The new Golf race tries to make things go faster

"It is a very important issue and we hear the position of the players," he said.

Phil Mickelson said he remained skeptical that something would change. "It has been a topic of discussion since I toured," said Mickelson, who became a professional in 1992. "I think we should just stop complaining and resolve the fact that it is what it is."

Slow play has been a smallpox in the pro game since long before Mickelson, 49, appeared on the scene. During the United States Open in Medinah in 1949, the slack pace irritated officials, according to & # 39; Miracle at Merion & # 39 ;, a 2010 book by David Barrett. For the 1950 tournament, held in Merion, a note was placed in the locker room in which players were called to speed up, Barrett wrote.

The first three in 1947 ended in 3 hours 27 minutes and the last in 4:16, said the book, in which Joe Dey, executive director of the Golf Association of the United States, was urged: "This is murder of spectators and players who want to play at a reasonable speed. "

Players are not always completely in default. Smooth greens combined with swirling winds can be a recipe for problems, said Holmes, who explained: "The harder you make these courses, the more you have to think about it."

Playing together with Tiger Woods, which attracts large, boisterous crowds that are difficult to corralize and harder to soften, can be particularly tough. "You are going to slow down because there are extra things going on," said Jordan Spieth, a triple-time winner and former world number 1, who is often a target of criticism.

But players have control over their pre-shot routines, some of which have been compulsively crossed.