The 2018 Shot Clock Masters, which is scheduled to take place from June 7 to 10 at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, has been launched as part of the European Tour's bid to combat slow play.

The European Tour experimented with a shot clock on the fourth hole of the inaugural GolfSixes tournament, held in English city St Albans in May, in a move that reportedly proved popular with both players and fans.

The concept will now be used for the first time at a European Tour event.

GolfSixes featured 16 teams of two players who first contested a group stage before knock-out rounds.

Each match took place over just six holes using the greensomes format - where both players tee-off before the players alternate using the best lying ball.

In a marked difference to the GolfSixes model, however, the Shot Clock Masters will embrace the European Tour's official timing policy over 72 holes, with an intent to showcase an event played at a more compelling pace.

In accordance with this official policy, the first player in a group to take any given shot will have 50 seconds, while subsequent players will have 40 seconds.

Players will incur a one-shot penalty for each bad time incurred and these will be shown as a red card against their name on the leaderboard.

Each player will have the right to call two "time-outs" during a round, permitting them twice the usually allotted time to play the shot.

"The 2018 Shot Clock Masters will be a fascinating addition to our schedule next year," Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said.

"Not only will it help us combat slow play and reduce round times, it is also further evidence of our desire to embrace innovation."

Ali A. Al-Khaffaf, director of tournament promoters Golf Open Event, added: "We are very proud that we have extended our partnership with the European Tour and that the 2018 Shot Clock Masters will be the first event in professional golf to use this format across all 72 holes.

"For the on-site viewers and for those at home in front of the TV screens, it will be an additional tool that will make golf even more interesting and faster.

"With this innovation we will make history."

Scotland’s Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie are among the players to have backed the advent of the Shot Clock Masters. 

"I personally think it’s a great idea and will definitely speed up play, which is badly needed," Lawrie told The Scotsman.

"It’s a great idea for the Tour as it shows we are keen to try new ideas to speed up play.

"I also think it will show a lot of players how slow they really are as quite a few of them don’t actually think they’re that slow."

Responding to the announcement on Twitter, Montgomerie wrote: "Congratulations @EuropeanTour after 30 years a deterrent that will work, pace of play has been determined by the slowest player for too long."

Leading Austrian player Bernd Wiesberger said the change will bring about "much more attention from the international sports media during the tournament".

“The new shot clock format is an ideal way to focus on the issue of pace of play," he added.

"The game of golf should definitely be faster and therefore this is a step in the right direction."

Last year, the European Tour pledged to speed up the game of golf, introducing a new pace of play policy which included monitoring penalties and handing referees additional powers to target slow players.

The policy is said to have had an immediate effect, leading to a visible reduction in round times.

It is hoped the latest innovation will cut round times by around 45 minutes, reducing three-ball timings to approximately four hours and two-balls to around three hours, 15 minutes.