“40 seconds is a long time” – Paige Spiranac calls to penalize golfers causing ‘slow play’

Paige Spiranac feels there should be a penalty on players if they take more than 40 seconds to hit the ball. In a recent video on Twitter, Spiranac discussed the ongoing debate on slow gameplay by Patrick Cantlay during the 2023 Masters.

She said:

"Slow playing golf has been a huge topic of discussion, so let's talk about it. The conversation picked up steam when John Rahm and Brooks Koepka were waiting on every single hole at Augusta. Honestly, I've seen paint dry faster than that round was finished.

"I'm not going to call out just one individual because I do think this is a larger problem and the rebuttal is always, but they're playing for Majors and a lot of money, so they should take their time."

She added that none of the sport extends its time just because there's a major championship going on. She explained it by giving the example of basketball legend Michael Jordan.

She said:

"Can you imagine if Michael Jordan was just dribbling away, and they're like, 'It's okay, guys. You know, this is for a championship and a whole lot of money. Just kill some time, give him some time.'

"A golfer has 40 seconds to hit their shot. If they don't do so in the allotted time, they should be penalized for slow play as unsportsmanlike and a form of cheating. I don't understand how this is not fixed yet. It's easy - penalize them. If they don't hit it in 40 seconds, that's it."

As usual, Spiranac's fans had mixed opinions on her suggestions. Here's a look at some of the reactions:

"I agree. It is really tough to watch the caddie and player talk about Where should the Pro player hit the ball. OMG."

"why 40 seconds? Seems like an unusual time. Why not a minute .. or 30 secs?"

"I agree with shot clock- nfl and nba have it. Baseball has implemented pitch clock. Tennis has serve clock. Also a number of pros sometimes try to wait out the wind for several minutes. Should cost them a stroke"

"I imagine that’s way above the average stamina for each man responding to this Twitter feed? By about 30 seconds."

"And don't let them put the damn lines on the ball."

Brooks Kopeka had previously suggested (indirectly) that one of the reasons he lost his concentration on the final day of the 2023 Masters was due to slow gameplay by Patrick Cantlay. Koepka finished T2 at Augusta National despite holding a lead of over 54 holes.

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Paige Spiranac profile

Paige Spiranac was born on March 26, 1993, in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, United States. Her family has a strong athletic background; her father, Dan Spiranac, was part of the 1980 Super Bowl XIV championship team for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

She attended San Diego State University, where she played on the university's golf team, and was named to the All-Mountain West Conference team in 2012 and 2013, helping her team to back-to-back conference championships.

Following her college education, Paige Spiranac ventured into professional golf and competed in the Cactus Tour and Ladies European Tour. Unfortunately, she encountered injuries that hindered her performance, leading her to retire from professional golf in 2016.

Since then, Paige has gained massive popularity on social media and has been utilizing her platform to advocate for women's sports and golf.