It was historic week on the European Tour as Austria's Diamond Country Club hosted the inaugural Shot Clock Masters; the first tournament in which every player played every shot within a time limit. Finland's Mikko Korhonen picked up his first professional victory at the tender age of 37, carding a -16 to finish 6 strokes clear of 22-year-old Connor Syme.

Whilst the tournament will live long in the memory of the journeyman champion and the rookie runner-up, the experimental format could potentially be a stepping stone to a new era of the game. But how do we feel about the shot clock format?

Player Response

As you would expect, the players loved it. Of course the European Tour wouldn't have gone ahead with the idea without the support of the players. It's pretty hard to play a golf tournament without them, after all. That said, it is surprising how many of the participants claim to have been converted whilst playing.

Sweden's Michael Lundberg actually said "Before the tournament started I thought it was kind of a joke", referring to what he felt to be more time than was necessary. However, Lundberg, along with many other players, soon realised that the clock forced them to "prepare better". Fellow Swede Peter Hanson cited the inability to "over-do things" and "think too much". The word being thrown around most of all in post-round interviews was "commit". You had to commit to your shot. No doubting yourself or getting caught in two minds. This, according to most, actually leads to better shots.

England's Tom Lewis and Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts are already looking forward to using the format again in future, with Colsaerts going as far as to wish it could be in use every week.

So it's a resounding thumbs up from the players. But what about the fans?

Fan Response

As the European Tour stated, this tournament was an experiment. Fan response will be as critical to the success or failure of the experiment as that of the players. Now, just to clear things up, it was no accident that this experiment took place whilst all the big names were off preparing for the U.S. Open. Imagine the outrage if Rory McIlroy was the first player penalised! It minimises the pressure as they work out any kinks because, let's face it, golf fans can be critical.

I think personal experiences with the frustration of slow play means fans can empathise and, therefore, support the concept. But everybody agrees it was more fun to watch and a lot of spectators seem to agree with Colsaerts; use it every week, not just as a novelty.

What Next?

The European Tour have been understandably quiet about future plans for the format, but renaming the Austrian Open 'The Shot Clock Masters' does make me question whether it will be a regular thing. The general consensus seems to be that we want to see more of it. Don't make it a novelty. The more the merrier. People definitely don't object to putting the world's best under more pressure. The concern, I believe, was that we'd see more mistakes, but it's been almost the opposite as players feel that being forced to commit fully means better execution.

What do you think?

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com