2025 has been quite a year for pace of play solutions. Earlier this year, the PGA announced that they would commit more to cracking down on it, and at the RBC Heritage, players were given range finders to improve times. Yet pace of play is still a bit of an issue. During the Masters, Akshay Bhatia took a full three minutes to hit his ball. Scottie Scheffler criticized the need for slow-play solutions as he cited the course sizes as the biggest issue. There are, however, some common names that come up when discussing the pace of play. Brian Harman is one such example.
Brian Harman Playing Slow
Harman has long been criticized for being a slow player. Even the former world’s greatest caddie, Billy Foster, has called Harman the slowest player on Tour. However, when asked in an interview during the RBC Heritage if he preferred playing fast or taking his time, Harman said he liked playing fast, a statement that some find odd. He even said that he always preferred playing at a faster pace since he was a child, just getting into the sport. He stated that he feels that speed comes more into play during twosomes.
“In a twosome, if you are a slow player, you can’t really hide. I would bet you everyone in a twosome plays faster than they do in a threesome anyway. It certainly helps [playing quicker] to get in a rhythm. If you’re standing around watching the group in front of you all day, it’s hard to — you have to find things to occupy your mind. I’ve played fine in threesomes, but I would prefer it, especially on the weekend, to be in twosomes.”
During the same interview, he mentioned that the large size of the courses also contributes heavily to pace of play issues. Just like Scottie Scheffler suggested, the biggest issue is navigating the course. Harman, however, isn’t holding out hope for the courses shrinking down anytime soon. He is feeling confident in the new range finder policy.
A New Solution From The PGA
In light of players not realizing when they are going slow, it has been suggested that the PGA publicly shame slow players. How would they do this? With a board showing players’ slowest times for an event. A bit of a wall of shame for the players for others to look at and judge them by. It is one of the solutions that Collin Morikawa approves of. Granted, he suggested that the wall of shame should be implemented along with stricter enforcement of the current rules.
What Harman’s Comments Mean For Slow Play
Brian Harman’s comments alone give an interesting insight into the situation. Even the slowest players on Tour are aware of the time issues that are almost omnipresent within the sport. It reaffirms the idea that Scheffler floated, that the issue is baked into the sport. Addressing the issue has been in debate for so long that only three penalties have been handed out since 1995. The wall of shame would be an interesting solution, so long as other policies are enforced. It is also strange to know that even the slowest players are itching to play faster.
Main Photo Credit: © Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
