It's the time of the year when the golfy folk are winding down and indulging in the kind of opulent excess that used to be the reserve of insane Roman emperors but Stephen Gallacher had one final point to make before settling himself into the festive frivolities.

A couple of days after Rory McIlroy voiced his concerns over the pace of play issue that is crippling the game at all levels, Gallacher, speaking at the Scottish PGA's Christmas knees-up in Glasgow, backed the world No 1's criticisms and even suggested that golf should follow cricket's lead and, well, hit the slow coaches for six.

Earlier this month, England captain Alastair Cook was a given a one-match suspension for his team's slow over rate in a one-day match against Sri Lanka - his second such offence of the season - and lost 20 per cent of his match fee while the entire England team were fined 10 per cent of their fees. Gallacher, one of the more brisk movers on the golfing circuit, would like to see similarly robust raps across the knuckles being dished out in the Royal & Ancient pursuit.

"I think slow play, in certain forms, is cheating," said Gallacher, who was awarded honorary membership of the PGA at the annual get together yesterday. "I think guys who are slow, who know they are slow and get fined all the time but don't do anything about it are putting people off. They are certainly putting viewers off.

"I think on the pro tour you have to make it ruthless and say that it's a shot penalty. You can't have a monetary thing. In cricket if he doesn't meet his over rate he's out. You could do that. Two, two shot penalties and you are suspended the next week. And that might be the Open week.

"When I was first came on tour we had what were called Apollo weeks. It was like a boot camp for new recruits where it was all laid out what happens on tour and what was expected of you. We should maybe have that again. Get some ex tour pros in to show them what to do. There's not many of the older generation who have many bad times (in terms of pace of play) on the course."

Gallacher had plenty of good times on the course during a 2014 campaign in which he retained his Dubai Desert Classic title and represented Europe in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. At this time of the year for reflection, though, Gallacher is not one to dwell on what has gone before. At 35th on the world rankings, there are plenty off doors of opportunity swinging open on both sides of the Atlantic.

"I'm definitely ready for a break," said the 40-year-old, who racked up eight top-10s during a hectic year in which he bust a gut to make the Ryder Cup team. "It's one that's going to be hard to top, you know. But the key is not to panic and try to do too much. I've done a lot this year.

"You never look back. You know you've had a good year but all you're trying to do is bottle that formula and keep doing it.

"You don't end up 35th in the world by having one good year. You've got to have two or three good years, or it cascades away.

"I'm getting more consistent. I just want to improve slightly in places, that wee bit here and there - and who knows, you could be in the top ten as quickly as that. It's such a fine margin."

Gallacher's Ryder Cup debut was one of mixed emotions. He was part of a triumphant team but lost both his games, in partnership with Ian Poulter on the opening morning and to Phil Mickelson in the Sunday singles.

Paul McGinley, the European skipper, suggested at the weekend that one of his regrets was not preparing an out of form Poulter enough for his alliance with Gallacher on that first morning. The pressure was huge. Poulter, the European talisman, and Gallacher, the home hopeful carrying the expectations of a nation.

"I wouldn't take it back now and I have absolutely no negativity about the Ryder Cup at all," added Gallacher. "Paul wrote me a nice letter recently - he wrote every team member one - and he's given me a lot of confidence. He explained his reasoning for me playing with Poulter. You know, it was the first morning, I've got the Saltire round me, Ian is not playing as well as normal but the big crowd is what he loves. Paul just thought that would be the spur but it obviously didn't work. Neither of us played well.

"I'll probably not show that letter to many people because it's a personal letter. But it's a mark of the man. It was right for him to be coach of the year (at the Sports Personality of the Year) even though he's not really a coach. It was fitting for him."