Harrington, now 52, is often used as the prime example of a player who has benefitted most from the modern golf ball going so far. The Irishman ranked first on the PGA Tour Champions last season with an average driving distance of 302.4 yards. Twenty years ago, in the prime of his career, Harrington averaged just 290.8.

While the ball, and modern clubs, certainly play a role in his incredible gains, Harrington has also worked tirelessly with Golf Digest 50 Best Teacher Michael Jacobs to gain maximum speed. I wondered if Harrington took offense to the narrative that he hits it so much farther now at 52 just because of the ball and not because of the hours he’s put in to get to where he is now. An opportunity arose on Wednesday at the PNC Championship to ask him that very question.

In the most on-brand move ever, Harrington then proceeded to rant for seven consecutive minutes, and I’m not sure if he ever answered the original question.

“The one thing about the rollback is it’s distinctly different—the attitude in the United States than the attitude, certainly in Ireland and the rest of Europe,” Harrington said. “You guys hate the USGA. We actually love the R&A. Golf isn’t an exclusive game in Europe. Some golf courses, we have the whole gambit. The majority of golf courses in Ireland are just regular member’s golfer courses. Yes, you need to be rich to play golf — rich in time. The people who play golf in Ireland are people who have time. Taxi drivers, policemen, anybody on shift work, and obviously people who are wealthy enough that they can make some spare time, but everybody plays in Ireland. And we all know a golf course that we grew up on that has had to change its golf holes, move part of the course, actually move the whole golf course at times because the ball is just going too far.

“And it’s not 98 percent of golfers. It’s the one percent of amateurs, the young adults that we want to play the game, they can hit it,” he continued. “And when they miss, they miss big. It goes off the golf course, it pitches in the middle of other fairways. It’s dangerous. They can’t get insurance, they have to change the holes. So, I know there is a bit of pain involved for the majority, but it’s for the greater good of the game. And to be honest, five percent was soft. Ten percent would have been a fair hit, but five percent is really drawing a line in the sand. It’s just saying, in five year’s time, we’ll have eaten that five percent up anyway. It’s a line in the sand that says if it starts creeping again, we’re going to roll it back again.”

Harrington then proceeded to make the sustainability argument, saying that in the U.S. we have far more land to work with than in countries like Ireland. His local course in Dublin, Grange Golf Club, opens with a par 3 that once took a 3-wood to find the green. Now, Harrington says, it’s a sand wedge.

“That’s a constant theme, so it’s very important for the rest of the world to roll it back. I’m sorry you guys in the U.S. feel that way. There is that attitude in the U.S. that the USGA is representing the very exclusive, old school courses. That’s not the case,” he said. “They are representing everybody, and I guarantee you the R&A, people have a much better view of them. They’re just trying to make the game grow for everyone.”

As for taking offense to folks saying Harrington hits it so long at 52 now because of the golf ball, he believes they are wrong to use him as an example.

“I don’t worry about me,” Harrington said. “I’m actually in the same place — I was a long hitter, but not as long as the biggest hitters. The biggest hitters didn’t play when I played. Now they do, and I’m still in the same place, I’m a long hitter but I’m not quite as long as the really long guys. Some of those really long guys are better players now, and I think there’s more of them too.

“The problem the game has is what’s coming. Everyone says, ‘oh, look at Cameron Champ, it’s amazing.’ There’s loads of these guys, and faster, in college. They’re all over, and I’m not saying they’re players, but eventually we’re going to get a guy with 210-mph ball speed who is able to play. Up to now anybody who has got to that speed just can’t play golf, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to get one. Like Tiger, he came out and he was a 190-mph ball speed guy — not that we hadn’t seen 190 ball speed before, we just hadn’t seen a 190 ball speed who could play golf.”

As another example, Harrington used Hank Kuehne, who averaged 321 yards off the tee all the way back in 2003. Harrington believes the world convinced Kuehne that he was wrong, that if he hit it in trouble as a long hitter it was because he hit driver. Then, Harrington says, a player named Rory McIlroy came along and changed everyone’s way of thinking.

“He [McIlroy] just hit driver, and all of a sudden the other long hitters, I’m talking DJ [Dustin Johnson], I’m talking Bubba [Bubba Watson], J.B. Holmes, they were big hitters at the time, Gary Woodland. They all changed their style of golf once they saw Rory change. I played with DJ his first ever [Players Championship] at TPC Sawgrass. He got in as a late alternate, and we’re on the tee and this kid, I had no idea who he was and he had an iron in his hand and we’re kind of like ‘oh, look at this lad, he’s nervous isn’t he.’ And then you see this iron coming out and you go, woah, that’s a bit different. There’s not a chance in the world that DJ would tee it up with an iron at TPC Sawgrass now, he’s hitting driver. That’s how much the game has changed.”

Ultimately, Harrington says, we’re going to see a player who is cruising between 135 and 140-mph clubhead speed who will be able to play. The rollback should be able to hold everything in place as is, but it won’t be able to stop the young guys coming. Harrington believes we haven’t even come close to the maximum physical capability, hence why the rollback is necessary.

He then closed with an unbelievably bold prediction.

“You know what the biggest change is going to be?” he asked. “I’m going to say it here — it’s going to be the ladies game. They hit too many fairways now, so there is a huge advantage going forward for somebody who comes out there with 175-mph ball speed. There is going to be a lady coming out with 175 ball speed who can be a real competitor, and guess what? She’s going to be able to play with the men, and compete.”

To hear Harrington’s full take, watch the video below:

I asked @padraig_h for his ‘quick’ rollback take. He then spoke for 7 consecutive minutes without coming up for air.

I promise it’s worth your time, especially if you stick around for the very end when he makes an incredibly bold prediction for the future of golf pic.twitter.com/czH17T6i85

— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) December 14, 2023

Main Image: Sam Greenwood

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The USGA and the R&A formally announced Wednesday their intention to roll back the distance golf balls can travel. The rollback goes into effect January 2028 for elite competitions and for everybody come January 2030. The decision, part of the governing bodies’ Distance Insights Project, comes after some three years of “Notice and Comment” in which the USGA and R&A accepted feedback from golf’s stakeholders.

“Governance is hard. And while thousands will claim that we did too much, there will be just as many who said we didn’t do enough to protect the game long-term,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “But from the very beginning, we’ve been driven to do what is right for the game, without bias. As we’ve said, doing nothing is not an option—and we would be failing in our responsibility to protect the game’s future if we didn’t take appropriate action now.”

The specifics, first reported by Golf Digest, involve the test for the Overall Distance Standard. The governing bodies are increasing the swing speed at which golf balls are tested from the current standard of 120 mph to 125 mph without changing the distance limit of 317 yards (plus a three-yard tolerance) with a launch angle of 11 degrees and 2,200 rpm of spin. In layman’s terms, according to the USGA and R&A, the effect could be a distance loss of nine to 11 yards at the PGA Tour or DP World Tour level, five to seven yards for the LPGA/LET and between five yards or less for everyday players.

All golf balls submitted to the USGA for conformance during or after October 2027 will be evaluated using the new protocol. In other words, if everyday golfers want to continue using longer golf balls in 2028 and 2029, they will be older-model balls. There was no mention in the Notice of Decision how one would be able to tell what is an old conforming ball and what is a new conforming ball other than comparing it to the conforming list. However, John Spitzer, the USGA’s managing director of equipment standards, said approximately one-third of balls currently on the conforming list would still be conforming under the new protocol, primarily two- and-three-piece balls with ionomer covers.

The change in speed and the fact it affects all golfers are significant departures from the governing bodies previous stance. In 2022, the speed being looked at was 125 mph but that was amended in March 2023 to 127. However, also at that time the proposal was stated as a Model Local Rule impacting elite professional golfers only. Said Whan at the time, “We don’t see recreational golf obsoleting golf courses any time soon.”

So why the change to include everybody? The governing bodies say the move to a universal rollback was the result of feedback during the Notice and Comment period triggered in March after the announcement of the proposed MLR. In a note to all industry stakeholders, the USGA and R&A conveyed that, “While we previously proposed a targeted change to only elite golf, we have incorporated feedback from a broad range of stakeholders/players who stressed the importance of unification in the game of golf, mainly the importance of maintaining a single set of playing rules and a single set of equipment standards. This feedback clearly indicated that an across-the-game solution with deferred implementation is the preferred solution.”

Exactly how much distance regular golfers will lose, however, remains a bit grey since the one to five yards mention on Wednesday by the governing bodies doesn’t quite jibe with a USGA published report in June 2022. Although they stated similar numbers, there also was this on the testing of a shorter ball.

“In testing with the NP-500 … participants reported a perceived distance reduction of about 4.9 percent (210 yards compared to a 221-yard self-reported average). This is consistent with expectations based on laboratory testing.” In other words, not quite one to five yards. Still, Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s chief governance officer, told Golf Digest everyday golfers should rest easy.

“It’s five yards at most and likely limited to your driver,” Pagel said. “I don’t want to minimize people’s feelings or concerns about losing even a yard. We all have those concerns. We all want that extra yard or two. But just put this in the practical senses of this would mean, you know, 222 yards instead of 225. And you do have the ability to move tees up. You do have the ability to play forward tees. I would just say trust in the process. Over the next six years, I think we’ll find that the sky hasn’t fallen, the game is still going to be healthy.”

Perhaps just as important as the decision on golf balls, it appears the governing bodies are not quite done putting a governor on distance. Included in the note to stakeholders were two additional areas being looked at. The first is expanding testing of submitted drivers to keep tabs on “CT Creep,” which is drivers getting springier over time due to use, leading to the possibility of a conforming club becoming non-conforming. This is not a change, per se, and does not impact everyday players.

The next item, however, is to continue its research into the forgiveness of drivers at the elite level, which could lead to reductions in moment of inertia (which mitigates distance loss on mis-hits), driver-head size or both. Although the language was aimed solely at elite players, as we have seen with the ball rollback decision, things have a way of changing.

Image: Supplied

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The proposed rollback of the golf ball by the USGA and the R&A is now moving to its next, and perhaps most definitive — and potentially most contentious — stage.

The deadline for companies, golf associations and individuals to file documents with the USGA and R&A on a proposed rule that could essentially roll back the ball for elite male professional events like the US Open and Open Championship passed on Monday, and while the ruling bodies have not made public any of the comments they received, they apparently received plenty.

The USGA released a statement to Golf Digest on Thursday that reads: “The close of the comment period marks another important step in a thorough and inclusive governance process for golf. We’re grateful for the insightful feedback we’ve received across the game. It’s now our job, in partnership with The R&A, to thoroughly review this latest round of information we’ve received. One thing is clear‑there are many who care about golf’s future as much as we do, and all voices play a critical role as we determine the best path forward. We anticipate providing further direction on this topic in the coming months.”

The distance issue has been a front button topic for the R&A for the last five years, culminating in an announcement in March seeking comment from any and all constituents on a proposal to institute a new testing procedure for golf balls. That new test could be used to create what’s called a Model Local Rule, which is basically a stipulation that an event or tour could put in place for its participants. This particular stipulation would raise the swing speed used for testing balls for conformance in specified events from 120 miles per hour to 127 miles per hour. That could reduce driving distances by as much as 20 yards. The USGA and R&A have stated firmly they would plan to implement such a rule at their respective open championships, and they have stated that “the MLR is intended for use only in elite competitions and, if adopted, will have no impact on recreational golf”. As proposed, it would go into effect beginning in 2026.

Recently, both the PGA Tour and the PGA of America released statements saying they will not support the proposed rollback MLR. As well, several manufacturers contacted by Golf Digest have expressed their disagreement with the need for any such MLR on golf ball distance, off the record. However, no statements or documents on the comments they’ve received have been made public by the ruling bodies, and it appears the next step is several months away. That next step could be a decision to go forward with the proposed MLR, to pull back from any proposed distance-related changes, or to adjust any of the specifics in the current proposed ruling or testing process, thus beginning another notice and comment period.

According to the USGA’s official process for making equipment rule changes, comments will be published on the USGA and R&A websites, although “appropriate controls will be in place to prevent comments from being published without the submitter’s permission”. Under the terms of the process, “The USGA and The R&A will consider all comments equally, whether or not the submitter gives permission for the comments to be published.”

USGA’s Mike Whan. Rob Carr

While the official guidelines for the equipment rulemaking process stress transparency, it is also clearly stated that the final decision rests with the USGA and the R&A. The leaders of both organisations, USGA CEO Mike Whan and R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, have been clear that a change to distance at the elite level of men’s golf is required. Whan said in announcing the proposed MLR in March: “You want to critique the USGA and the R&A over the last 20 years, on: ‘Why didn’t you do this five, seven, 10 years ago?’ Fair comment, and we’ve taken that on, too. But taking another 10 years off, looking the other way and saying: ‘Distance is great, everybody is excited, and of course [distance] is going to grow by more than a yard a year for the next 20 years, and we all know it but we’ll just turn the other cheek’? Well, that would be a shame.”

The PGA of America’s memorandum to the USGA on the MLR, which was co-signed by eight other PGAs worldwide, called for the ruling bodies to pause and reconsider the “unintended consequences” of the proposed change. “We fear that the proposed changes could seriously interrupt the current momentum in the game and be fundamentally damaging and detrimental in the long run. We are also very aware that there are sets of data that conflict with the R&A and USGA materials … We would ask that the R&A and USGA firstly extend the consultation period to allow a review of the conflicting data being presented and for more data to be gathered to prove or disprove if change is indeed required.”

Currently on the PGA Tour, the average driving distance is 299.8, 0.2 yards ahead of where it was this time a year ago. While that marks the fifth time since 2015 that the average declined or was less than a yard, four other times that increase was 2.5 yards or more. If it finishes at that number, it would be 12.4 yards ahead of where it was in 2013. As well, the percentage of drives 320 yards or longer was about seven per cent 10 years ago. Today, it is 19.45 per cent. Conversely, according to data provided by Arccos, the GPS stat-tracking app that’s recorded more than 750 million shots, the average drive for the average male golfer dropped by half a yard from 2018 to 2022 to 226 yards.

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In a move that could have significant implications for the USGA and R&A proposal to roll back golf ball distance at the elite level, the World Alliance of PGAs has asked the governing bodies to indefinitely halt its march toward the changes.

In a memo obtained by Golf Channel and signed by PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, the alliance — which includes nine PGAs from around the world — wrote: “We strongly believe in the need to completely scope out all unintended consequences before the introduction of any significant change. Whilst many aspects have been considered we are worried that the proposed changes will have far reaching implications for our game.”

The USGA and R&A announced in March a proposed Model Local Rule that would limit golf ball distance for elite competition beginning in January 2026. Recreational golfers would not be affected, but the proposal stirred a strong and divided debate about whether having different balls for elite players and everyday golfers was good for the game.

Last month, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo to players that the tour would not use the proposed MLR in competition, though he added that he would work with the governing bodies to find an eventual solution.

In their memo, the PGAs, which represent thousands of teaching professionals, say they are “firmly opposed” to bifurcation of the golf ball: “It is something that we feel would lead to division and cause us to lose a very precious characteristic of golf; the fact that we all play on the same course with the same clubs and balls. In our view, this dynamic should be preserved as a fundamental tenet.”

The PGAs cited operational issues, including policing players, retailers and driving ranges having to stock two different kinds of balls, and golfers playing different balls for different events, as reasons it opposes the proposal. The PGAs cited the effect on golf courses and handicap systems and said the governing bodies’ suggestion that elite women players could still play a “recreational” ball could be viewed “very negatively at a time when we are all trying to promote and champion women’s golf and participation”.

The PGAs noted that there was “conflicting data” in regards to the rollback and proposed that the PGA World Alliance work with other industry members to produce a “white paper” that would review all data and possibly include “alternative solutions”.

The notice and comment period for the proposed MLR is set to end next Monday, and the PGAs are asking that the governing bodies push back their implementation of the rollback and keep the status quo as the industry further contemplates “the thorny challenges of bifurcation.”

The PGAs offered to discuss the matter with the USGA and R&A. The USGA responded to the memo, as it did with the PGA Tour, by saying, “We remain in a Notice & Comment period, accepting feedback from voices from across the game. The PGA is an important stakeholder and we appreciate the feedback they have contributed to this conversation.”

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“I think we’re getting very, very confident in what we think will happen because we have all this information, but really, it’s the unseen information that’s really going to change things,” Mackenzie said during a virtual summit on the golf ball rollback hosted by the Golf Journalists Association of Canada and RBC.

“If we roll the ball back on the tour level, there’s going to be an explosion in clubhead speed that they’re not predicting.”

Mackenzie, a professor in the department of human kinetics at Canada’s St Francis Xavier University, has studied the biomechanics of the golf swing and the interaction between equipment and elite performance for much of the last 20 years. He roots his suggestion in golf’s ruling bodies’ proposed change to the ball testing method.

Announced this spring, if adopted, the new rule would change the speed at which balls are tested for conformance, increasing it from 120 mph to 127 mph. That effect would require balls to fly 15-20 yards shorter than they do currently to be conforming to the test. Mackenzie believes that kind of rollback actually might have the unintended consequence of further emphasising a pursuit for distance, or, more precisely, clubhead speed. And in Mackenzie’s view of the future of a rolled back ball, that potential for swing speed is monumentally higher than it is now.

“We’re talking about the best of the best, a very, very small percentage of athletes,” Mackenzie said, “but if you start playing with a ball that gets slower and slower in terms of the distance it’s going off the tee, players will start swinging faster and faster, and all of a sudden players that cannot swing the club at 130 and 140 miles an hour will not be in the game. I think 160 is the limit that we’re kind of working around with [in terms of] human potential. There is no reason to think that the top .005 per cent of the golfers in the world won’t figure out how to swing a golf club at 140 miles an hour in the next 10 years. I don’t see it going any other way.”

A swing speed explosion?

If Mackenzie’s prediction is true, that would increase the average swing speed on the PGA Tour by more than 25 mph. If every mile per hour of swing speed would lead to approximately 2.5 yards of distance, that would increase current driving distance by more than 60 yards. Now, if there were a ball rollback, some of that increase would be clawed back by perhaps 15-20 yards. But Mackenzie also wondered what the effects of a new ball actually might be. The modern game hasn’t really experienced switching to equipment that performed significantly worse.

Specifically, we don’t entirely know how these new “slower” golf balls will perform or how elite golfers would view the statistical advantage of driving distance. For example, these new balls might yield less than two yards for every mile per hour as you get into the higher speeds. Conversely, given course designs, there may be less statistical advantage for being 350 yards off the tee v 315.

The point is whether the push for distance under current conditions is somewhat self-limiting. Any degree of miss is magnified the farther you hit it. Think of tee shots fitting into a cone where the point starts at the clubface. The degree of the mis-hit direction represents how far off line the ball will be. At 100 yards, that might be a five-yard miss, but that same miss at 300 yards becomes more like 20 yards. So the desire for more distance requires more elite face control at 350 yards than it does at 310. And if 310 gets you a wedge into the green, are you necessarily going to be more accurate with a half-wedge? It’s not clear.

And to be fair, Mackenzie isn’t suggesting that all the current players swinging at average tour speeds will somehow train their way up to swing speeds in the 140s. Rather, the thought is that in some not-too-distant future, the prototypical tour player will be developing these kinds of speeds as almost a prerequisite to be competitive in elite golf. The rolling back of the ball might not lessen the advantage or the value of swinging faster. Rather, Mackenzie said, it very well might increase it to the point of eliminating an entire class of player from the game.

“That means that the David Toms, the Zach Johnsons, you’ll never hear from them again. That’s the reality,” Mackenzie said.

Another unknown is the physical requirements of drastically increasing swing speed at the elite level. At least currently, this kind of skill set development is not without its own consequences. Even Bryson DeChambeau backed off his extreme pursuit of speed after injuries started cropping up. Then again, we also don’t even know whether the proposed rollback will go through (the deadline for comments is August 14).

John Spitzer, the USGA’s manager of equipment rules, also spoke during the GJAC summit, and he suggested that any dramatic changes in average clubhead speed might not happen so rapidly, or at all. He pointed to long drive competitors as an example of the potential for clubhead speed. (Two-time World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire has swing speeds of 145 mph and higher, and current champ Martin Borgmeier has reached 156 mph.) But he also stressed that because that sport only requires players to hit one ball of every six in a grid much wider than a typical elite tournament fairway, that PGA Tour players might not increase their swing speed that quickly.

Still, Spitzer noted that elite-level distance isn’t exclusive to improvements in club and ball technology. Using comprehensive data from the PGA Tour that includes playing statistics, players’ height, weight and age, and specific course set-ups, he said: “We can separate all those out and what you can see is that it’s actually the players’ athleticism which has really driven increases in distance over the last several years.”

‘They’re going to start hitting the slower ball just as far’

Mackenzie didn’t necessarily suggest that elite-level distance would be growing exponentially or at all, but he also believes that a certain level of distance will be required to be an elite competitor, and the motivation of a less-responsive golf ball will push a greater percentage of tour players to swing fast enough so the new ball for them doesn’t go shorter.

His prediction is that swinging at less than 130 mph might put an elite player at too much of a disadvantage at some point precisely because of the shorter ball. A faster swinger will be able to maintain current distances, and more players will be able to stay on tour because they swing that fast, while players who swing slower simply won’t be able to compete.

“The folks that can train, they’re going to get faster and they’re going to start hitting the slower ball just as far as they are now,” Mackenzie said. He said he wasn’t surprised that swing speeds on the PGA Tour are up almost two mph in the last five years to 115.2 mph.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten faster quicker,” he said.

It’s not clear how much further the rule would reach, but already it’s been suggested that NCAA Division I golfers would want to play with such a ball, and the AJGA would want its elite competitions to use such a ball, too.

Spitzer stressed that the proposed change was developed specifically to not impact average golfers. “The short answer is: That’s what the vast majority of the golfing public wants,” he said. “Now, I might believe personally that five to 10 yards is not substantial for a recreational golfer who has a range of their distance off the driver that might be plus- or minus-30 yards, so that they may not even notice. Plus, they can move up a little on the tee. But it turns out that most recreational golfers think anything more than zero is a substantial reduction. And you have to keep in mind that older players and women, one or two yards can be a big difference, especially with forced carries. There’s a lot of things that go on with it.”

Also part of the discussion was Dr Mark Grattan, the director of equipment standards for the R&A. He emphasised that not doing anything with regard to distance at this point was possibly ignoring the opportunity to give courses or tournaments the option of adopting a shorter ball. That’s the reason the ruling bodies have proposed the rule change as a “model local rule” rather than a universal change that applies to all golfers.

“It’s a case of looking at the data we’ve seen over the last number of years, and the risk is, is if we do nothing, what happens?” he said. “We’ve got to look at the future of the game, making sure that we’re protecting the balance over time, trying to reduce the pressure to increase the distance of golf courses. I think the MLR gives people the choice as to whether they use it or not.”

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Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are on record being in favour of the USGA and R&A’s Model Local Rule (MLM) that would allow elite competitions the ability to require using a ball that goes about 15 yards shorter off the tee, starting in 2026. Those two, powerful as they are, however, can’t implement anything. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, however, can. As such, his words during his Wednesday press conference ahead of the 2023 Masters were expected to be perhaps the most significant to date about the distance debate.

Not quite. But they were not insignificant, either.

Ridley was measured in his response to a question regarding the proposed rollback. “A few weeks ago, the R&A and USGA proposed a Model Local Rule that reduces distance at the men’s elite level,” he said. “As the comment period remains open, we will be respectful of the process as the USGA and the R&A consider this important issue. We have been consistent in our support of the governing bodies and we re-state our desire to see distance addressed.”

So not a full-throated endorsement, but a clear hint that if the MLR went into effect, the Masters would likely adopt it.

Ridley’s comments fell in line with those he’s made in previous pre-Masters press conferences. In 2021, for instance, he noted: “We have had a long-standing position of supporting the governing bodies. I was very encouraged when I saw the areas of interest that were published by the USGA and R&A recently. I know there have been varying opinions among players and others, other stakeholders in golf, and that’s really how the process should work.

“I would add that as far as I understand what is being studied, that part of the study would be — would not be intended to make it more difficult or to impose regulations that would make it more difficult for higher handicappers to play.

“We are concerned about that issue. Growth of the game is a big issue. But our position would be to support the governing bodies, and then if there is no action taken, for whatever reason, then we need to look at other options with regard to our golf course and what we can do to continue to challenge these great golfers and maintain the design integrity that was initially adopted by Mr Jones and Mr MacKenzie.”

As part of the club’s approach and thinking about distance, Ridley did say that he was taking the opinions of players into account. “I do listen to players. We had a great evening last night at the Champions Dinner, and as I do every year, I solicited the input of all of our champions. I told them that we typically don’t take a lot of suggestions, but they have the licence to feel free to do so.”

Almost two decades ago, then Masters chairman Hootie Johnson noted the club’s concern at the time with distance, suggesting that one day the tournament might take it upon itself to require players to compete with a slowed down “Masters ball” that the club would implement. Ridley, however, did not seem to think it was something the club would take into its own hands:

“I don’t think that’s a practical solution. I’m very familiar with Hootie Johnson’s comments, as you all are, about 20 years ago. I think Hootie was trying to make a point; that that’s something that, if we decided we wanted to do it, we could do it. But I don’t think it’s a practical solution.”

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“This golf ball rollback is a hot-button topic across the professional tours and among the amateur golf community, especially among better players who rely on distance as key part of their game,” said John Krzynowek, a founding partner of Golf Datatech. “For this reason, we expedited this Serious Golfer Survey to put a stake in the ground so we can assess how perceptions and opinions shift on this issue over time.”

The survey was conducted of 1,250 “serious golfers” (an opt-in group identified by company). The group was asked a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions regarding the MLR. While the opinions are predictably varied, those opposed outnumber those in favor by more than two to one.

The results are below:

Opinions on the Proposed Rule:

• 52 per cent don’t like the proposed rule.
• 23 per cent are in favor of the proposed rule.
• 13 per cent don’t know enough yet to have an opinion.
• 12 per cent don’t care.

Among those who DO NOT SUPPORT the Model Local Rule:

• 72 per cent indicate they “like knowing that everyone plays by the same rules”.
• 55 per cent don’t think it is necessary.
• 43 per cent believe it “complicates” the rules.
• 7 per cent indicate they play “high level competition” and the proposed rule complicates things for them.

Open End Feedback among those who DO NOT SUPPORT the Model Local Rule includes:

• It penalises elite players for being elite.
• Many like to play the same equipment as the elite players to see how they are the same/different.
• Some feel the ball is being held accountable, when the focus should be on clubs.
• There is an undercurrent of golfers who are concerned that the expense of designing and making two different balls will ultimately have to be borne by the consumer, and golf ball prices will rise as a result.

Among those who SUPPORT the Model Local Rule:

• 85 per cent don’t want to see the classic courses made obsolete.
• 45 per cent believe technological improvements are ruining the game.
• 39 per cent feel tour pros hit the ball “too far”.
• 26 per cent don’t hit it like a tour pro, so they don’t really care what the elite players use.

Open End Feedback among those who SUPPORT the Model Local Rule:

• A shorter ball will bring more skill back to the game for elite players.
• Concern that bigger/longer golf courses require more resources to maintain (capital, water, fertiliser, etc), and ultimately will create a sustainability case against the sport.

Respondents were also asked what impact the proposed new rule will have on their personal enjoyment of the game, and results were as follows:

• 79 per cent indicated it will not have any effect on their own enjoyment.
• 17 per cent said it might make the game less enjoyable.
• 4 per cent believe it might make the game more enjoyable.
• 1 per cent indicated they will no longer enjoy the game.

The survey did not include questions regarding interest in the professional game, however Krzynowek noted this is merely the beginning of their data collection. “What is certain is that this topic is not going away, and we will continue to analyse the issue in the weeks ahead,” he said.

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Rory McIlroy continued his statesman-like role in the game this week by speaking out on the USGA and R&A’s plan to implement a model local rule at the professional level that would have the likely effect of reducing the distances off the tee for pros to the tune of 15 to 25 yards.

As the varying reactions to the news have been slowly dripping in from all corners of the golf world, McIlroy has been lying relatively low. But in an interview with No Laying Up, the four-time major winner spoke out.

RELATED: Bryson DeChambeay calls rollback idea ‘atrocious’

In a nutshell, there were a few interesting things that stood out.

Rory’s rollback takes

• McIlroy once called the project a “waste of time and money”, but says that the proposed rule not being imposed on the average golfers, along with some conversations with officials at Wimbledon, where they worked to slow down the tennis ball for their championship, swayed him.

• Now, McIlroy thinks the current proposal, tentatively scheduled for implementation in 2024, would probably help him and potentially other long hitters, while rewarding more “well rounded” players. He agrees with NLU’s take that golf has been “dumbed down” at the professional level, though also said this was just his personal opinion and an “unpopular one” among his peers.
“I think it’s going to help the overall professional game. I think making guys hit some long irons again, and some mid irons, and being able to hit every club in your bag in a round of golf. … I can’t remember the last time when I’ve had to do that. I don’t know if this change in the ball will make us do that, but it certainly is a step closer to that.”

• McIlroy also said he’d consider playing the MLR ball on the PGA Tour if the tour chooses not to adopt the rule as a way of better preparing himself for the major championships.
“Honestly, for me, the major championships are the biggest deal, so if the PGA Tour doesn’t implement it, I might still play the Model Local Rule ball, because I know that that’ll give me the best chance and the best preparation leading into the major championships,”
Posturing or insight into what’s ahead? Hard to tell, but interesting nonetheless.

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In August of 2006, the Ohio Golf Association, in an attempt to bring to light the burden facilities were feeling to lengthen their golf courses for state events, conducted a competition requiring the use of a shorter tournament ball to be played by all. The Champions Tournament boasted a strong field of amateur and collegiate players, using a ball designed to go 10 to 15 yards less off the tee. Golf Digest sister publication Golf World chronicled the event in its September 1, 2006 issue with reaction from those who played and the organisers of the event. As we look to a future with the potential for elite competitions to be played with a shorter ball, here’s a look back to when it actually was done.

The headline may read that Blake Sattler, a senior at the University of Akron and a two-time qualifier for the US Amateur, won the Ohio Golf Association’s Champions Tournament last week by nine shots with a pair of 67s at the 6,822-yard Windy Knoll Golf Club in Springfield.

The back story may be that the development of the golf ball has reached a curious and perhaps critical crossroads.

The OGA’s Champions Tournament was the first event of any substance to require players to use a uniform tournament ball. It was seen as a worthwhile, even necessary experiment by organisers and participants.

“I think we’ve shown our member clubs that there is an alternative,” said OGA president Hugh E Wall III. “You don’t have to host an event where the players would only need a driver, a wedge and a putter.

“I think we’ve opened the door in an appropriate and polite manner. To what extent it goes beyond this, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Wall reiterated the OGA’s concern that distance is hurting golf at the state tournament level. The impression that the Ohio Golf Association was intent on rocking the world of golf with its one-ball tournament last week may have been overstated. The real concern was the practical issue of where to play state events. Popa said it has become standard practice to see a group of players waiting for the green to clear on shorter par fours.

“Over the course of 10 years, we might have 30 to 35 courses that host our events,” says Jim Popa, executive director of the OGA. “About a third of them are too short right now and that number is growing.”

RELATED: ‘How the Guardians got it right with rollback’
Thomas against rollback — even if it helps him

The ball used for the event, the Volvik ProSpect, was a 70-compression, blended Surlyn cover that the manufacturer said contained 50 per cent urethane. It generally played shorter off the tee, according to research conducted at the event by Interactive Sports Game’s TrackMan ballflight radar tracking device and Tom Mase, executive vice president of research and innovation at Hot Stix Golf, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based club-fitting research centre.

An initial review of the data from players at the tournament, obtained by Golf Digest, suggests that the ball carried 10-15 yards shorter on tee shots than typical multilayer urethane-cover balls like those used by most tour players. Still, there were players who saw greater and lesser distance loss than those numbers, although generally, higher speed players saw the greater decreases in distance. Golf Digest robot testing conducted by independent research firm Golf Laboratories showed the ball consistently carried five to seven yards shorter off the driver at three different swing speeds, but that differences in total distances were inconclusive.

Flight data for short irons indicated the ball may have been slightly longer, but generated less spin. That latter characteristic, not especially the distance difference, caused the most consternation among players at the event.

“This ball could be pretty frustrating,” said Matt Ries, who finished tied for seventh in the event. “Iron shots seemed to roll out more. I think if we could get something that flew 10-20 per cent less, but checked around the greens like balata, that might be a better test. It’s definitely an equaliser, though.”

The winner agreed. “I was surprised how I adjusted so quickly,” Sattler said. “I think the ball did exactly what it was meant to do in terms of equalising the field. It brought the shorter hitters a little closer, but the hardest part was adjusting to the release. In a way, it brought more strategy into the game.”

Popa said the OGA received encouragement from Jack Nicklaus, as well as several other players on the PGA Tour. Alan Fadel, a former tour player, reinstated amateur and a member of the OGA’s board of directors, was instrumental in selecting the ball that would be used. The motivation all along, he said, was the accelerated obsolescence of the state’s venerable venues.

“I don’t want to see technology bypass Moraine, Scioto and Inverness,” he said. “We’re trying to protect the integrity of the courses in the state.”

Still, not the entire field endorsed the shorter ball. Chris Wilson, a senior at Northwestern who led the Big 10 in scoring average last year, finished tied for second. He understood the OGA’s method, but wondered if ultimately it was unfair.

“I can see the concern when Medinah is 7,500 yards and guys are near 20-under,” said Wilson, the 2005 Ohio amateur champion. “But if you’re in the gym three or four days a week and working hard on your game to do what you can to create more speed, you should be rewarded. There are other ways to make the course more challenging.”

Where does the debate go from here? The OGA will meet in October to consider whether to hold another one-ball tournament next year. The event was expensive than other tournaments the OGA administers, thanks to the additional cost of ordering 500 dozen balls (the minimum order for the specially marked balls) and the expense of studying launch characteristics with three TrackMan ball-flight monitoring machines. Popa said the OGA had received inquiries from other state organisations before and during the event.

In an event played the same week and in the same state where PGA Tour players were averaging 310 yards off the tee, it’s no wonder Sattler believes his little victory in a little state tournament may have been a big part of history.

“Over time, there could be more of these type of events,” said Sattler, who believes contesting the event on a 7,000-yard course might be more interesting than playing a shorter venue. “There’s been a lot of talk about this idea, but now we have something with some real results. I think this tournament really moves things forward. But this is just step one in a long process.”

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Peter Uihlein not only ranks as one of LIV Golf’s top performers, he’s also the son of Wally Uihlein, the retired president and CEO of the Acushnet Company that counts Titleist — makers of the ultra-popular Pro VI golf ball — as one of its brands.

That provides the younger Uihlein with a unique platform to speak about this week’s announced proposal by the USGA and the R&A to rollback the golf ball in order to curtail hitting distances by elite competitors.

RELATED: ‘How the Guardians got it right with rollback’
Thomas against rollback — even if it helps him

“I look at it from a business standpoint,” the 4 Aces team member said on the eve of this week’s LIV Golf Tucson.

The proposal, he feared, may negatively impact the pocketbooks of top professional golfers due to the trickle-down effect of developing a new golf ball that won’t appeal to recreational players, thus forcing companies to contemplate budget cuts.

Let him explain.

“I think Callaway puts like $70 million into their R&D department. Titleist puts like $55 million,” said Uihlein, who has three runner-up finishes in his last four LIV Golf regular-season starts dating back to last year. “You’re then going to be asking these companies to make a product for players that they won’t sell to the public.

“If I’m running a company and I’ve now got to put in, say, $20 million to make these products for the pros, well, you’re going to have to find a place to potentially budget cut. If I was running a company, the first place I would look to for budget cuts are the players.

“All of a sudden, now instead of paying JT, Jon Rahm, whatever they’re paying them — slash that. And you’re slashing other things, you’re slashing other players, you’re slashing ball/shoe/glove guys, just to make up for that loss.

“I don’t think the USGA really understands that you’re affecting players’ pockets when you’re making these changes. Companies need to make money. Titleist isn’t out there to lose money. That’s not what their job is. If they need to spend X amount on making a product that they can’t sell to the public, then all of the sudden you’re going to have to make that up somewhere else. In my opinion, that’s the route I would go. I would go players.”

Uihlein noted that supporters of the proposal are citing Major League Baseball as an example of a sports league that uses different equipment at the amateur and college levels than in the pro game. But he said it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.

“Major League Baseball provides teams with baseballs, they provide teams with bats, unless you’re a guy who outsources and pays for his own bats. MLB provides these teams with that, so they spend that money,” Uihlein said. “If you’re using baseball as an example, then OK, here’s the example. If the USGA and R&A want guys to use a different ball, then they should pay for it.”

If the golf ball rollback proposal is adopted, it would not go into effect until January 1, 2026. Uihlein believes the nearly three-year window gives the governing bodies plenty of time to save face if widespread criticism continues.

“I haven’t really seen any positive feedback on it,” Uihlein said. “They’ve given themselves a buffer. If the players fight back, if the PGA Tour fights back, LIV fights back, European Tour fights back, then it’s: ‘Oh, well.’

“The funniest thing to me is the USGA is acting like equipment companies have taken advantage of a system that they [governing bodies] have put in place. These were regulations that they established. It’s not the equipment companies’ fault for trying to innovate. That’s the way the world works. You try to innovate.

“These were problems that they put in place. They weren’t smart enough to basically put a cap on it 20-30 years ago. They didn’t have the wherewithal. But that’s not a secret to anybody. They’ve always been a little bit inept.”

Now that the proposal is public, Uihlein isn’t sure the USGA and R&A will be quick to walk away.

“From what I’ve heard with [R&A’s] Martin Slumbers and what I’ve heard with [USGA’s] Mike Whan, it feels like this is a legacy move for them,” Uihlein said. “This is how they want to leave their name in the game of golf by doing this. So be it.”

Having heard a near-universal negative reaction across multiple tours from the game’s professional players – including fellow LIV Golf League member Bryson DeChambeau, who called the proposal “atrocious” – Uihlein offered one more thought.

“It’s funny,” he said. “There’s nothing that brings the tours together like everyone’s hatred for the USGA. It’s been interesting.”

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