Solving golf's biggest problem with eight elite stars as DeChambeau, Rahm and more reveal how to eliminate awful issue

Biggest names in the game gave their take on the miserable problems of slug-like efforts on the courses around globe

Super Scottie Scheffler’s brilliant win at Royal Portrush was a celebration of outstanding golf.

The Open venue in Northern Ireland was also a triumph with the magnificent Dunluce Links producing a fabulous event.

However, the 153rd Championship was once again blighted by the painful sight of players taking almost six hours over the first two days to complete rounds. Thursday and Friday were a slog. Changing weather was a reason, but the angst amongst some competitors and fans was obvious.

PGA Tour chiefs have been trying to find solutions with range-finders tested earlier this year in competition golf. Shot clocks and stroke punishments have been mooted as the ever-increasing problem remains a savage issue in the professional game.

Record Sport listened intently to the thoughts of some stars at Royal Portrush and heard their gripes, reasoning and potential answers to the problem.

Bryson DeChambeau: It’s very simple. It’s not difficult at all. You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Nobody wants to do it because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for. I’d love to be timed and I have no problem with that. Everybody plays a different style of game, and that’s just the way it is. I wish it was just a new system. If somebody is playing slower, the guy can go up to him and say: Hey, man, you’re over par with your time.

All you do is you just time them for every single shot. He gets there and puts the bag down and how long it takes him to hit that shot. How long it takes him to walk to the green. It’s not rocket science. You time how long someone takes individually and then you separate that from the other person playing. You start/stop on him the whole entire thing.

It’s one way. I’m not saying it’s the answer. I’m definitely not somebody that has the most experience or knowledge on it. If somebody has a different way of monitoring it, I hope there’s a better system out there at some point in time. Once you start penalising individuals for taking too much time.”

Henrik Stenson: You just don’t want to play on the clock. I certainly don’t feel like I’m a slow player these days and it’s like you can take 30 seconds on one shot, 40 on another one and you might take 52 on another one and you’re still kind of averaging it out. But if you’re on the clock, you’re going to get noted if you take 52 on one. I don’t think it matters how quick you are as a player, you don’t want to be on the clock if you miss one in the wrong place, you want to go up and check and this and that and that clocks starts ticking. I’d prefer not to play on the clock. Yeah, we’re having some discussions on that.”

Matt Fitzpatrick: I do think it’s ridiculous; the pace of play has been a combination of the way the golf course is and all that normal stuff. But it starts with the players as well and starts with the rules officials. Obviously we’d all like to be round in four and a half hours, but that is what it is. I think it’s just impossible to answer, isn’t it? There’s so many different parts to it. I think it is a difficult one. But I think players probably speeding up a little bit probably will help the situation, but yeah.

Justin Thomas: It’s a lot of people in a golf tournament. That’s going to create. I mean, a city that has a lot more population, traffic is going to be a lot worse than it is in Pikeville, Kentucky, that’s just the way it is. Then you add the elements and add everything, it’s just going to be a long day.

Viktor Hovland: I think almost six hours, just under six hours. That’s brutal, especially when you have to focus for so long. It’s not easy. It takes a lot out of you.

Jon Rahm: We had a lot of rain come in and out, so umbrellas out, glove out, put the rain gear on, take the rain gear off, give the umbrella to the caddie. It becomes a lot longer that way. It usually is very much related to the amount of players in the field. When you have 150 plus the first two rounds, every single major except the Masters, obviously, is going to be longer rounds. It’s just what it is. In smaller fields when you have less people, and even in threesomes in small fields, you don’t really have that issue.

Once they get to the Playoffs or DP World championship or Abu Dhabi, those are not things that become an issue. It’s the flow of the game. There’s very little you can do to make those rounds a lot shorter. That’s just the nature of the game. In LIV, we absolutely fly. I feel like every round is less than four and a half hours unless the weather conditions are crazy. While there’s nothing you can do, just try to keep your mind engaged in something else but the game.

Just not be thinking: Okay, I have this hole and keep thinking on what you’re going to do. Just distract yourself a little bit and basically lock back in when it’s time. There’s nothing else you can do.

Marc Leishman: It felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours. We’ve been on the course for three hours through eight holes. That was tough to deal with. Just everyone takes their time.