Tag: Distance Insights

USGA, R&A announce golf ball rollback for everyone, not just elite golfers

Faster-swinging players will be affected the most and recreational golfers will be affected the least with the change.

In an announcement nearly four years in the making, the United States Golf Association and the R&A, golf’s governing bodies, announced Wednesday that they are changing how golf balls will be tested for conformity to reduce the effects of distance in the sport. 

Starting in 2028, for a golf ball to be deemed conforming and be legal for play, it will be tested using a robot that swings a titanium club at 125 mph and hits the ball on an 11-degree launch angle with 2,200 rpm of spin. The shot can not exceed the Overall Distance Standard (ODS) of 317 yards of combined carry distance and roll (with a 3-yard tolerance).

Currently, balls are at 120 mph with a launch angle of 10 degrees and 2,520 rpm of backspin, so the change increases the robot’s clubhead by 5 mph, increases the launch angle by 1 degree and decreases the spin rate by about 300 rpm.

Current test conditions New test conditions Change
120 mph clubhead speed 125 mph clubhead speed 5 mph clubhead speed
10-degree launch angle 11-degree launch angle 1-degree launch angle
2,520 rpm of spin 2,200 rpm of spin 320 rpm of spin

Nearly every golf ball being sold today – including the Titleist Pro V1, Callaway Chrome Soft, TaylorMade TP5, Bridgestone Tour B and Srixon Z-Star – would go too far and fail the new test because manufacturers design their balls to go right to the current distance limits. Increasing the test speed by 5 mph and hitting shots at low spin rates and higher launch angles would make all of today’s balls go too far and become non-conforming.  

Balls that had previously been legal but failed the new test will be removed from the Conforming Ball list, making them illegal for official play starting Jan. 1, 2028.

USGA Golf Robot
The USGA’s golf robot swings a test club at exactly the speed technicians want. (USGA)

According to Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s chief governance officer, using golf balls that pass the new test will result in a loss of distance, with the fastest-swinging players being affected the most and recreational golfers being affected the least.

“The longest players, which means those generating ball speeds of 183 mph or higher, are going to lose 13 to 15 yards [with their driver],” Pagel said. “The average PGA Tour player and elite male, like a college player, would lose closer to 9 or 11 yards. LPGA players, given their clubhead speed, we’re looking at 5 to 7 yards. And recreational golfers, we’re talking about 5 yards or less.” 

Only 10 players ended last season’s PGA Tour with a measured ball speed average of over 183 mph. ShotLink reports the PGA Tour’s average ball speed for the season was 172.85 mph.

According to John Spitzer, the USGA’s director of equipment standards, the average male club player who swings his driver at 90 mph will lose 4 to 5 yards off the tee but will likely not lose any yardage when hitting hybrids, irons or wedges.

“The typical male amateur and female amateur in the recreational game hit the ball with a lot more spin than is optimal off the driver,” Spitzer said.

Balls that are submitted for testing by October 2027 will be tested under the current standard, while any balls submitted for testing after that will be tested at the new standard and added (assuming they pass the test) to the Conforming Ball list on Jan. 1, 2028.

“Golfers in the recreational game don’t have to worry about this until 2030,” Pagel said. “We will leave the last list for 2027 published and recreational golfers can continue to use those balls. So, if they have any balls left in their golf bag or at home and they want to use those balls and post their scores, they will be playing under the Rules of Golf and there won’t be any issues there.”

The USGA and R&A plan to work out the details that will allow recreational golfers to play pre-2028 balls but have professionals and elite amateurs use reduced-distance balls at a later date, likely with Clarification.

Nine months ago, the USGA and the R&A thought they had a solution to the distance problem and proposed a new Model Local Rule. It would allow tournament organizers and tours to require players to use golf balls tested under conditions very similar to those announced now. The goal was to enable tournaments for elite golfers to mandate the use of distance-reducing golf balls while not changing equipment rules that govern recreational players.

Golf balls
A look at several golf balls that have been cut in half to show their insides. (Photo: David Dusek/Golfweek)

This announcement, which will affect all golfers and not just the fastest-swinging elite players, resulted from feedback given to the USGA and the R&A during a Notice and Comment Period that began on March 14 and ended on August 13.

“The feedback we got during the Notice and Comment period was overwhelming, and it was extremely consistent across all stakeholders,” said Pagel. “Whether it was the tours, the tour membership, manufacturers, the PGA of America or, frankly, just recreational golfers themselves, we heard loud and clear the desire for unity. A unified game, played under a unified set of rules and standards is important.” 

Several of the biggest names in golf have said for years that they think modern golf balls fly too far and too straight, including Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. However, the process that led to this change took time to happen.

On Feb. 4, 2020, the USGA and R&A released their Distance Insights Report, a 102-page document with data and information from 56 projects. As part of that report, the determination that distance played an outsized role in the sport was formally made. 

After the COVID-19 pandemic put many tests and programs on hold, a Model Local Rule was created that allowed tournament officials to limit driver length to 46 inches to discourage elite golfers from gaining more speed and distance using extra-long equipment. Then, in March of 2022, the USGA and R&A sent a three-page Areas of Interest letter to manufacturers informing companies that the governing bodies were exploring changes to how balls are tested. 

The Model Local Rule proposed in March would have increased the speed to 125-127 mph in a range of launch angles between 7.5 and 15 degrees with backspin rates from 2,200 rpm to 3,000 rpm.

However, to many golfers, an essential feature of golf is everyone plays by the same rules.

Justin Thomas, a two-time major winner, said, “It’s so bad for the game of golf.” He added, “For an everyday amateur golfer, it’s very unique that we are able to play the exact same equipment. Yeah, I understand that I may have a different grind on a wedge, whatever you want to call it, but you can go to the pro shop and buy the same golf ball that I play, or Scottie Scheffler plays.”

The USGA and R&A have said for several years that they had three options regarding distance. The governing bodies could do nothing, which they considered a non-option. They could target fast-swinging golfers with a Model Local Rule, but that was unpopular. The third option has been chosen: change the rules for everyone while leaving some room for further reductions in the future.

“This is about the long-term management of distance, and this test has been updated in the past,” Pagel said. “We fully anticipate that golfers at the elite level will be back to the distance of today at some point in the future. Is that 15 years, 20 years … that’s to be determined. But we would expect to be back here and expect to make future changes.”

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Dusek: Jay Monahan’s memo starts the bargaining with the USGA and R&A

If support from McIlroy, Woods and more gave cause for optimism, Monahan’s memo was a reminder that nothing is settled.

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The memo that Jay Monahan sent to members of the PGA Tour on Wednesday evening contained 13 paragraphs, but one bullet point related to distance surely caught the attention of Mike Whan, the CEO of the United States Golf Association.

Whan and his team, along with with the R&A and its CEO, Martin Slumbers, are working to create support and momentum for the proposed Model Local Rule that would require elite players to use reduce-distance golf balls. Throughout the current “Notice and Comment” period, many players, including Justin Thomas, have come out against the idea, but other influential players like Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have come out in favor of it. Fred Ridley, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, also showed support for the idea of elite players using reduced-distance balls during his press conference before the start of this year’s Masters.

If support from McIlroy, Woods and Ridley gave Whan and Slumbers cause for optimism, Monahan’s memo was a reminder that nothing is settled.

Jay Monahan
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

“As you know, we have spent the last two years undertaking a comprehensive analysis of distance on the PGA Tour and its impact. Although there has been some level of support for limiting future increases, there is widespread and significant belief the proposed Modified Local Rule is not warranted and is not in the best interest of the game. Following a discussion on the topic at a recent PAC meeting, we have notified the USGA and The R&A that while the PGA Tour is committed to collaborating with them – and all industry partners – to arrive at a solution that will best serve our players, our fans and the game at all levels, we are not able to support the MLR as proposed. As the formal feedback period to the USGA and the R&A comes to an end and this process evolves, I will be in touch with updates.”

Golfweek contacted the USGA for comment and was sent this statement: “We remain in a Notice & Comment period, accepting feedback from voices from across the game. The PGA Tour is an important stakeholder and we appreciate the feedback they have contributed to this conversation.”

Getting the PGA Tour (and, by extension, the Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour) on board with the MLR is critical for the USGA and the R&A. It would represent the most significant seal of approval possible and it has felt like a foregone conclusion to many people in the golf industry.

In the four months since the USGA and R&A jointly announced the proposed MLR, numerous executives and industry insiders who spoke with Golfweek shrugged their collective shoulders and begrudgingly seemed to have accepted that if the MLR were passed, the PGA Tour would adopt it.

Those feelings still exist, and industry veterans who spoke with Golfweek on Thursday morning see Monahan’s comments as the start of a bargaining process.

Monahan, who is likely on shaky ground with many PGA Tour members after surprising the golf world with the proposal of a merger with LIV Golf, is not in a position to go against a majority of players and tell them the PGA Tour will make them use a reduced-distance ball in a few years. Monahan’s memo to golf’s governing bodies is really saying that while they may feel that distance is becoming too big a part of the game and threatening the competitive value of historically significant courses, the PGA Tour has other things to consider. 

The inclusion of, ” … a solution that will best serve our players, our fans and the game at all levels,” was also not an accident. We know players don’t want to lose distance. Fans who buy tickets and companies that purchase luxury boxes to entertain clients at PGA Tour events don’t want to see golfers hit the ball less far. Television executives who study TV ratings don’t see distance as a problem. For Monahan, golf is as much about entertainment as it is competition, and part of his job is to protect the entertainment value of his players and tournaments.

“I think what we came down to was, we didn’t feel like this proposal was warranted, but we’re not against doing something,” said PGA Tour executive vice president and chief player officer, Jason Gore in an interview with Michael Breed on Sirius XM Radio Thursday morning. “We agree with Mike Whan in that doing nothing is not an option. We just don’t feel that this is the best path forward. The bifurcation was really hard for us to swallow.”

While the USGA and the R&A insist that the creation and adoption of the Model Local Rules would not amount to bifurcation, a different set of rules to govern elite golfers, nearly everyone else in the golf industry does, and the PGA Tour and equipment makers see that as a problem. To them, one of golf’s greatest appeals is that pros like Rory McIlroy and the guys in your Thursday night league play the same equipment and are governed by the same rules. They argue that the adoption of a Model Local Rule pertaining to golf balls would change that.

Chief Executive of the R&A Martin Slumbers during a press conference ahead of The Open at the Royal Liverpool, on July 19, 2023. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

“As the formal feedback period to the USGA and the R&A comes to an end and this process evolves, I will be in touch with updates,” Monahan concluded in his paragraph on distance.

That’s the key sentence, a signal to Liberty Corners, New Jersey (home of the USGA) and St. Andrews, Scotland (home of the R&A), that the PGA Tour wants to negotiate. Monahan did not write that the PGA Tour would never adopt a distance-reducing MLR. He noted that it would not support the MLR as it is proposed now.

If the USGA and R&A modify the MLR, so balls for elite players get tested at lower swing speeds or at higher spin rates, so the distance reduction is not as drastic, Monahan could go back to his players and sell himself as someone who got a concession from USGA and R&A.

But the interesting thing that happens when you combine Monahan’s memo and Gore’s comments together is it might take a rule change governing golf balls, and not the creation of a Model Local Rule, to get the PGA Tour’s signoff on the idea of reducing distance. While the USGA and R&A have stated that they don’t want to change anything for recreational golfers, the PGA Tour may be signaling that a rule change governing all golfers is more appealing than a Model Local Rule that only applies to elite golfers.

In the end, the only thing that Jay Monahan’s memo clarifies with regard to distance is that a lot more talk and negotiations are needed.

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How does the USGA and R&A test golf balls, and how would a rollback change those tests?

Golf ball testing might change for elite players, but how does it all work at the USGA and R&A?

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Golf ball testing has become one of the hottest topics in the sport since the USGA and R&A proposed a new Model Local Rule that, if enacted, might force elite players to use golf balls that won’t go as far as balls currently on the market.

Some see this move as potentially bifurcating the game by forcing the best players to use different equipment than recreational golfers. Others see it as a long overdue move that would rein in distance for the strongest professionals while not affecting recreational golfers – the vast majority of players.

Golf’s governing bodies are in a comment period in which stakeholders such as golf equipment companies, professional tours, golf course operators and others can provide feedback on the proposed Model Local Rule. So far, equipment companies such as Titleist, TaylorMade and Bridgestone have voiced displeasure and skepticism, noting that a fundamental part of golf is that everyone plays the same course and is governed by the same rules, including equipment rules.

That concept, to some, is a unifying trait, but the USGA, R&A and the Model Local Rule’s supporters see it as a way to keep historically significant courses playable for championship-level events. They want to keep shotmaking in the game and reduce the need for courses to be lengthened, which would cost course operators money and have a greater environmental impact.

Most golfers don’t know how golf balls are tested, but understanding the process can help you understand the proposed Model Local Rule and how it could affect elite golfers. Here is how it works.

USGA, R&A propose rolling back the ball for elite golfers, but not changing equipment for recreational players

After years of research, the USGA and R&A are ready to start reducing distance — and they are going after the golf ball.

Eighty-three players on the PGA Tour average 300 yards or more off the tee this season, but the days of Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Tony Finau and the like vaporizing drives and humbling par 5s may be numbered.

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After three years of research, listening to comments from manufacturers and requesting feedback from stakeholders, the U.S. Golf Association and the R&A are ready to start reducing distance at the game’s elite levels, and they are going after the golf ball to do it.

On Monday, golf’s governing bodies sent letters to equipment companies to announce a proposed Model Local Rule that would allow tournament organizers to require players to use golf balls that were tested under modified Actual Launch Conditions (ALC) to reduce distance. The primary goal of the Model Local Rule would be to reduce distance at the highest levels of men’s golf — with the USGA and R&A anticipating a reduction in driver distance of 14-15 yards for the longest hitters and golfers with the highest swing speeds — while not changing equipment rules that govern recreational players.

The game’s governing bodies plan to reduce distance at elite levels by altering the tests that must be passed for any ball to be deemed conforming to the rules. By increasing robotic testing speeds and altering other test parameters, the governing bodies effectively will require a slower, shorter golf ball to comply with the Model Local Rule. It will then be up to any event or tour to adopt the Model Local Rule.

“Hitting distances at the elite level of the game have consistently increased over the past 20, 40 and 60 years. It’s been two decades since we last revisited our testing standards for ball distances,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “Predictable, continued increases will become a significant issue for the next generation if not addressed soon. The Model Local Rule we are proposing is simple to implement, forward-looking and does so without any impact on the recreational game. We are taking the next steps in this process, guided first and foremost by doing what’s right by the entire game.”

Golf distance debate: What you need to know as USGA, R&A close in on major announcements

The deadline for manufacturers, industry insiders and stakeholders to send feedback was Sept. 2.

Sunday marked the end of the first LIV Golf season, and whether you are a fan of the upstart tour or not, there’s no denying player defections, the massive payouts that LIV golfers have received and Greg Norman’s squabbles with the Official World Golf Ranking system were big storylines in 2022. Looking ahead, the continuing saga of LIV Golf will assuredly be a huge part of the golf narrative in 2023, too, but it might be eclipsed early in the season by news coming from Far Hills, New Jersey, and St. Andrews, Scotland.

The USGA and the R&A, the governing bodies of golf, proclaimed that they feel distance is a problem for the game in February 2020, and since that time, they have slowly and methodically been studying equipment testing methods, equipment designs and different aspects of the game to come up with a solution.

The deadline for manufacturers, industry insiders and stakeholders to send the USGA and R&A feedback, information and research was Sept. 2. Now, with the holidays approaching and just two months remaining in 2022, the USGA and R&A are reviewing submissions and developing concepts they could announce soon to reduce distance.

Here is where we are in the distance debate, what we know and what we don’t know:

USGA, R&A announce Model Local Rule to reduce the maximum club length to 46 inches

The new rule likely will be enforced only at elite competitions and won’t reduce driver length for recreational amateur golfers.

The U.S. Golf Association and the R&A jointly announced Tuesday morning that a new Model Local Rule will be made available starting Jan. 1, 2022, that reduces the length of non-putters from 48 inches to 46 inches.

The rule is likely to be put into play only at some elite competitions and is unlikely to ever be enforced for regular amateur play. Consider it an option for the U.S. Open and not a driver-length cap for your member-guest tournament or weekend game.

Yes, this is what Phil Mickelson tweeted about twice in August, but a reduction in the maximum allowable length of golf clubs has been in the works for several years. In October 2016, the USGA and R&A sent notices to equipment makers stating that the game’s governing bodies were researching and considering a reduction. In February, the USGA and R&A asked club makers again for feedback concerning a reduction in the maximum club length. That comment period, which includes comments on other possible local rules intended to curb distance including rollbacks on balls and clubheads, ends Nov. 2.

Constellation Furyk & Friends
Phil Mickelson tees off to begin his final round of the 2021 Constellation Furyk & Friends at the Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida. Photo by Garry Smits/Florida Times-Union

“We have been looking at this specific rule regarding club length for a while,” said Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior managing director of governance, in an exclusive interview with Golfweek. “Ultimately, we put it on pause as we undertook the Distance Insights project. But as we and the industry continue to work through Distance Insights and look at potential distance reductions going forward, it is just the right time to be proactive.”

Creating a Model Local Rule allows golf tournament organizers to put special rules in place for their events. In this case, event organizers can choose whether to allow clubs longer than 46 inches to be used or not. The USGA and R&A stressed that this Model Local Rule is intended to be used only at elite events, not at the local level to govern recreational and club golfers.

For example, the PGA Tour might implement the rule and not allow players to use a 47-inch or 48-inch driver – either of which is currently allowed – at the Players Championship, Honda Classic or Farmers Insurance Open, while the Augusta National Golf Club might not to chose to implement the Model Local Rule, allowing participants in the Masters to use such a longer-than-stock driver.

A handful of touring professionals use drivers that are longer than 46 inches, including Mickelson, who tweeted that he uses a driver that is 47.5 inches long. Other pros have switched to shorter drivers, sometimes as short as 43.5 inches, to maximize control.

Decades ago, most stock drivers at retail were shorter than 44 inches. The advent of lighter graphite shafts and larger titanium and carbon-fiber clubheads allowed manufactures to make longer drivers that were still relatively controllable and more forgiving than old-school wooden and early metal clubheads. A longer club can produce more speed and more distance, so long as the player can find the center of the clubface or some impact point near it.

Pagel would not speak on behalf of the R&A, but he made it clear the USGA – which runs the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur and several other top events for elite golfers – knows what it is doing next season.

“It’s something that we believe in, so our plan would be to implement this in all our championships in 2022,” Pagel said. “Now, that does not include qualifying, but certainly at the championship proper this local rule will be in effect.”

So, if you have aspirations for qualifying for the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club or the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, you can use a driver that is over 46 inches in length during qualifying rounds. But if you make it into the championship event, you will need to use a driver of 46 inches or less. In the near future, Pagel said, golfers attempting to qualify for national championships and USGA events will need to use clubs that conform to the Model Local Rule.

The vast majority of recreational golfers and tour professionals use a driver that is less than 46 inches in length, so this Model Local Rule will not affect them. Club Champion, which has 85 club-fitting locations across the United States, recently told Golfweek that only about 5 percent of all the drivers it sells are longer than 46 inches.

This announcement of this Model Local Rule will not surprise people within the industry, and it definitely is not something that is going to close the debate regarding distance. The ruling bodies reported in 2020 that modern distance plays too great a role in golf and that current rates of distance gains were unsustainable.

“When this topic was discussed several weeks ago, I think there was some perception that, ‘This (cap on overall club length) was a part of the Distance Insights project and that the governing bodies had invested a lot of time and energy into Distance Insights, (and) this is what you came up with?,'” Pagel said. “This is not the solution to Distance Insights. This is not even a solution. This is just an area where we want to be proactive as the industry continues to explore and have these discussions and dialogs around distance, the role distance plays in the game and what it means for the game going forward.”

Phil Mickelson uses ice cream analogy on Twitter to again bash USGA over potential new driver rule

“So, we misread the data and we continue to make the wrong adjustments in the game,” said Mickelson.

Phil Mickelson took to Twitter last Friday and told his 770,000 followers that he heard rumors the United States Golf Association and the R&A, the two governing bodies of golf, are thinking about reducing the maximum allowable length of a driver from 48 inches to 46 inches.

The six-time major winner and World Golf Hall of Famer was, not surprisingly, against that idea. After all, this is a 51-year-old who loves nothing more than, “hitting bombs and hellacious seeds.”

It has now been six days, but Mickelson is not done arguing his point.

On Thursday Mickelson posted a three-minute video on Twitter and to his 1.2 million followers on Instagram stating that he thinks the USGA is using the wrong data to make decisions with regard to distance and equipment rules.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTUzFhJBYVh/

The groove rule change that Mickelson refers to in the video went into place in 2010 and reduced the size and shape of grooves, making them smaller and their edges less sharp. His point is the groove rule was intended to make things more challenging for elite golfers, but in reality, recreational players who struggle to generate spin and hit greens in regulation wound up being punished more than elite players.

“So, we misread the data and we continue to make the wrong adjustments in the game,” he said.

Instead of shortening the maximum allowable length of drivers, Mickelson wants the USGA and R&A to look into modifying the ball.

“If you remember when the liquid center golf ball was the ball of choice 20 years ago, there was more weight in the center of the ball than there was on the perimeter,” he said before explaining the physics of how liquid-core balls behave.

“What if we just got rid of the perimeter weighting so the ball wasn’t as stable and we had more weight in the center of the golf ball? We’re going to get more sidespin. And who’s that going to affect? The guy that hits the ball 300 yards, as opposed to the guy who hits 200 yards. Yeah, they might get more offline, but (recreational golfers) hit it so short, it’s not gonna get in as much trouble as the guy that hits it farther.”

Titleist Pro V1, Pro V1x (2021)
The 2021 Titleist Pro V1, Pro V1x (Titleist)

Mickelson is certainly not the first person to propose changing the rules governing the ball to reduce distance or want to debate golf ball performance. However, while it’s nitpicking, Phil’s memory is a little off.

Twenty years ago, the Titleist Pro V1 revolution was starting on the PGA Tour. It debuted at the 2000 Invensys Classic in Las Vegas and nearly 50 pros put the ball in play, including the eventual winner, Billy Andrade. Mickelson, using a Pro V1, came in second that week and then won the Tour Championship two weeks later with the solid-core Pro V1.

Twenty-five to 30 years ago, pros did use wound golf balls that had liquid-filled inner cores.

There are a lot of things the USGA and R&A could do to change the performance of today’s premium golf balls. For example, balls could be mandated to spin a minimum amount in driver tests or not exceed over a specific speed in driver tests.

Golfweek has spoken with numerous engineers who specialize in driver performance and been told, consistently, that making drivers shorter, driver faces thicker and less springy, or making driver heads small in volume would have a much bigger impact on weekend players than on pros.

But when it comes to driver length, Mickelson might be the one looking at the wrong data.

According to Club Champion, which has 85 locations throughout the United States, only five percent of the golfers it fits for drivers end up in a club that is 46 inches or longer. The vast majority, approximately 70 percent, use a driver that is 45 to 45.5 inches in length. Another 10 percent of golfers Club Champion fits end up in a driver that is 45 inches long or shorter; 10 percent buy drivers between 45.5 and 46 inches in length.

With only a handful of exceptions, manufacturers sell drivers that come standard between 45 and 45.75 inches in length.

So, if the USGA and R&A bring the maximum driver length down to 46 inches, only a tiny percentage of golfers would be affected. However, Mickelson could be one of them.

It is also worth considering that Mickelson, who has played a few Champions Tour events this season, may want to continue using a longer-than-standard driver when he starts playing the 50-and-over tour more frequently. A rule change announced in late-2021 or 2022 would not likely go into effect for two or three years after the announcement, which might coincide with the time when Mickelson, who has a lifetime exemption on the PGA Tour, shifts to the Champions Tour.

The USGA and R&A are currently soliciting feedback and information from equipment manufacturers, as well as conducting studies related to distance. The comment period regarding its areas of interest is scheduled to end on November 2.

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Phil Mickelson says he’s heard the USGA wants to shorten drivers — and he’s not a fan

The six-time major winner thinks making drivers shorter to battle distance gains is a mistake.

Friday afternoons are a classic time for organizations to drop pieces of news that they hope will fall between the cracks and go unnoticed, but Phil Mickelson was happy to chat about some news he has been hearing with regard to distance and possible rule changes related to drivers.

Before heading to the first tee at Cave’s Valley Golf Club for his 2:19 tee time in the second round of the BMW Championship, the Hall of Famer and six-time major winner told his 766,000+ followers on Twitter that he has heard rumblings that the United States Golf Association is planning to shorten the maximum length of drivers.

Right now, the maximum length for a driver is 48 inches. The vast majority of drivers that are sold at retail are between 45 inches and 45.5 inches in length, and most professional golfers and elite players use clubs in that range too. Bryson DeChambeau has talked about using a 48-inch driver in competition but has not done so yet. Kramer Hickok has also experimented with a longer driver.

 

There are a handful of longer drivers sold, like Xxio’s Prime driver, which are made for slower-swinging players who struggle to generate speed and distance. The Xxio Prime comes standard at 46.5 inches.

In theory, a longer driver can allow golfers to create more clubhead speed, which in turn can create more ball speed and distance. But even that theory is not universally accepted.

In a 2016 Golfweek story on driver length, Club Champion co-founder and master fitter Nick Sherburne said, “We have never found a direct correlation between length and clubhead speed.” he added “Some people swing longer clubs faster, but some people swing shorter clubs faster. It really depends on the proper fit. What I tell people is, now that the USGA has restricted clubmakers with regard to size, COR (coefficient of restitution, the springiness of the face) and all this stuff, to get more ball speed you’ve got to hit it in the center of the face.”

That’s the real tradeoff when it comes to length. As clubs get longer, more golfers struggle to hit the ball in the center of the face, so even if they get more speed, the strike of the ball is less efficient, mis-hits are exaggerated and they lose control.

Mickelson’s followers on Friday afternoon were clearly not happy to hear him report the rumor.

In February, the USGA and the R&A announced they were going to start studying different changes and modifications to equipment rules that could reign in distance. The USGA and R&A also asked for feedback from manufacturers and industry insiders regarding several things as they relate to distance, including club length and conformance testing methods.

Over the past few years, Golfweek has spoken with several club designers and engineers and been told that making drivers slightly shorter will not significantly reduce distance for PGA Tour players Why? Elite golfers swing fast and are good at hitting the sweet spot, and even with modern 3-woods like TaylorMade’s SIM2 Titanium (43.25 inches), Ping’s G425 Max (43 inches), Callaway’s Epic Speed (43.25 inches) and Titleist’s TSi3 (43 inches), they often hit shots up to 280, 290 or even 300 yards. If they used a 460 cubic centimeter driver head on shafts that length, many experts think pros would still hit drives well over 300 yards.

The USGA and R&A’s comment period regarding its areas of interest is scheduled to end on November 2.

USGA, R&A delay next phase of Distance Insights Report ‘until a more suitable time’

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the USGA and R&A have delayed the release of the next phase of Distance Insights Report “until a more suitable time.”

Much like the rest of the world, the golf industry has been flipped upside down due to the widespread coronavirus outbreak.

Local courses and famous clubs like Augusta National are closing their doors. Professional tours are canceling and postponing tournaments and major championships left and right.

Before coronavirus dominated the news cycle, one of the biggest topics of discussion in the game was last month’s release of the USGA and R&A’s Distance Insights Report. Golf’s governing bodies determined distance is playing an excessive role in the game and causing the sport to go in an unsustainable direction.

If you’ve been waiting on answers and updates to the report, you’ll have to wait a little longer. The USGA and R&A released the following statement Wednesday morning:

On February 4, The R&A and the USGA committed to releasing research topics related to the next phase of our Distance Insights work within 45 days. At this time, the golf industry needs to focus on its response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, we have decided to delay this announcement until a more suitable time. This will obviously extend the deadline for the research. We will share more information in due course.

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Eamon’s Corner: USGA, R&A taking heat but don’t call them amateurs

The only thing that seems to unite the two sides of the distance debate is the belief that the USGA and R&A have gotten things wrong.

Too often it doesn’t matter what the USGA or R&A say. When they say it. How they say it. Or even who says it.

The distance discussion is no different. Like much of what we see in daily life, most minds are already made up.

The only thing that seems to unite both sides on this fractious topic is the belief that the USGA and R&A have gotten things wrong, which is fair enough. That’s the cost of being in a position of authority.

But the most asinine dismissal we frequently hear is that they’re amateurs, ill-qualified to sit in judgment on the professional game.

Check out this week’s edition of Eamon’s Corner.

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