By mustang6560 on 2/2/12

The 2012 PGA Tour season is still in its infancy and the topic of slow play has already reared its ugly head. And unfortunately, it looks like it's going to stay a while because the PGA Tour doesn't seem to be very motivated to fix the issue.

But, what if slow play, like every other rule of golf, was left to the players to enforce?

Last week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, world number one Luke Donald witnessed Rory McIlroy breach Rule 13-2 of the rules of golf and immediately spoke up. A rules official was called over and Rory was awarded a two stroke penalty. What if slow play was handled the same way?

If golf is an honorable game dependent on the honesty and integrity of its players, it should be the players' responsibility to call penalties on themselves if they play slowly. And it should be the players' responsibility to reveal and penalize any slow play that they observe.

I like the idea of players helping governor slow play, however, I foresee a huge problem with the implementation of it. Slow play, unlike other rules, is subjective. What constitutes "slow" to one player might not be considered "slow" by another.

In my opinion, the only way the PGA Tour and professional tours around the world can fairly address the issue of slow play is to do it themselves. A tour official would need to stand by the green on every hole with a stop watch and if a group comes in behind the pace of play for the day they get penalized. The first time is a warning, the second time it is going to cost them a stroke.

But, at the end of the day, it's all wishful thinking. The day a player is actually awarded a penalty stroke for slow pace of play...

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photo by by InAweofGod'sCreation