The Augusta National Golf Club has come up with a new pace of play policy: instead of penalizing slow players, reward fast ones.
No, not at the Masters.
At the junior level.
The Drive, Chip and Putt competition for children and youth ages 7-15 is sponsored by the Augusta National Golf Club and is entering its 13th year.
The club announced its qualifying sites and registration period on Jan. 27 for the 13th annual Drive, Chip and Putt competition, a skills contest for junior players between 7-15 years old in which they compete in driving (for distance and accuracy), chipping and putting.
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The club also announced a new wrinkle in the competition: A pace of play bonus for the national finals on April 5 at Augusta National. Players can earn up to three additional points if they complete each shot during the competition in 40 seconds or less.
Players get three points for winning a skills category, two for second and one for third. The top 10 from regional qualifying in four age groups (7-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15) in boys and girls advance to the national finals on the Sunday before the Masters.
According to the club’s release, “this initiative aims to reinforce pace of play as an essential skill in golf.”
The bonus points are not yet in effect for local, sub-regional and regional qualifying.
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Augusta Chairman issued a warning
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley predicted last year during his annual news conference on the eve of the Masters first round that a pace of play policy might be coming for the Drive, Chip and Putt after players in the National Finals were using the controversial “Aim Point” method of reading putts and taking time to pace off chips, even though competitors know the length of the chip shots ahead of time.
Chaz Zitzner of Springfield, Ohio reads a putt using the “Aim Point” method during the boys 10-11 competition in the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2025 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Ridley said using Aim Point and pacing off chips was unnecessary and juniors imitating professionals was a trend the club did not want to see.
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“Unfortunately, these young people are looking to their heroes who play the game each week for a living as to how they’re going to approach, competitively, playing the game,” Ridley said during the news conference. “As it relates to the Drive, Chip & Putt … every phase of the competition has the same length chip and the same length putt, so it’s really not necessary to pace that off. They know how many yards that is. But nevertheless, that’s what they were doing.”
Ridley then issued a vow that came true.
“I think it’s safe to assume that next year at the Drive, Chip & Putt, you will see some sort of time limitations placed on the competition,” he said.
There won’t be a “shot clock.” But timing will be used as a motivation with the bonus points.
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Most other youth golf organizations have tried to make faster play a generational characteristic. Groups such as the American Junior Golf Association and USGA have strict pace of play policies that involve several checkpoints during an 18-hole round in which groups must meet prescribed times.
Coming from Augusta National, one of the most powerful forces in golf, the message about pace of play with the bonus points for the DC&P may carry even more weight.
When does Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying begin?
Local qualifying begins on May 2 at 353 sites in all 50 states. The two First Coast qualifying sites are June 4 at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club and July 9 at the St. Johns Golf Club. Another qualifier will be July 16 at Jekyll Island (Ga.) Golf Club.
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A sub-regional qualifier will be Aug. 16 at the Conservatory at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast.
Lily Wachter of St. Augustine is embraced by her father Kevin Wachter after winning the girls 10-11 age group in the 2024 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
Competitors will advance through subregional and regional qualifiers, with 10 iconic courses hosting regionals: the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach (Sept. 12), Whistling Straits, Pinehurst, Castle Pines, Southern Hills, Crooked Stick, Pebble Beach, the Los Angeles Country Club, Laurel Valley and Quaker Ridge.
The 80 finalists, 40 boys and 40 girls, will advance to the 2027 National Finals on April 4. Qualifiers are run by all 41 Sections of the PGA of America nationwide.
Registration is at drivechipandputt.com. No prior golf experience is required.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Augusta National to reward pace of play at Drive, Chip and Putt finals
