Callaway’s three new tour-level balls reveal new strides in speed thanks to an improved core formula, and in aerodynamics thanks to a new dimple pattern.
Tom Mase and Martin Brouilette have spent hundreds of hours studying various scientific areas in golf, but neither can yet say with certainty how the rule change announced overnight by the R&A and USGA will affect golfers, especially those on the recreational side.
Wherever you sit on the matter, it’s increasingly clear that something is going to happen, and probably soon with a rule that will apply eventually to all golfers, not just elite players.
We asked the USGA’s John Spitzer, managing director of equipment standards, to clarify a few things as the proposed golf-ball rollback rule starts its Notice and Comment journey.
The test would not change for the golf balls used for recreational play, but the balls used under this new proposed test for elite competition could result in a distance decrease of at least 15-20 metres, perhaps more.
The USGA and R&A’s announcement of a proposal to roll back the ball for elite competitions beginning in 2026 drew an array of responses, ranging from the interested to the aggravated, including manufacturers, tours and other golf organisations.
Golf’s powers-that-be made a very big announcement today about one of the most politically-charged topics in the golf industry: The question of whether its time to roll back the golf ball.
Australian Golf Digest
