'Future of golf': European Tour's shot clock gets rave reviews

The European Tour continues to push the envelope when it comes to creating unique tournament formats, and this week is no different.

The Shot Clock Masters in Austria implemented - you guessed it - a shot clock, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

In the new format, players are on the clock every shot, with the first in the group given 50 seconds to hit and every subsequent player given 40 seconds.

So far, the measure to reduce round times has been a huge success, and the European Tour pros can't contain their excitement.

"The future of golf" might be a bold statement, but given the response from other players, Nick Cullen could be onto something.

Nicolas Colsaerts, a two-time winner on the European Tour, also raved about the shot clock.

"This is great. This is how we should play week in, week out," Colsaerts said after Round 2. "You have plenty of time - you have to be ready, of course - but most of the time we still have 15-20 seconds to go when we hit shots."

The European Tour tweeted that the Round 1 average time was 4 hours and 13 minutes - down 34 minutes compared to 2017.

Even American pro Billy Horschel is a fan of the idea.

European Tour CEO Keith Pelley continues to embrace innovation with other tournaments, such as the Super 6 and Belgian Knockout, but the shot-clock initiative could be his most groundbreaking one yet.

Take note, PGA Tour.