Crane Technique

Crane Technique
Shark.com Staff
July 25, 2005

The NBA has the shot clock, the NFL the play clock. In baseball, if a batter steps out of the box for too long, the umpire simply motions for the pitcher to deliver a room-service strike.

So when is the PGA Tour going to institute a delay-of-game penalty?

If not soon, Ben Crane might have more chances to lull the rest of the PGA Tour to sleep.

Crane, who easily has become the tour's latest version of a human rain delay, took a slow, steady approach Sunday at the U.S. Bank Champiojnship in Milwaukee to notch his second career PGA Tour victory, by four shots over a steamed Scott Verplank.

Verplank wasn't just hot about the 110-degree heat index. He had the misfortune to get paired with Crane in the final round. And that meant it was only a matter of time before their group was put "on the clock" by PGA Tour officials -- it happened at the turn.

"Unfortunately, I probably thought about it a little bit and that's my fault, but we were on the clock the whole back nine," Verplank said. "It's kind of a nuisance to be on the clock, but I kind of expected it, too."

"It's a good thing he's a great guy because if he wasn't he would probably have a lot of trouble with all the players."

Verplank also is one of the good guys on the PGA Tour. Hey, another guy who was paired with Crane in the final round -- Rory Sabbatini at the Booz Allen Classic -- got so fed up with Crane's slow play he repeatedly played out of turn on the last two holes.

The fans at the 18th hole booed Sabbatini that day. However, many of Sabbatini's peers privately applauded him.

"It's not right for one guy to hold up the entire field," two-time winner Olin Browne said.

Says Nick Price: "Playing slow is one of the most selfish things you can do to your fellow competitors."

So when is the PGA Tour finally going to do something about slow play? Every year, they come up with a "new" pace-of-play plan with higher fines, and still it takes five-plus hours for three pros to play a round.

Crane likely will have to fork out some sort of fine for his habitutal slow play. He can afford whatever dollar number the Tour comes up with; his first prize was $684,000.

Until the PGA Tour starts handing out one-shot penalties for slow play -- and when's the last time that happened? -- it will continue to be a problem. The LPGA Tour started giving out one-shot penalties last year, and at least 15 players have been assessed the penalties where it hurts -- on their scorecards.

The amazing part is Crane freely admits he's slow. He just thinks he's not as slow as he used to be when Sports Illustrated reported two years ago that a player poll said Crane was the tour's slowest player by a landslide.

"I wish I could flip a switch and be fast, but it doesn't work that way," Crane said. "I think it's a process and I think over the next few months I'll get better. It stinks for Scott. Its unfortunate but it's the way it happens. I feel terrible about it, but I try not to change my routine."

Routine? Crane stands over the ball for an eternity with the club constantly moving around until, in a split second, he draws it back.

"He's just very fidgety," Verplank said. "He stands over the ball and bobs and weaves and swivels around a lot, you know? I think I'd probably pass out."

Crane, like any golfer, can improve his pace of play; he just has to try to. Sabbatini even volunteered to play a practice round with Crane and give him tips on how he can play faster. Crane needs to change. Just wait until some big-name player gets put on the clock in the final round because he's paired with Crane.

Another pretty fair golfer, Jack Nicklaus, also was a notoriously slow player early in his career. When he saw a tape of how slow he played in an event, he made a conscious effort to speed up.

"It's not fair to your fellow competitior to make him wait on you," Nicklaus said.

Crane actually played fast in the rain-delayed second round, so his group could finish the round and not have to come back early the next morning to play one hole.

If Crane can play fast in the second round, he can do it in the other three. It's up to PGA Tour officials to make sure that happens. Finally.

The Par Report is posted every Monday on Shark.com. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Greg Norman.