Rangefinders could soon be allowed on PGA Tour
PEBBLE BEACH—The PGA Tour is taking a hard look at whether to allow rangefinders and publicize violations as part of a comprehensive study on pace of play and other enhancements to the game that have come out of a survey of 50,000 golf fans.
Tour officials were purposely short on specifics on Wednesday during a meeting with reporters on the “Fan Forward” initiative that commissioner Jay Monahan announced a year ago. He is expected to go into greater detail in The Players Championship in March.
But the preview session at Pebble Beach supported Monahan’s message late last year that “everything is on the table” as the PGA Tour embarks on a series of changes.
“I think as we roll the clock forward three, five, 10 years, we’re going to look back at 2025 as an inflection point in the evolution of the tour,” said Andy Weitz, the tour’s chief marketing and communications officer.
The shot clock has been mentioned to help improve pace of play on tour, and the topic has gained momentum in recent weeks when the final round of threesomes has taken about 5 1/2 hours to finish.
Players help decide
Weitz said the tour formed a study group a month ago with three players—Sam Burns, Jhonattan Vegas and Adam Schenk—who likely would pass their findings to the Players Advisory Council, a 16-member panel that has been more involved than ever.
Rangefinders—or distance-measuring devices—currently are allowed only at the PGA Championship. The tour is trying to find a spot in the schedule for a test run to see if it helps speed play by getting players the yardages quicker.
