With the push against slow play gaining some much-needed gravitas throughout the ranks of the PGA Tour and its fans, the blame for this problem continues to expand.
Among the alleged culprits: Bryson DeChambeau, people who take too much time getting to the ball, and now, green-reading books.
But the green-reading books have a big-time supporter in five-time major champion Phil Mickelson. A 44-time winner on the PGA Tour, Mickelson carries a bit more course cred than some others when it comes to this issue. Slow play is rarely a concern when Lefty lines up a shot.
“The greens book allows me to do 80% of my read before I even get to the green. For anyone to say they slow up play is flat out idiotic,” Mickelson posted on Twitter in support of a tweet from Rickie Fowler’s caddie.
Lefty continued in an another post: “Let me add the countless hours and many days it saves me preparing for tournaments throughout the year. The book gives me info on where I can/can’t miss it and still get up and down as well as best approach shot into the green without having to play multiple practice rounds.”
Fowler’s looper Joe Skovron began the conversation by saying the books can actually make the pace of play quicker.
“I don’t care if green books are legal or not but I don’t buy blaming them for slow play. If you use them correctly and at the right time it can actually speed up your reads,” he wrote.
