SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — In a surprise announcement, the USGA and R&A released a joint statement, along with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, Wednesday that they will reevaluate the approach for the upcoming distance rollback.
“Through a series of formal feedback processes and numerous individual stakeholder meetings, the governing bodies agreed on an across-the-game change in how golf balls are tested via the Overall Distance Standard,” the statement read. After citing “constructive” conversations with the PGA Tour and tour players, “the R&A and USGA will take the appropriate amount of time to assess a range of possible options and determine the path forward. Specifically, the governing bodies will work closely with key stakeholders—including the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and their respective members—to review, test and implement options that have a meaningful impact on distance at the elite level.”
The USGA and R&A said they are still keeping the implementation date of 2030 for the rollback to go into effect.
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The announcement comes after what tour sources tell Golf Digest was a passionate meeting between players, USGA representatives and the tour on the subject at a recent tour event. While Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have been rollback proponents, many tour players have been vocal in their opposition.
In 2023, the USGA and R&A announced that the test for the Overall Distance Standard would increase the swing speed at which golf balls are tested from the current standard of 120 mph to 125 mph. While increasing the swing speed, the test would not change the distance limit of 317 yards. The decision came after three years of “notice and comment” with equipment manufacturers and other industry stakeholders over several proposals involving clubs, balls and a distance rollback.
The original plan involved a staggered start that would only affect elite golf in 2028 before applying to all golfers in 2030. However, this March the USGA announced the rule would not go into effect until 2030 for everyone. In an interview with Golf Digest earlier this year, the USGA’s Thomas Pagel, chief of governance, explained, “As people have gone to implementation mode, they’ve started to understand what really goes into this at the local level, at the tournament level, and they’re saying, ‘There are a number of questions I have, and this is going to present challenges, and I think it would actually be better if we were on a single date because it eliminates the number of these open questions.’” Pagel later added: “Our job, our goal, is to be good partners, and we’ll continue to be good partners to get the industry comfortable with this. I think our objective is to retain the unity that everybody has told us is critically important in the game.”
Last month it was revealed that reigning Players champ Cameron Young has been playing with a ball that conforms to the new regulations. Young told reporters at the PGA Championship that he hit a prototype roughly two years ago at Titleist’s Manchester Lane testing facility, didn’t know what it was, and asked because he liked the flight.
“This ball is easier to control with the irons,” Young said. “It doesn’t spin as much, and it just allows me to be better with my distance control just because it’s more consistent.”
The week after the PGA Championship the PGA Tour sent a survey to tour and Korn Ferry Tour players regarding rollback. The survey included questions like, “Is driving distance on the PGA Tour a problem?,” “What has had the most impact on driving distance over the last 10 years?,” and “What was the impact on your driving distance when testing the prototype golf balls?”
Potentially the most interesting question asked players however, was an offshoot of the entire debate: “Should the PGA Tour have its own rule-making process for both play and equipment rules?” The tour has long abided by the USGA rules for its tournaments. However, other professional sports leagues in the United States have their own governance that slightly departs from global regulations, such as the differences in the NBA to FIBA.
On the PGA Tour this year 22.2 percent of measured drives have gone 320 yards or more. This time in 2016, only 6.5 percent of drives were over the benchmark.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
