Almost two thirds of golfers have revealed they would enjoy the sport more if it took less time to play.
A survey conducted by the sport’s governing body, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews, attracted 56,248 respondents from across the globe and found that although 70% of golfers are “largely happy” with the duration of their round, six out of 10 players said the time spent on the course typically between three and four hours hampered their enjoyment.
Of those aged 25 to 44 who said they were not happy with the pace of play, 21% said golf would need to take as much as one-and-a-half hours less for them to play more often, and 19% said they would welcome the opportunity to play nine holes more often as an alternative.
“There is plenty of anecdotal evidence available but we conducted the survey to obtain accurate data on how much of an issue pace of play is for golfers and to give us an insight into what they see as the main factors contributing to slow rounds,” said Duncan Weir, Working for Golf executive director at the R&A.
“We feel that the next step in this process is to engage with our partners throughout the golf industry to look at these findings and invite them to contribute their views to these important discussions.”