The USGA and R&A have introduced a proposal that includes a Model Local rule for tours and championships to adopt. This would effectively mean rolling back the golf ball and introducing bifurcation. Creating a separate set of rules for professionals and top amateurs vs. the rest of the golf world. Golf’s biggest associations will rein in the distance, a ball can be hit by changing its performance, following opposition from the PGA Tour and criticism from some of the sport’s biggest names.
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A reduction in shot distance of 10-20 meters with a driver is tipped for elite hitters, but the impact would be felt significantly less by weekend hackers, with the billion-dollar ball manufacturing industry to be hit hardest by a need to change ball composition.
It will be sure to affect the amateur player.
Lee Crombleholme, sports psychologist quoted "But I can't help but feel other options on the table may have been less disruptive and achieved the same goal – reducing tee heights, letting fairway grasses grow longer, reducing MOI limits on drivers – to name a few, but these won't affect the recreational player and drive them away from a sport that is already so hard.”
Lee Crombleholme at Leigh Golf Club.
A big reason the change is happening is to protect our courses. With iconic courses at risk from overhitting and concerns over the direction of the game, the move has been made to change the equipment. This year the masters was forced to lengthen Augustas famous par-five 13th hole from 520 yards to 545 to make sure it remains an appropriate challenge.
R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers said, Golf courses are growing ever longer, and we need to have responsibility about protecting the integrity of golf courses. Protecting the balance of skills and technology. But also, the sport must take its responsibility and be cognizant of our environmental and sustainability impacts.”
With increasing hitting lengths, the tactical nuance and the unique challenge of many courses is diminished. Course features like doglegs, slopes, and bunkers can be avoided too easily, reducing the consequences of poor shots. And the increasing adoption of a data-driven approach to the game means that many players are turning to a more simplistic game plan. Distance is one of the biggest selling points of new equipment - from clubs to balls and more. Being forced to produce and market balls that are objectively worse would be a nightmare for manufacturers.
Elite players blasting the ball 340-yards-plus in tournament courses also makes for exciting television, so broadcasters have also been wary of any restrictions.
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