After almost a decade of discussion, despite strong opposition from golfers of all abilities, the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient have authorized a “universal rollback” on the distance a golf ball can travel.
The rollback for “elite” players goes into effect January 1, 2028, and two years later for “recreational” golfers.
What does this mean? For the longest-hitting Tour players, drives will be 13-to-15 yards shorter. That’s about 5 percent shorter than today’s distances, similar to those in the late ’90s. Shorter “elite” players will lose 9-11 yards, and “elite” female players will drop 5-7 yards.
For the average male amateur, the hit will be 3-5 yards, and 1-3 yards for the average female amateur.
Individual swing speeds will determine actual distance loss.
The only certainty is that you won’t be hitting the ball as far as you have been, with woods, hybrids and irons!
Why the change?
• Courses are becoming obsolete
• The cost of lengthening courses to remain challenging is off the charts.
• A fear that current superhuman driving distances has lessened the need to develop shotmaking skills
• The USGA says driving distances have increased about 1 yard per year for the past 20 years.
And…
• The PGA Tour’s opposition to the original bifurcation plan. (In the world of golf it refers to professionals using different equipment than amateurs.)
• The Tour also did not support a rollback, saying it “was not warranted and not in the best interests of the game.”
Some notable players have not minced words when making their feelings known:
Rory McElroy said “I don’t understand the anger about the golf ball rollback. It will make no difference whatsoever to the average golfer and puts golf back on a path of sustainability. I don’t believe an average golfer giving up 5-10 yards off the tee is going to have a material effect on their actual score, handicap or enjoyment of the game.”
Well-spoken by the second-longest driver on Tour (313.7) yards.
Brandel Chamblee said “Because a few players, through years of practice, thousands of hours in the gym and, yes, advances in technology, can carry the ball 283.3 yards (2023 tour avg.), they want to punish 50 million golfers.”
Keegan Bradley opined “For the amateur world to hit the ball shorter is monstrous. I can’t think of anything more stupid.”
Did the USGA and R&A make this decision solely based on Tour and “elite” players statistics? Even though the rollback is graduated based on swing speeds, the idea of the recreational golfer losing any distance is unjustifiable.
If that’s the case, the USGA made this decision based on how far 1,500-or-so Tour players worldwide hit their drives and disregarded the distance 66.6 million recreational golfers worldwide hit their drives.
Do you know any courses that are becoming obsolete? I don’t.
Is the change based on a teensy-weensy percent of courses that host Tour events?
Does it bother you when you go to a PGA Tour event that everyone in the field is “bombing” their tee shots?
We all go to Major League Baseball, NHL, NBA, and NFL games to watch these superb athletes do incredible things that most of us can’t do.
Rory doesn’t think your tee shots going 5-10 yards less will have an effect. I disagree. In his world, 5-10 yards is insignificant. But to the recreational player, that loss of yardage will mean hitting one or two clubs more to reach a green. Sometimes you’ll have to hit a hybrid. Hitting a longer club to the green will lead to more missed greens, leading to more bunker, pitch and chip shots, which will certainly affect your score and your handicap.
It also could have a negative effect on pace of play. And aren’t we all tired of playing behind slowpokes!
OK, so what will happen in April 2030 when North Shore golf courses open? Will everyone tee it up with conforming golf balls? Or will they use non-conforming balls until their supply runs out.
I’m sure golf ball manufacturers will be phasing out the oldies, maybe as early as spring 2029. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the new, improved conforming balls are more expensive.
The person most affected by this edict is the recreational golfer. Golf is not easy, and the rollback makes it even harder.
Will local courses build more forward tees to neutralize the 5-10 yard loss? Will the loss of distance result in more recreational golfers moving up a set of tees? If that happens, it would be the only positive thing to come out of this rollback edict.
I’d have been OK if the USGA halted the distance increases every year, and capped it at this year’s numbers. But to roll it back… Poor decision!
No one likes having anything taken away from them, especially yardage on their drives!
Bob Green continues to enjoy his retirement after 41 years as head golf professional at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead.
Write to him at bgreen49@aol.com.