players strokes: "It's the only way they can police it, I think," said Lowry, adding that imposing financial penalties on players didn't make any impact.

Slow play is the bane of professional golf, with rounds at The Players in Sawgrass, for instance, taking up to six hours to complete in the third round. Nobody would like to see snail play replicated here.

Actual speed

As US Masters champion

Danny Willett

observed, “There’s a need to nail down on how long it takes for you to play your shot every now and again, but the actual speed of rounds at times is determined by the golf course, wind, length and stuff like that . . . nobody wants to see a six hour round, we don’t want to play a six hour round, but sometimes you’re playing for a lot of money, world ranking points and there’s a lot on the line.

“To take an extra 15, 20 seconds over a shot could be the difference between a shot and over losing a shot. Is it worthwhile taking a fine or a penalty or whatever it is? It’s a tricky one to get fully right.”

Where once Pádraig Harrington had a reputation for being a slow player, he has speeded up his between shot routine and reckons he has only being on the clock once on both US and European Tours in the past few years.

“Some people are information gatherers and you can’t speed that up. Other people are more instinctive and quicker. You just have to work within the parameters as a pro, be very aware what’s happening, know when it’s your turn to play. If you’re the shortest drive, you should be the first guy to the ball. It could be as simple as walking quicker between shots, if you’re first to play. There’s lots of little things that speed up a group and if you’re aware of it, it should never be a problem,” said Harrington.

Only two players in recent years – Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang at the Masters in 2013 and Ross Fisher at the Wales Open in 2012 – have received penalty shots for slow play but Lowry believes that the European Tour apply far greater pressure on players to maintain speed of play.

"When you see [referees] John Paramor or Andy McFee coming along, you know you want to speed up and you know they will be hard on you . . . a few times I have been put off my stride a little bit but my caddie Dermot [Byrne] would normally be good about telling me to slow down and take my time."

Lowry is in a rush of a different kind, coming into the Irish Open and next week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. He is hoping that two good weeks will help his bid to qualify for Europe’s Ryder Cup team for the match against the United States and, at the same time, put him out of a scheduling quandary that currently leaves him uncertain about defending his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title.

Due to changes to the tournament calendar to facilitate golf’s return to the Olympics, the Bridgestone has been brought forward to June into direct conflict with the French Open on the European Tour. The Bridgestone won’t have any Ryder Cup points on offer this year because the European Tour want players in Paris. Should he defend, or not? That is the quandary for Lowry.

Good weeks

“With two really good weeks, you could be on that Ryder Cup team . . . I want to do well the next few weeks, because I want to be in the qualifying frame come the US Open. The longer it goes on, the more pressure I’m going to be putting on myself. . . there’s definitely no point sitting here and saying, ‘it’s not on my radar’. It is on my radar,” said Lowry, whose first choice is to defend in Akron.

Lowry – the last Irish player to win the Irish Open, at Baltray in 2009 – said of this week: “I’m just going out to try and enjoy it as much as I can. . I’m going to take time for the crowds and I’m going to sign as many autographs as I can . . .”