Would a Shot Clock Speed Up Golf?

Yesterday, renowned blow-hard Colin Montgomerie offered his suggestion on how to speed up pace of play in professional golf: implementing a shot clock, much like the NBA. Well, sort of. "There are 52 referees out there at major championships and they should all...be able to put them on the clock on the first tee to ensure they all get around in time,"Monty told the Independent. "It has been mentioned about a shot clock, and that is interesting. There should be an allotted time to play the game, like chess, where you have a certain time to play."

While it doesn't appear that Monty is asking for the installation of electronic clocks on every fairway and green, I do see his point in this matter. In fact, I actually agree with him.

The only way to speed these players up is to have something in the back of their minds screaming at them to get moving. While the USGA's cutesy "While We're Young" campaign is meant more for the recreational player, similar campaigns aimed at the professional level have gone by the wayside. Pros simply don't listen.

Nowadays, players can be "put on the clock" when playing slowly during a tournament round. We saw a glaring example of this during the Open Championship last week when Hideki Matsuyama incurred a one-stroke penalty for slow play. Later in the final round, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood's pairing also received a warning.

Could you imagine if those two were penalized? Yeesh.