‘Almost The Hell Up’: Butch Harmon believes that 1 Move Slow Play would curb

Butch Harmon says he knows how he plays slowly.

At least for most players.

“The old story years ago,” he said, “Ben Hogan was very slow and he plays in the US open. I think it might even have been the first or second round. And Joe Dye was the head of the USGA and they went outside and told Mr. Hogan, if you don’t accelerate, we have to punish your two shots.

“He says, give me two shots now, so I have more holes, I know how many more Birdies I have to make because I am not accelerated.”

Yet Harmon believes in his thought. The Golf Top 100 Teacher Hall of Famer and the former coach of Tiger Woods was a guest in the most recent episode of the Podcast “Son of A Butch”Organized by his son, Claude Harmon III, and the younger Harmon had raised Patrick Cantlay’s game at last month’s tour championship.

He said he was a great player and then asked a question.

“But what’s going on?” The younger Harmon said on the podcast. “I mean, I looked at him down on the 8th hole. He made a seven look at the hole. I blame the Tour. I blame 100 percent of the Tour on all tours, because if they wanted to play slowly, they could.”

Here Butch Harmon threw his solution.

“Two shots,” he said.

The pace of playing in particular is a constant topic in Golf, although this has received renewed attention this year. In January the Tour announced a number of movements, including a thought to players ‘name and shame’.

On the podcast Butch Harmon said that what would not work are fines.

“These guys don’t care,” he said. “They are all multi-millionaires. You will not let them speed them up. You have put two shots on them, it can cost them to make a cut, it can win a tournament, it can cost them to keep their card.”

Claude Harmon III added: “could it cost them in a Ryder cup.”

The back and forth between father and son ended with a mention of Tommy Fleetwood, who worked with Butch Harmon and who was linked with Cantlay during the last round of the Tour Championship before he won.

“I told Tommy, you bothered how slow – I said, I know you were on the clock on the 11th hole; I saw them coming to get you,” he said. “But you were struggling forever that 8th hole because they both had statements and that is how they came behind. He goes, you know, the man is slow, but I would not let him disturb him.