NASSAU, Bahamas — At least one person says it’s ugly. Others say they don’t understand anger. But everyone has opinions.
The decision by the USGA and R&A to “return” golf balls in general at all levels of golf is now one of the most debated topics in the game. After a three-year “notice and comment” period in which the governing bodies proposed a bifurcated system with only the pros using a different ball, such strong opposition to the bifurcation led to a general decision.
In less than a decade, the golf balls you and the pros use will be out of the rules. But there’s still a lot to parse through this massive step.
What does ball rollback mean?
Shorten golf balls to ensure they don’t hit as far, combating a long-term issue of increasing player distance as golf courses stay the same length (or undergo costly renovations to increase yardage). Manufacturers are required to produce new balls that meet the new standards. The previous system tested balls at 120 mph, ensuring they would not exceed the 317-yard distance limit. The new rules increased the test to 125 mph, which would obviously send one more ball, meaning the balls would have to be scaled back. The longest hitters will miss 13-15 yards, the USGA says, while LPGA players can hit 5-7 yards. The average recreational golfer will lose less than 3-5 yards, according to the USGA.
Why do we do this?
During the 2022-23 season, 98 PGA Tour professionals averaged more than 300 yards off the tee. Just 10 years ago only 13 did. The 75th-longest player on tour this year, Kevin Roy, averaged 303.4 yards, or 31.5 yards more than his 1998 counterpart, Guy Boros. This is due to improvements in club and ball technology, creating concern among many in the game that professional golf is becoming a worse product because players can drive it so far that the courses can’t keep up. As Tiger Woods said Saturday, “We don’t have enough property anymore.” Woods, as he himself noted, is longer than ever, despite all the operations he has undergone over the past nine years.
The governing bodies only want to make this change for the highest level of golf, not wanting to affect the recreational golfer. But there has been strong opposition to that idea, especially on the PGA Tour and top equipment manufacturers, and many say one of the great parts of golf is that professional and recreational golfers all play the same equipment. Those people, for example, PGA Tour policy board member Patrick Cantlay, also said that the bifurcation means that manufacturers will have to spend millions of dollars developing many different golf balls for different levels.
Even that is debatable — Rory McIlroy countered that point last week as he tweeted, “The game is already bifurcated. Do you think we do the same thing as you?”
I don’t understand the anger about the golf ball rolling back. It will make no difference to the average golfer and put golf back on the path of sustainability. It will also help bring back some skills in the pro game that have been lost over the past 2 decades.…
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) December 3, 2023
Perhaps some of the pushback about the bifurcation is really a battle to stop the rollback altogether, but R&A chief Martin Slumbers told Golf Digest, “There are only three options: We can bifurcate; you change the full game; or you do nothing. And doing nothing is not an option.” Because opposition to the bifurcation was so strong, the USGA and R&A proceeded to reinstate it for all.
It was met with huge pushback online, but they are pushing for changes.
“There are a lot of ambulance calls and alarmists who are going to make this thing look worse than it is,” USGA CEO Mike Whan told The Golf Channel. “… I don’t want a few loud voices trying to get more clicks and more viewers and more phone calls to cause a stir that is frankly not based in fact.”
When will it take effect?
The roll back will begin for elite players and competitions in 2028, and it will begin to apply to everyone in 2030.
What does this mean for the recreational golfer?
You will need new golf balls. In the end. The new rules don’t kick in for non-elite players until 2030, so you’ll have two years to see the pros play with this setup before you follow suit.
One of the main issues some have with the universal roll back is that most recreational golfers don’t hit it anywhere close enough to make distance an issue. PGA Tour golfer Keegan Bradley told reporters in the Bahamas this week: “For the amateur world to hit the ball shorter is outrageous. I can’t think of anything more stupid. I don’t think it’s very smart, especially when golf is growing in popularity literally out of COVID.”
The downside to that is that courses can adjust tee boxes (and the cost to lift them is less than moving them back) and that length is generally more about whether how far you got it compared to the average rather than a specific one. number. McIlroy also countered points like Bradley’s, saying, “People who are upset with this decision shouldn’t be upset with the governing bodies, they should be upset with the elite pros and club/ball manufacturers because they don’t want of bifurcation.”
McIlroy also said: “It will make no difference to the average golfer and will put golf back on a path of sustainability. It will also help bring back some skills in the pro game that have been eroded over the last 2 decades.”
Also remember that the average golfer can make up for the loss in distance through proper equipment fitting, lessons, better fitness or not playing the scuffed-up balls they find in the bushes.
Golfers are expected to lose 5 percent of their distance with the proposed rollback of the golf ball. (Neil Baynes/Getty Images)
What does this mean for PGA Tour pros?
This is the hard part to nail down, and perhaps the answer won’t come until 2028.
The main goal is to keep golf a game that rewards hitting a variety of shots and having success with all the clubs in your bag. The concern isn’t literally that people hit it too hard. It’s that some courses turn into “drive the ball far and hit a short wedge,” which some say detracts from the game. Many will forever cite the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot where long-hitter Bryson DeChambeau was able to launch drives far, not worry too much about accuracy and still rise to a major victory. That’s obviously the extreme, but it’s the simplest example of the problem.
Many pros say there’s more to be done in course design and setup that can serve as a hindrance to the bomb-and-gouge technique. Scottie Scheffler touted TPC Sawgrass, Colonial and Hilton Head earlier this year as courses that have “stood the test of time” with designs that punish difficult drives. But other courses have removed the trees and opted to grow only the rough, which isn’t always enough.
The governing bodies probably expect drives to go back 15 or more yards and you’ll see more players hitting long irons on the greens. Again, the goal is to reward a complete game of golf.
Will this fix the problem?
Probably not, but it will be harder to get the equipment back (although the USGA and R&A have also indicated that it will continue to test “driver creep” and drivers’ forgiveness for off-center hits) and the governing body needs to be done. Some of the best courses in the world, from Pebble Beach to St. Andrews, is in danger of being covered where the game goes. Augusta National famously extended the 13th hole 35 yards by purchasing property behind the old back tees. Almost no other course can do things like that.
There are always unintended consequences that come from big decisions like this. Perhaps this will create new problems. Perhaps this will create a completely different advantage to capitalize on. But as Slumbers points out, doing nothing is not an option, and in the short term, it could make professional golf a better product.
(Top photo: Angel Martinez / Getty Images)
