PGA Tour’s Slow Play Problem Resurfaces as Tom Kim Sparks Controversy

On the par-5 sixth hole, Tom Kim took over a minute just to line up his second shot, only to send it out of bounds.Kim had launched a 301-yard drive down the left side of the fairway, putting himself in prime position to reach the green in two. But while Justin Rose had already hit his approach, cameras cut to Kim—who was still lost in his pre-shot routine, long after Rose’s ball had stopped rolling. The delay didn’t sit well with fans or fellow players.

Michael S. Kim took to X (formerly Twitter) to poke fun at the situation, writing, “He’s slow. Everyone knows that haha what else is there?” Meanwhile, veteran broadcaster Dottie Pepper pointed out that slow play has become a growing issue on Tour. Just a week earlier, the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open dragged on for five hours and 31 minutes.

But the PGA Tour isn’t just sitting on the sidelines. They’re currently testing distance-measuring devices—rangefinders—to help players and caddies get faster yardages during tournaments. While specific events haven’t been confirmed, Gary Young, the Tour’s senior VP of rules and competitions, says they plan to trial them across different fields and formats.

Additionally, the Tour is rolling out new measures to improve pace of play, including publishing ‘average stroke time’ data to hold players accountable. More importantly, penalties and fines for slow play violations are finally on the table—though they weren’t enforced at Pebble Beach.Will these efforts be enough to fix the problem? Only time will tell. But for now, slow play remains one of the biggest headaches in professional golf. Stay tuned!