WIAA institutes shot clock for golfers
Slow players will receive penalty strokes
Beginning this spring, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association won’t mess around with slow golfers anymore.
The WIAA formally issued new pace of play guidelines last week for high school golfers, and they have real teeth in the form of penalty strokes for deliberate players. Essentially, players will have to pull the trigger on their shots within a 40-second window. Slower players will receive a warning for their first violation and a one-stroke penalty for their second.
Penalties for entire groups of slow players have been enforced at WIAA golf events for several years, and those policies will continue.
WIAA assistant director Tom Shafranski said the association is simply doing what many other golf organizations have done to combat slow play, which increasingly is a problem at all levels of competition but perhaps particularly in the junior ranks.
The American Junior Golf Association also recently updated its pace of play policy.
“I think junior golf across the country is being recognized as having several pace of play issues, and they come down to having to address the individual as far as time limits are concerned,” Shafranski said. “We are seeing pre-shot routines that extend way too long and issues of that sort. Our format simply prevents us from being able to tolerate that sort of delay.”
Shafranski admits some high school players in recent seasons have taken as long as six and half hours to play 18 holes. That causes all sorts of problems for players, coaches and spectators, and it can be bothersome for the golf courses hosting high school meets.
The new policy will be enforced at all high school golf meets this season, including the regular seasons and tournament series for boys in the spring and girls in the fall. Shafranski expects an adjustment period early on, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“Our philosophy is, putting it in play during the regular season will help,” he said, “and then as we get to our tournament series we’ll be able to monitor it even better.”
The WIAA is not planning to staff its golf events with dozens more volunteers so tournament officials can walk along with every group of players. Shafranski said the initial point of emphasis will be to keep the first tournament group on pace, using two hours, 15 minutes for nine holes and 4 hours, 30 minutes for 18 holes as guidelines. The shot clock will come into play when a group falls out of position.
It is common for players at high school meets to relate possible infractions or problems to their coaches, and for the coaches to pass concerns along to tournament managers. When those concerns have to do with pace of play this season, Shafranski said the manager will likely observe and if necessary time the players.
When asked if the WIAA’s new policies will result in shorter days at state each June, where more than 200 boys take to the course daily at University Ridge, Shafranski said he would make no guarantees.
Part of the problem – if that’s the right word – relates to the wide range of skills and experiences junior golfers now have. Some high school players are true novices, competing for their schools while also learning the game. Others have had years of high-caliber instruction, which often leads to those complex, and occasionally troublesome, pre-shot routines.
And the WIAA wants all those players to participate.
“Our program is geared toward such a wide variety of skill level,” Shafranski said. “We feel as though our responsibility for golf is to encourage lots of different student-athletes to get involved, and that has led to a wide variety of issues when it comes to pace of play.”
The 2012 high school golf season in Wisconsin is fast approaching. Boy’s teams can begin practice on March 26, and the first meets may be held beginning on March 29.
The WIAA State Boy’s Golf Championships will be held June 4-5 at University Ridge.
The girl’s fall season culminates with the WIAA State Girls Golf Championships, scheduled for Oct. 10-11 at University Ridge.
