Four hours and 46 minutes.
That was the PGA Tour’s average round time during the 2025 season. A figure that may have improved slightly on the previous few years but still highlights one of golf’s most persistent problems.
That’s pace of play.
Plenty has been made of distance ruining the professional game. The proposed golf ball rollback has been a hot topic in curbing the ever-increasing distance gains off the tee by the elite tour players.
But does the game have a more pressing issue to solve?
Speaking on the latest episode of the Your Golf by NCG Podcast, Jack Backhouse highlighted his belief that slow play has become a bigger issue than distance. He argued that the golf has the means to fix it but questions if they are prepared to use them.
“I tell you, a bigger issue I think than how far the golf ball goes is pace of play,” he said.
Despite the PGA Tour announcing their quickest average round on tour across a season since 2022, there is arguably still improvements to be made.
The PGA, in part, credited the reduction due to a cut in field size. It was pointed out that signature events with around 72 players averaged approximately three hours and 52 minutes. But Backhouse believes this is still too high.
“It’s embarrassing, like I genuinely think it’s embarrassing. If you told me every week it was going to be four and a half, I wouldn’t play. I actually wouldn’t play golf, I just wouldn’t do it.
“The junior golf tours are brilliant for the game. However, it’s been known that in some of these local junior golf tours, where kids are playing in three balls, like five and a half hour rounds, six hour rounds.
“It would be so harsh to be out there giving slow play penalty shots to 12-year-olds, but I’d do it 100%. It sets a horrible precedent that it’s okay to go out and do that.
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