5 important takeaways from the USGA, R&A golf ball rollback

On several occasions since the Distance Insights Report was released in 2020, officials from the USGA and the R&A said that distance is a problem in the game and that the trend of longer-hitting players pushing golf courses to get bigger was unsustainable. Mike Whan, the current CEO of the USGA, his predecessor, Mike Davis, and the CEO of the R&A, Martin Slumbers, have all said that doing nothing is not an option. 

But in the same breathe, all three have said that they don’t want to make a change that could negatively impact the growth of the game at the recreational level, where, according to the USGA and R&A’s own data, the average male player hits the ball 216 yards off the tee, and the average female player hits it 148 yards.

“The number one piece of feedback we’ve heard, from virtually all aspects of the game is, ‘Please don’t negatively impact the recreational golf,’” Whan said in a press conference last March announcing the proposed Model Local Rule that could mandate players to use reduced-distance golf balls. It was seen as a solution to shorten the pro game without doing anything to weekend players, but that plan was met with resistance.

While the USGA and the R&A pointed to several other Model Local Rules already in existence, creating a world where Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are not allowed to use the same ball that you and your friends play in your Thursday night league was seen as two sets of rules. 

In an interview with Golf Digest’s John Huggan, Slumbers said, “The game was not happy with the Model Local Rule. There was a view that it would create a bifurcated game at the elite level. It was a very strong pushback against that. The PGA Tour was very public about it. So was the PGA of America. A number of players spoke out. And our job is to listen.”

So, like the Bowl Championship Committee trying to decide which teams to include in this year’s college football playoff, no answer could make everyone happy. With doing nothing being off the table, the USGA and R&A’s hands were forced and they had to make a rule change that will force everyone to hit reduced-distance balls starting in 2028.