[Photo: Julio Aguilar]
The LPGA Tour has made changes to its pace-of-play policy once again, enforcing additional punishment for slow play. The new wrinkles were announced by the Pace of Play Committee in a meeting Tuesday at The Annika tournament in Belleair, Florida.
The message is clear: heed the warnings and keep up or face further penalties.
RELATED: There’s a big difference between slow play and playing slow
The policy for the timing method and stroke penalties is the same, but more fines have been added. In the past, each time a player finished one to five seconds over the allotted time, it was a warning, and now it will be a fine in 2027. If a player finishes six to 15 seconds over, it was previously a one-stroke penalty and now a fine is added. If a player’s time is 16 seconds or more over the allotted time, it’s still a two-stroke penalty but now also a fine.
In another change, a player who reaches 35 holes of being timed receives a fine. The threshold this year was 40 holes. The final change regards exceeding allotted time for a single shot. Last year, that was 70 seconds; next year that window will be 60 seconds.
According to an LPGA spokesperson, pace of play did not improve in 2026, while the number of timed holes increased by 12 percent, and it was determined that further repercussions were needed.
In 2025, there were three one-stroke penalties and two two-stroke penalties for slow play. This season, with two events left to be completed, there have been five one-stroke penalties and a pair of two-stroke penalties.
“Pace of play matters to our players, our fans and our partners, and we are committed to reviewing our policy every year to make sure it’s working,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Golf Digest. “After a close look at this season’s data and conversations with our players, we’re strengthening the policy for 2027 with tighter time limits and stronger, earlier consequences for players who exceed them. Going forward, we’ll keep measuring, keep listening to our players and keep adjusting as we work to further improve pace of play.”
In January there will be seminars for players and caddies to go over policy updates and answer questions, as was the case when these pace-of-play policies were first announced in 2025. The 2027 seminar will have rules officials present to assist in explaining policy as well.
