A new rule based at Augusta National aims to play slower

Bobby Jones, legendary golfer and founder of Augusta National, didn’t just play golf well — he also played the game fast. There was little fumbling or speculation when Jones passed the shot. Slide in, maybe a quick waggle and let it rip. Ditto on the greens, where he believed that checking putts from multiple angles was unnecessary if not productive.

A century or so after Jones’ fame, his penchant for speed is alive and well at the club he helped found – or, at least, the club’s forward-thinking chairman, Fred Ridley, has championed the cause. Look no further than Ridley’s state-of-the-union remarks at the Masters last year. In the weeks leading up to the 2025 tournament, the PGA Tour’s laziness had become so irritating that CBS Golf reporter Dottie Pepper called it out on air.

Pepper’s criticism sparked a heated debate on the topic, leading Ridley to say in written comments to the media: “The issue of speed of play is uppermost in the minds of the players.

“Golf is a special sport because it requires us to be considerate while competing. Respecting other people’s time, including, importantly, the fans who support the game, is an important respect. Therefore, I want to encourage continued discussion on this topic, especially at the professional levels that serve as a visible representation of our sport.”

But Ridley’s concern extended beyond the professional game and even the freshman and college games to the juniors. That was evident when he was asked to reflect on a young golfer who had used the time-consuming AimPoint green learning method – now popular in the professional game – at the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals. (Actually, there were several players who used this method, but the reporter asked Ridley about one in particular.)

“Me too, I noticed what you noticed,” said Ridley. “It’s interesting, but each division of the competition has the same length chip and the same length putt, so it’s not really necessary to speed that up. They know how many yards they have. But that’s what they’ve been doing anyway. I think it’s safe to assume that next year in the Drive, Chip & Putt you’ll see some kind of restrictions placed on the competition.”

Ridley wasn’t pretending.

On Tuesday, the DC&P, which is run jointly by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America, announced a new rule – essentially, a shot clock – that will be established in the finals of this event at Augusta National in April.

At that stage of the competition, each of the 80 winners hit only six shots a piece (two drives, two chips, two putts) so you can understand why they are in full grind mode. However, to reduce another slogan, the event introduced a “speed play bonus” where competitors will receive half a bonus point for each shot they complete in 40 seconds or less, meaning players who shoot all six of their shots in the allotted time will receive a total of three bonus points. “This move aims to reinforce speed of play as an important golf skill,” according to a release announcing the new rule.

Here, according to the official rules, how the speed will be monitored:

First Shot

Second Shot

Scoring Process

Does it make sense? We think so! Now if only we could get the experts moving, because after all, the stars of tomorrow follow their lead. As Ridley said last year, “These young people look to their heroes who play this game every week for a living to see how they will face the competition by playing this game.”

If the new DC&P rule goes into effect, perhaps that formula should be turned on its head.