Kevin Na's pre-shot ... routine? rain delay?

Prediction: at the US Open, Chris Berman will/should use the following nickname for a certain PGA golfer.

Kevin "I'm Going To Hit My Drive ..." Na.

 

Players like Na, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Jon Byrd, Ben Crane, Sean O'Hair (I could go on but there might be space limitations here) are incredibly arrogant and self-centered when it comes to their games. The world and their playing partners must wait for them as they get the yardages three times, wait for the wind to change twice, then visualize the shot going in who knows how many times. Slow players affect fast players much more than the other way around. It's also turning people off golf, which is surely not needed right now.
I blame sports psychologists like Bob Rotella, etc., who told these guys it's okay to back off and not hit until you're ready.
The good news is that a generation of younger players (Rickie, Bubba, Rory, for example) are pretty fast. They're cracking down in the AJGA and USGA qualifiers. The slow play problem might get fixed in 20 years when kids emulating Fowler or Watson learn to get up there and whack it.
Tiger had it pegged Sunday after the round: The Tour has the power to issue stroke penalties, which is the only thing that will get players' attention. Except he said he'd change it from 1. Put on the lock. 2. Warning. 3. Stroke penalty without additional warning. Now, it's something like, 1. Clock. 2. Warning. 3. Warning and $5,000 fine. 4. Warning and 10 grand, 5. Warning and 20 grand. Except you can't fine them enough money.
It took rules officials until Na was at No. 10 on Saturday to put him on the clock and until No. 14 Sunday. He was a joke way before that.

 

Similarly, Mike Hargrove should've started every at-bat 0-2 as punishment for his routine.

 

It's been 20 years since the PGA Tour last handed out a penalty for slow play . . . and it'll probably be 20 more until it happens again.

 

Was Na slow getting over the ball? It seems like he got ready to hit just fine, then just could not pull the trigger. That's super annoying, but less bad than the guy who treats each shot like he is painting the Mona Lisa.

 

Story I read seemed to suggest that he was aware of it and actively working on it. Sounded as much like a case of the yips than a case of being a slow jackass.

 

Slow golf on the PGA Tour is an issue.

Slow golf on your average public track is a major issue.

It is why I refuse to golf on weekends unless I have the earliest tee time possible so I am first off the tee with nobody in front of me.

 

Golf and baseball have gotten painfully slow to watch. Five hours to play 18 holes? Ridiculous.

3:45 for a nine-inning baseball game? Crazy.

 

Watching on Na on Sunday was so maddening that we turned it off. Betting I'm not the only one.

 

It was painful to watch Na on Sat. and at first I thought it was a joke, how could he be leading with that routine?

But what was worse was hearing that on Sun. he was getting heckled for it from the fans.