Butch Harmon says he knows how’d he curb slow play.
At least for most players.
“The old story years ago,” he said, “Ben Hogan was very slow and he’s playing in the U.S. Open. I think it maybe even have been the first or second round. And Joe Dye was the head of the USGA and they went out and told Mr. Hogan, if you don’t speed up, we’re going to have to penalize you two shots.
“He says, give me two shots now, so I got more holes, I know how many more birdies I got to make because I’m not speeding up.”
Still, Harmon believes in his thought. The GOLF Top 100 Teacher hall of famer and Tiger Woods’ former coach was a guest on the most recent episode of the “Son of a Butch” podcast, hosted by his son, Claude Harmon III, and the younger Harmon had brought up Patrick Cantlay’s play at last month’s Tour Championship.
He said he was a great player, then asked a question.
“But what the hell is going on?” the younger Harmon said on the podcast. “I mean, I watched him down on the 8th hole. He made seven looks at the hole. I blame the tour. I 100 percent blame the tour on all the tours because if they wanted to stomp out slow play, they could.”
Here, Butch Harmon pitched his fix.
“Two shots,” he said.
Notably, pace of play has been a constant topic in golf, though this year, it has received renewed attention. In January, the Tour announced a number of moves, including a thought to ‘name and shame’ players.
On the podcast, Butch Harmon said what wouldn’t work is fines.
“These guys don’t care about money,” he said. “They’re all multi-millionaires. You’re not going to get them to speed up. You put two shots on them, it could cost them making a cut, it could cost them winning a tournament, it could cost them keeping their card.”
Added Claude Harmon III: “Could cost them getting in a Ryder Cup.”
Continued Butch Harmon: “… But if you put two shots on these guys, first of all, they would go crazy. ‘I can’t believe you’re going to penalize me two shots.’ Well, then hurry the hell up, damn it.”
The back-and-forth between father and son ended with a mention of Tommy Fleetwood, who’s been working with Butch Harmon — and who was paired with Cantlay during the final round of the Tour Championship before going on to win.
“I said to Tommy, does it bother you how slow — I said, I know you were on the clock on the 11th hole; I saw them come to get you,” he said. “But you guys struggled on that 8th hole forever because they both had rulings and that’s how they got behind. He goes, you know, the guy’s slow, but I wouldn’t let him bother me.
