Golf club to introduce penalties for practice swings

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir January 20, 2019 17:38

A major Portuguese golf club has said it will battle against slow play in 2019 by, among other things, running a golf event that should be completed in 90 minutes.

Palmares Beach & Golf Resort says the event will see one-shot penalties handed out for searching for lost balls, practice swings, hitting provisional balls or reading greens from both sides.

“We’re hitting the accelerator in the war against slow golf,” said a spokesman. “The time has come to make a stand and attempt to ‘save the golf planet’.”

The club has also introduced the new R&A rules and recommendations, which are designed to speed up play, and this month launches its new tournament: Eradicate Slow Play.

“The Texas Scramble format and a nine-hole dash is expected to be completed in just 90 minutes, with members and guests set to put the new event through its paces,” added the spokesman.

“One-shot penalties will be handed out for searching for lost balls, practice swings, hitting provisional balls or reading greens from both sides.

“But as an added incentive, Palmares will replace any lost balls with new balls to ensure no extra time is lost.”

The resort’s operations director, António Pinto Coelho, added: “So many of us think that slow play is the number one enemy to an enjoyable golf experience.

“Slow play is killing golf so we felt obliged to do something. It’s not acceptable for a round of golf to take five hours so we need to change the mentality of some golfers. We also need to do what we can to encourage this so we wanted to do something more extreme and show that it can be a lot of fun at the same time.”

The event is expected to become a monthly fixture at Palmares “with more radical local rules set to be introduced for future tournaments”, added the spokesman.

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir January 20, 2019 17:38
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6 Comments

  1. Gordon January 17, 17:41

    Nice publicity generating gimmick. For a bit of fun why not.

    Reply to this comment
  2. Anil January 17, 16:22

    Green fee by the hour?

    Reply to this comment
  3. Adam January 17, 14:05

    Really this seems ridiculous, you pay you hard earned money to enjoy a game of golf but you can be penalised for playing slow ? It’s not meant to be a rush ! You just let the people behind play through surely !

    Reply to this comment
  4. George January 17, 13:22

    Awh, seriously? this one’s so cute, how can you refuse him? I’d put him in a cart with me!

    Reply to this comment
  5. Cliff January 17, 10:19

    Lazy golfers are the problem.

    Learn Etiquette and the Rules.

    A 4 ball playing to the Rules using Etiquette WILL complete 18 holes in 3.5 hours on a par 70, 7000 yard golf course.

    AND THIS IS USING THE OLD RULES…

    Lazy Golfers

    READ most of us CAN READ. So effing DO IT!

    Reply to this comment
    • Adam January 17, 17:40

      Mate I’ve played for 25 years and have no issues with a 4 ball in 3.5 hours I just think there’s no need to be a dick about it ! And golf is a bit of a lazy sport not exactly high octane

      Reply to this comment
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