Augusta National chairman delivers ultimatum to "pace of play" fiasco ahead of 2025 Masters

In his press conference on the eve of The Masters, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley discussed pace of play at the course. His pace of play comments were centered around not only The Masters, but also the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, which were held at Augusta National on Sunday.

Pace of play has been a major issue in the golf world for years now and it doesn't only exist on the PGA Tour. From amatuer golf competitions to playing on a weekend at a local municipal course, slow play in the golf course is something many can relate to being frustrated about.

According to golf insider Dan Rapaport on X, Ridley brought up pace of play multiple times during his Masters press conference.

"Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley calling out pace of play multiple times in his press conference. Says the club will be "dealing with it" this year and there will be a time limit on the Drive, Chip and Putt(!) next year," Rapaport's post on X reads.

Sean Zak of GOLF.com noted that in the press conference, Ridley specifically called out AimPoint putting when discussing pace of play at the press conference. AimPoint putting is a technique in which players use their feet to feel the slope in the green when trying to read putts. It is considered to be effective, but can be time consuming.

"'I think it's safe to assume that next year you'll see some time constraints [placed] on the competition' -- Fred Ridley on pace of play and seeing AimPoint at the Drive, Chip and Putt competition," Zak said in his X post Wednesday morning.

The Masters has faced some criticism for pace of play in the past, specifically most recently in the final round of the tournament in 2023. The last group featured Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, who were often waiting in the tee box to tee off for multiple minutes in the final round.

The pace of the groups ahead of them slowed them down and Koepka noted after the tournament that he was frustrated with the slow pace.

Jon Rahm ultimately won the tournament.

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PGA Tour has taken steps in 2025 to address pace of play fiasco

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan at THE PLAYERS Championship 2025 (via Getty)

The PGA Tour has made steps to attempt to address the issue of slow play this year. In early March, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that they would experiment with allowing players to use rangefiners in the events immediately following The Masters.

Rangefinders have not been allowed to be used in PGA Tour events, aside from the PGA Championship, but that will change next week. Starting at the RBC Heritage next week, players will be allowed to use rangefinders at all of the PGA Tour events through the PGA Championship next month.

Players have been allowed to use rangefinders in practice rounds and not down measurements in their yardage books, but for the next few weeks, they will have the same luxury that amatuer golfers enjoy.

This was done in part to speed up the pace of play so that players and caddies can spend less time trying to figure out the exact yardage to the hole.