The AJGA announced Thursday that it had matched its record-setting pace of play with a 4-hour, 17-minute average during its 102-event season in 2014.
The AJGA’s pace of play program uses an overall time par that is based on course difficulty, field size, tee-time interval and conditions. Players are notified of their status on the course by color-coded cards that are measured at six checkpoints. Two red cards – given when a group has either failed to make up time or move back into position – may result in a one-stroke penalty.
The AJGA, which first implemented a pace of play policy in 2002, says that penalties were cut from 57 in 2013 to only 23 this season. Why the improvement? The organization credits the use of distance-measuring devices during competition, as well as a new incentive that removes the threat of a penalty if the group finishes the round at or below the overall time par, or in position with the group ahead of them.