Golf Thanksgiving: Five things we’re thankful for from 2017

It’s a tale as old as time – or longer, if we’re talking about the speed of play in professional golf these days. And even though you might not have expected it, the European Tour is ready to do something about it.

It all started at the Golf Sixes (which we’ll get into later), where the Tour placed a shot clock on a single hole. Think of that as their way of dipping a toe in the water. The Golf Sixes was met with extremely positive reviews, and the shot clock was almost an afterthought. Only one player, Paul Peterson, ended up with a penalty, and the 40-second timer was simply an extra twist on an already unique format.

In 2018, the European Tour is going all-in for one event, and it could be just the thing the rest of the golf world needs to speed things up once and for all. In June, the Austrian Open gets a new title: the Shot Clock Masters. The event at Diamond Country Club will feature 120 players, and a shot clock on each stroke. The first player in each group will be given 50 seconds to play, and the remaining players will have 40 seconds. Each “bad time” will be met with a one-stroke penalty, and these will be shown as red cards on the leaderboard. No matter what the score is, you don’t want to be the guy with a bunch of those next to your name.

I’m not expecting to see big shot clocks at Augusta National anytime soon, but as we all know, the entire golf world seems to go as the pros on TV do. Let’s pick up the pace, guys.