Tag: golf ball

Golf’s governing bodies are rolling back the golf ball — and it sounds like drivers could be next

More changes could be coming.

On Wednesday morning, the USGA and R&A announced a game-wide golf ball rollback. Meaning this change won’t only affect golf’s best players, but every amateur in the world.

“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],” Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s chief governance officer, 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, were looking at 5 to 7 yards. And recreational golfers, we’re talking about 5 yards or less.”

Recreational golfers will not have to worry about this change until 2030.

MORE: Equipment companies, pro tours and players react to golf ball rollback

Among all the changes mentioned about the ball in the USGA and R&A’s release, this section concerning the driver is worth keeping an eye on.

Continue to monitor drivers and explore possible additional options related to distance. Specifically, we will research the forgiveness of drivers and how they perform with off-center hits.

This is an ongoing review and we will seek input from and continue to work with the industry, including manufacturers, to identify driver design features that can be regulated as a means to reward center impact position hits versus mis-hits.

Thanks to technological advances over the past decade, drivers have become increasingly more forgiving. For example, TaylorMade introduced “Twist Face Technology” in 2018, a design feature meant to help accuracy with off-centered strikes.

This change wouldn’t just help the game’s distance problem but would reward players who are able to hit the center of the face on a more consistent basis.

If you’re interested in reading the USGA and R&A’s full statement, find it below:

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Golf instruction: Dealing with loose impediments and movable obstructions

Golfweek‘s Averee Dovsek demonstrates how to deal with loose impediments and movable obstructions.

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Every golfer has dealt with leaves being around their ball in the fairway or a rake being in the way near the green. Lucky for you, you can move those objects without getting a penalty for it, if you do it the correct way.

This week, Golfweek‘s fitness guru and long driver Averee Dovsek demonstrates how to deal with loose impediments and movable obstructions including the aforementioned leaves and rakes.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you have to deal with one of these objects.

If you’re interested in any of Averee’s fitness content, click here.

If you’re looking for more instruction, click here.

Golf instruction: How to properly move your ball mark

Golfweek‘s Averee Dovsek demonstrates how to properly mark and move your ball out of your playing partners line.

Golf rules can be confusing and some golfers have been making simple ruling mistakes without even knowing it. It’s easy to get in the habit of incorrect rulings when there is no rules official playing with your Sunday group.

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This week, Golfweek‘s fitness guru and long driver Averee Dovsek is demonstrating how to properly mark and move your ball out of your playing partners line.

When done incorrectly, this can cost you penalty strokes and upset your playing partners. Send this to a golfer who needs a ruling refresh or is brand new to the game.

If you’re interested in any of Averee’s fitness content, click here.

If you’re looking for more instruction, click here.

Tiger Woods, in favor of ‘slowing’ the game, brings balata balls to Augusta National

Woods said on a competitive level, the change would create more of a separation among the elites.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods tossed a couple of balata balls to Rory McIlroy on Monday while practicing at Augusta National. McIlroy putted a few and said: “Oh, my God.”

“I said, ‘Yes, exactly,’ ” recalled Woods during his pre-tournament press conference at the 87th Masters. “We’re not going to roll the ball back that far, but it’s kind of neat to be able to see the golf ball do different things.”

Last month, the USGA and R&A proposed a Model Local Rule intended to reduce distance at the highest levels of men’s golf. The proposal involves the use of modified golf balls that would reduce hitting distances by 14-15 yards on average for the longest hitters with the highest clubhead speeds.

Woods is in favor of the change, noting that it should’ve been done a long time ago.

Masters 2023 leaderboard: Get the latest news from Augusta

“The average number used to be, what, 280 off the tee, 279 when I first came out on Tour,” noted Woods. “Now the guys are carrying it 320, OK. So not every golf course can be like Augusta National and move property and moving holes back. There’s only so many golf courses you can do that on, and we still want to be able to play the old traditional great golf courses.”

Woods went on to say that he’d like to see players who compete in professional events use a pro ball, while players competing in amateur tournaments use an amateur ball.

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“But if you’re an amateur playing a pro event, now that’s where the transition can be had, where you can start, I wouldn’t say rolling the game back,” he said, “but you can start slowing it down because we’re just not able to create enough property out there.”

2023 Masters
Tiger Woods plays a practice round ahead of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Network)

Woods acknowledged the marketing hurdles that would come with pros and amateurs playing two different balls. But on a competitive level, he said, the change would create more of a separation among the elites.

“OK, well, on Tour, it’s exciting to see Rory McIlroy hit it 340 yards on every hole,” he said. “But does it challenge us and separate the guys who can really hit the ball in the middle of the face and control their shots? I think if you roll the ball back a little bit, you’ll see that the better ball-strikers will have more of an advantage over the guys who miss it a little bit.”

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Woods’ close friend Justin Thomas is among the PGA Tour’s most vocal critics when it comes to the proposed changes, saying “It’s so bad for the game of golf.”

Should the rule be adopted by the PGA Tour, the earliest it could be implemented is Jan. 1, 2026. When asked how the changes might impact him personally, Woods said he may be “in the buggy” by then, presumably referring to the PGA Tour Champions.

“Last week, I was at home playing at Medalist,” he continued, “and I had my old persimmon driver, and I was able to still carry the ball 290 yards. Now, when I missed it, no, it did not go very far. But the ability to hit the ball in the middle of the face was rewarded.”

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‘It’s so bad for the game’: Justin Thomas doesn’t hold back when it comes to new golf ball rollback proposal that would limit distance

“Like, try to explain to me how that’s better for the game of golf.”

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Justin Thomas believes golf’s governing bodies have created a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. At the Valspar Championship, the 15-time PGA Tour winner didn’t hold back when asked about the USGA and R&A proposal to rollback the golf ball for elite male players.

“It’s so bad for the game of golf,” said Thomas.

The proposal, which wouldn’t be implemented until 2026, would allow tournament organizers to implement a Model Local Rule that would require players to use modified golf balls to reduce distance at the highest levels of men’s golf. The USGA and R&A anticipate a reduction in driver distance of 14-15 yards.

The move would not impact amateur golfers or elite female players.

“For an everyday amateur golfer,” said Thomas, “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 or whatever.”

If adopted, both the USGA and R&A plan to implement the new rule in their respective championships.

“So for two of the four biggest events of the year we’re going to have to use a different ball?” asked Thomas, who is sponsored by Titleist. “Like, try to explain to me how that’s better for the game of golf.

“And they’re basing it off the top 1 percent of all golfers. You know what I mean? I don’t know how many of y’all consistently play golf in here, but I promise none of you have come in from the golf course and said, ‘You know, I’m hitting it so far and straight today that golf’s just not even fun anymore.’ Like, no, that’s not – it’s just not reality.”

USGA CEO Mike Whan said the proposal isn’t about how the game stands today but rather where it’s headed, as players continue to get longer each season and courses run out of room. As custodians of the game, R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said it would be irresponsible to do nothing in regards to distance. Whan agrees.

“This is not really about today,” said Whan, “it’s about understanding the historical trends over the last 10, 20, 40 years and being able to be very predictive in terms of those trends over the next 20 or 40 years going forward and questioning whether or not the game can sustain 20 or 40 years from now the kind of increases that are so incredibly easy to predict.

“If we simply do nothing, we pass that to the next generation and to all the golf course venues around the world for them to just simply figure out.”

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Thomas, the highest-ranked player in the field at Valspar at No. 10, said he’s all for not letting it go any further. But he stands against rolling the game back into the 1990s.

“I mean, people are running faster,” said Thomas, “so, what, are they just going to make the length of a mile longer so that the fastest mile time doesn’t change, or are they going to put the NBA hoop at 13 feet because people can jump higher now?

“Like, no. It’s evolution. We’re athletes now. Like, we’re training to hit the ball further and faster and if you can do it, so good for you. So yeah, as you can tell, I’m clearly against it.”

Sam Burns, who is going for a three-peat here at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, thinks the whole idea of a rollback is “pretty silly.”

Burns, who has accumulated the lowest scoring average at Copperhead of 68.63, looks to become the first player since Steve Sticker to three-peat (John Deere Classic 2009-2011). Tiger Woods has won the same PGA Tour event at least three years in a row six different times. Stuart Appleby did the same at the WGC-CA Championship from 2005-2007.

“At the end of the day, no matter what it is, we’re an entertainment sport,” said Burns, “and I think, I don’t think people necessarily want to come out here and watch guys hit it shorter. They enjoy watching guys go out there and hit it 350 yards. I don’t see what the problem is with that. I think that’s a skill, and I don’t really agree with trying to take that away.”

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PGA Tour, Acushnet release statements in response to USGA, R&A news about proposal to roll back the golf ball

“We will continue our own extensive independent analysis of the topic and will collaborate with the USGA and The R&A.”

The PGA Tour released a statement in response to Tuesday’s announcement from the USGA and R&A about the proposal to roll back the golf ball for elite golfers come 2026.

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.

The PGA Tour’s response states: “We continue to work closely with the USGA and The R&A on a range of initiatives, including the topic of distance. Regarding the Notice to Manufacturers announced today, we will continue our own extensive independent analysis of the topic and will collaborate with the USGA and The R&A, along with our membership and industry partners, to evaluate and provide feedback on this proposal. The Tour remains committed to ensuring any future solutions identified benefit the game as a whole, without negatively impacting the Tour, its players or our fans’ enjoyment of our sport.”

Manufacturers and golf stakeholders can provide feedback on the proposed changes until Aug. 14, 2023. If adopted, the proposal would take effect on Jan 1, 2026.

Acushnet, which produces Titleist and FootJoy equipment, also released a statement, saying this bifurcation would divide golf between elite and recreational play, add confusion and break the linkage that is part of the game’s enduring fabric.

“Playing by a unified set of rules is an essential part of the game’s allure, contributes to its global understanding and appeal, and eliminates the inconsistency and instability that would come from multiple sets of equipment standards,” said David Maher, president and CEO of Acushnet. “Unification is a powerfully positive force in the game, and we believe that equipment bifurcation would be detrimental to golf’s long-term well-being. As a result, we will actively participate in this conversation with the governing bodies, worldwide professional tours, PGA Professional organizations, amateur associations and federations, and golfers, in an effort to contribute to the continued enjoyment and growth of the game.”

If the testing changes are approved, equipment makers will need to make balls for elite players that meet one set of testing standards and make different balls that meet the current set of testing standards for club players.

Although these proposed changes aren’t yet approved, they could signal a large shift in the way professional golf is played and viewed.

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Golfweek’s 2022 Holiday Gift Guide: Best golf gift ideas for every type of golfer

Your guide to every type of golf gift for the 2022 holiday season.

With our calendars making the turn to November, the holiday season is officially upon us.

Not to worry, Golfweek is here to help your holiday shopping stay stress-free! We’re compiling the best golf gifts for all types of golfers this holiday season. Whether you’re looking for a parent, spouse or child, a high handicapper or scratch golfer, we’ve got you covered.

From quarter zips to shorts, golf balls to rangefinders, and everything in between, you’ll be done with your holiday shopping so fast, you can even hit the links yourself!

Golfweek will be publishing more specific gift guides throughout November and December, so be sure to check back and grab the perfect gift, even if you’re just treating yourself. Happy holidays and happy gifting!