Ryan Fox’s speedy pace was a marvel. Should more golfers step on the gas?

In an era where many top golfers spend minutes contemplating each shot, Ryan Fox stands out with his lightning-fast play. His victory at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale was not just a triumph but also a reason for reflection: shouldn't more golfers 'step on the gas'?

Ryan Fox's Speedy Style

Scottie Scheffler, who played with Fox in the same group at the Phoenix Open, noted his incredible speed: 'When we walk off the 9th tee, he goes, ‘Foxy, it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the group.’ You hit it so fast, it just feels like we’re playing in a two-ball.' This style of play has been with Fox since his youth. Back in New Zealand, playing with his father, rugby legend Grant Fox, he tried not to hold up his playing partners.

'I need to make sure this comes across right,' Fox admitted at Birkdale. 'It’s not that difficult to pick a shot and pick a club. It’s always going to be between one or two clubs into a green, and I just see the shot quickly, pick a shot quickly, and the less time I have to think about it, the less bad stuff can creep in there.'

Speed as an Advantage: Expert Opinions

While many professionals require a 'Pentagon briefing' before a 112-yard wedge shot, and fans have turned criticizing slow play into 'bloodsport,' watching Fox was refreshing. His game suggests that many golfers would benefit from speeding up.

Among those who appreciated Fox's pace was GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher Christopher Smith. Smith himself, in his prime, played at a speed that would make Usain Bolt blush. In October 2005, he completed 18 holes at Jackson Park Golf Course in Chicago in 44 minutes, shooting 65 with only six clubs in his bag. This feat, recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, still stands today.

'One of the ways I — and people can test themselves — is timing them from the moment they address the ball,' says Smith. 'If you put the club on the ground behind the ball, if you hover it, whatever you do before impact, how many seconds does it take you? And what produces the best outcome? Where do you hit the best shots? Foxy looks like he’s around 8 seconds.'

Video footage of Fox's play, shared by the PGA Tour, supports Smith's estimate. 'He does everything fast,' Smith told me on Tuesday. 'He walks fast, and as soon as he hits it, he’s grabbed the putter out of his bag, he’s ready to go.'

The Psychological Aspect of Fast Play

Smith believes that fast play helped Fox manage his nerves, especially on the final putt. 'Probably the worst thing he could have done would be to start thinking about it and take more time,' he added.

This contrasts with Greg Norman's situation at the 1996 Masters, where he lost a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo. 'At the end of the front nine and on the back nine, the sheer amount of time he took over the ball, it got longer and longer and longer,' recalls Smith. 'And he got worse and worse and worse.'

Fox, of course, battles inner demons too. He has a sports psychologist, Karl Morris, with whom they developed a strategy before The Open. Fox decided to take only information on distance and wind from his caddie Dean Smith, handling club selection and shot shape himself. 'I’m better when I create a shot,' said Fox.

Breathing and Concentration

At Birkdale, Fox consciously worked on his breathing, especially on the greens. He admitted that in tense situations, he tends to speed up. 'Just taking a second longer, especially over a putt, just get myself ready, get myself relaxed,' he said. 'I did that a lot down the stretch.'

On the 72nd hole, Fox hit his approach shot before the group ahead had fully cleared the green. Then came his 12-footer for the win. From the moment his playing partner Sam Burns holed out to clear the stage for Fox, to the moment Fox rocked back his putter and sent his own ball rolling toward immortality, all of 22.23 seconds elapsed.

'We’ve always said this in the Speedgolf world: see it and hit it,' says Smith. 'Rather than see it, think about it or contemplate it, and then hit it.'

Individual Approach to Pace of Play

Smith notes that there's nothing inherently wrong with a more contemplative style of play. There's a scientific explanation related to eye and hand dominance. People with cross-dominance (e.g., left eye and right hand, or vice versa) are more likely to be 'spontaneous and reactive.'

'If you’re homogeneous — let’s say you’re right-eye dominant and right-handed — you’re going to be more apt to kind of see it, plan it and then ponder it a little bit and then do it,' Smith explained.

So, while fans enjoy seeing faster players, Fox's Claret Jug moment is unlikely to spawn an army of copycats and solve the slow-play epidemic. For some players, 8-9 seconds might be enough time to get comfortable; for others, 14-15 seconds might be required. The key, according to Smith, is knowing your 'sweet spot.' 'I always tell people, look at the results,' he advises. 'The ball tells you the story. Is it better or worse, or the same?'

As for Fox, he's unlikely to ease off the accelerator anytime soon. 'If you tried to slow me down and make me do everything slowly,' he said Sunday evening, 'I think I’d be pretty useless.'