LPGA introduce stiffer penalties for slow play, to fine players for +1 second over time

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has introduced stiffer penalties to tackle the issue of slow play. In a new memo sent to players, the LPGA Tour has introduced fines for as little as one second.

Popular Golf account Monday Q Info (acaseofthegolf1) shared the update on their X page. They shared the snippets of the memo sent to players and captioned the post:

"THIS is how it is done. Bravo @LPGA for demanding that players get faster. Assuming they follow thru with penalizing players, the pace of play will pick up."

As per the new regulations, players will face a fine if they exceed the allotted 40 seconds by 1 to 5 seconds. Exceeding the time limit by 6 to 15 seconds will result in a one-shot penalty while a delay of 16 seconds or more will lead to a two-shot penalty.

LPGA's memo further analysed that under the old rules in 2024, 22 athletes received a fine while nine received a two-stroke penalty. It clarified that had the new rules been in place last year, 23 players would have received a one-shot penalty, and eight would have faced a two-shot penalty.

It further listed some of the old rules that will not change:

• Warning System
• Banking Time
• Excessive Shot Timing
• Target Timing
• Doubling Fines

The new rules will take effect on March 27, 2025, at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.

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LPGA Tour players Nelly Korda and Charley Hull had criticized the slow play

Last year, LPGA Tour players like Nelly Korda, Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson criticized slow play. Korda said that slow play wasn't good for fans and players and that the issue is dragging the game down. The World No.1 player had called for penalties to tackle the issue.

Korda said (via Sky Sports):

"I think it's not good for the fans that come out and watch us. If it was me personally, I would be very, very annoyed watching for five hours, over five hours, five hours and 40 minutes, close to six. I just think it really drags the game down. I think that it really, really needs to change."

"I think just needs to be -- players just need to be penalized. Rules officials need to watch from the first group. Once they get two minutes behind, one minute behind, it just slows everything down."

Korda said that players overanalyse at several holes and need to get ready faster. She also called for the presence of more officials to enforce the rules.

Charley Hull, on her part, slammed the players that play slow. She said (via The Guardian):

"I'm quite ruthless but [my idea would be] if you get three bad ­timings, every time it’s a two-shot penalty. If you have three of them you lose your Tour card instantly. I’m sure that would hurry a lot of people up and they won’t want to lose their Tour card. That would kill the slow play, but they would never do that."

Hull said that a golf round should usually take three and a half to four hours.