You’re watching golf...




...on tv.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

You caught me ;)

I was going through EPL withdrawal... was flipped through the channels, and this was the only thing I can find to be mildly interesting. BTW, as an ex golf addict, I can't ever see myself playing seriously again.

3hrs for 18 holes is pretty quick even for 2 guys, a cart, and no waiting and nothing at stake.

pro golfers are too slow, i would agree with you there. i think 3:45 is probably the fastest you could ever get them to play, and that would be a perfect world with stiff penalties for slow play. 3:59:59 should be the goal for the final group on sunday. maybe a bit more latitude for the majors.

so much is due to dialogue with caddies about wind, club selection etc. have to wonder what it would look like if they all carried their own sticks like college/jr golf.

My grandfather would be highly against shortening golf matches. He would tell his wife he couldn't be bothered while he was watching, and he'd take this time to get an uninterrupted nap in.

Given how good these guys are, 2-some in 3 hours is very doable. It's not like they have to look for balls, and most of the greens they know well and putted before.

Giving men only 1 serve in tennis would further lengthen matches, as it would completely remove aces from the game and ensure that the few remaining serve and volleyers become complete extinct.

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Freedom just around the corner for you. But with the truth so far off, what good will it do?

That maybe, but I would love to see some experiments in tennis to speed things up, especially on the men's side.

Mens tennis is awful to watch now. I dont know how you fix it.

Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Tie break

Lather, rinse, repeat.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

I watched some of that golf tournament. Slow play really struck me on the back nine on a par 3. Adam Scott hits first, then Holmes (why as he won previous hole?), then Justin Thomas walks up. He has a conversation with his caddy. They debate a bit. Then caddy goes and pulls a club. They talk some more. Finally he hits.

I was thinking, "you watched two guys hit before you, have your club in hand and be ready when it is your turn."

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

It's called 'ready golf' and not that hard of a concept to grasp.

Use no ad scoring. That will shorten matches.

And JB did the same thing. On putts, he would wait until it was his turn to go before pulling out his book and analyzing the putt.

I think best way is getting rid of 5 set matches in the Grand Slams. Every other tournament is best of 3 that isn't a slam. I don't recall exactly anymore but I think the US Open is the only major that treats all sets equally and has a tie-breakers for the 5th set. The rest is win by at least 2 game rule for the 5th set. Tennis for best of 3 set matches for men's really isn't too long imo when I used to watch on a regular basis (no cable sports package so can't really watch so much anymore). To me it's the slams where they can really drag out...especially the French Open on clay courts where guys are just standing 5+ feet deep behind the baseline trading groundstrokes like it's a practice session.

For golf I really don't watch it very often on TV for more than short bursts at a time (i.e. 15 minutes or less). It's like watching a fishing show where they don't edit out the time in between when they hook a fish....I like to fish too but not watch somebody else do it.

I hear you, but I think no AD scoring is a better idea. If you give only 1 serve, every point will be a baseline slugfest.

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Freedom just around the corner for you. But with the truth so far off, what good will it do?

The new rule is 40 seconds.

Considering how golf enforces all kinds of rules, they should enforce this one. Walk up to the ball, ground your club, and it moves -- penalty. Take a couple minutes to hit a shot or a putt -- silence. Treat it like the NFL. Clock runs down -- penalty.

This. Golf is a slow deliberate sport. Trying to speed it up appreciably kind of misses the point.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

What if golf was played for time? You'd still have to get the ball in all the holes, but who ever got it done fastest wins. Now that would be a great game!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Its called Speedgolf? Former California triathlete Jay Larson is a former champion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_golf

It's like that with the general public also. Albeit the general public is hunting for golf balls in the woods and the lake because they suck.

But yeah, a huge issue for golf is the pace of play. On TV and at the local municipal course.

I used to play since I was 5 years old. With kids, it's enraging to have blown a day from the family to wait to hit your ball for 10 minutes on every tee box. That's not fun.

Imagine if you're out on a training ride or run and have to wait 10 minutes for every stop sign or light.

As an avid golfer, I don't watch much golf on TV - yes it is boring. However, I will tune in to tournaments like the Genesis Open, U.S. Open, etc. I love seeing the ultra exclusive private clubs like Riviera, Shinnecock Hills, etc. Beautiful, historic courses that, unfortunately, I'll probably never get to play.

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Freedom just around the corner for you. But with the truth so far off, what good will it do?

It'd be like trying to swim a 1650, 25 yards at a time, and you can't start the next length until all the "strange denizens of the pool" finish each 25. Maddening.

Do you play much anymore? With my crew it got to the point we avoided weekends at all costs and did 9 hole nights. Then kids' schedules etc. we couldn't get good overlap and that fizzled out. Some of us still would shoot to the course and play 9 at 7:30pm and it was like speed golf but you still want to play "well". Now we meet up and play a scramble once in a while, blow a whole day, and that's golf for the year.