One of golf’s key decision‑makers has castigated “ambulance chasers and alarmists” who will criticise plans to limit the distance leading players can hit tee shots.
New rules announced on Wednesday by the R&A and the US Golf Association come after their insistence that shot length must be controlled, partly on the grounds of course sustainability. Opposition has been voiced by equipment manufacturers and some leading professionals. Golf’s latest civil war will continue to play out over its most fundamental object: the golf ball itself.
Mike Whan, the USGA chief executive, has little time for dissenters. “There’s going to be a lot of ambulance chasers and alarmists to make this seem so much worse than it really is,” he said.
“We’ve run the stats, we ran them by an independent third-party ball expert, three different ball companies, two of which quickly came back to us and said: ‘We agree with your estimate.’ So I don’t want a few loud voices that are trying to get more clicks and more viewers and more phone calls to drive a frenzy that quite frankly just isn’t based on fact.”
Whan and his R&A counterpart, Martin Slumbers, have support from Rory McIlroy. The four-time major winner believes the rollback will “make the game more skilful again”.
McIlroy said: “It’s not just going to be this bomb and gauge that we see predominantly now when you watch the top level of golf.” In the opposing camp sit Rickie Fowler, who believes the new rules are a “huge step back”, and Keegan Bradley, who branded the decision “monstrous”.
The new regulations, which come into force for professionals in 2028 and club golfers in 2030, will make a number of widely used balls non‑conforming because of a change in testing conditions. It is estimated leading players could have the distance they can propel drives shortened by up to 15 yards.
In a joint statement, the R&A and USGA said: “The change in testing speed is expected to have a minimal distance impact, five yards or less, for most recreational golfers.”
Whan said: “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. But from the very beginning, we’ve been driven to do what is right for the game, without bias. 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 proposal originally involved implementation of a local rule for elite golf but that was rejected by multiple agencies on the basis that golfers apparently all wanted to play by the same rules. Equipment firms, who have not been best pleased by the entire process, do not appear to have been entirely placated.
David Abeles, chief executive of TaylorMade, said: “As a brand that prioritises improving product performance for golfers of all skill levels, the decision to proceed with the golf ball rollback is disappointing. While appreciative of the opportunity to have a seat at the table and a voice in the debate, we feel like the rollback is simply disconnected from what golfers believe is best for the game.”
