Brooks Koepka Rips Slow Players, "I don't understand... It's not that hard."

Once again, Bryson DeChambeau, who won in his last start at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, is at the center of another controversy. This time it deals with his slow play, which is understandable considering how analytical he is prior to every shot. This clip, from the European Tour, shows just how long it takes DeChambeau to make a decision before a shot.

However, it caught the attention of a few other golfers, most notably Brooks Koepka.

Koepka, who finished tied for ninth at the Dubai Desert Classic, is one of the faster players on Tour. He chooses not to overthink his shots and that has worked out well for him. He’s a three-time major champion; the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, and the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive.

Koepka ripped the Tour’s slower players, saying, “I just don’t understand how it takes a minute and 20 seconds, or a minute and 15 to hit a golf ball — it’s not that hard.” He continued, “It’s always between two clubs: there’s a miss short, there’s a miss long. It really drives me nuts especially when it’s a long hitter because you know you’ve got two other guys or at least one guy that’s hitting before you, so you can do all your calculations, you should have your numbers. Obviously if you’re the first guy you might take 10 extra seconds, but it doesn’t take that long to hit the ball, especially if it’s not blowing 30 [mph].

“If it’s blowing 30 I understand taking a minute and taking some extra time with some gusts, you know changing just slightly. I get that, but if it’s a calm day there’s no excuse. Guys are already so slow it’s kind of embarrassing. I just don’t get why you enforce some things and don’t enforce others.”

DeChambeau defended himself by saying, “It’s actually quite impressive that we’re able to get all that stuff done in 45 seconds. People don’t realize that it’s very difficult to do everything we do in 45 seconds. I think that anybody that has an issue with it, I understand, but we’re playing for our livelihoods out here, and this is what we want to do. If we want to provide the best entertainment for you, it’s part of our process, or it’s part of my process, at least.”

I’m with Koepka here, but there’s one thing that I do see, this approach has been working for DeChambeau. He’s climbed to fifth in the world rankings and won four times in his last nine starts. While I don’t understand why he needs to know all the math in the clip above, apparently, it’s important for his game.

With that said, if DeChambeau, who admitted he is put on the clock nearly every time he plays, can’t figure out how to speed it up on the course he needs to be penalized. His overtly slow play, while helpful to his game, definitely affects others on the course both in his group and behind. There’s no reason for five players to take 4-5 minutes prior to every shot when the majority of the field can to do it in under half that amount of time. Sure, all the things that DeChambeau takes into consideration prior to his shots matter, but, COME ON!

Just hit the ball. This is golf, not rocket science.