Tag: Mike Whan

LPGA, USGA announce changes in gender policies that ban Hailey Davidson

“It was all based on competitive fairness as the north star,” USGA CEO Mike Whan told Golfweek.

The LPGA and U.S. Golf Association have announced changes to their transgender policies, effective for the 2025 season. The policies, which were announced in tandem on Wednesday, prohibit athletes who have experienced male puberty from competing in women’s events.

Hailey Davidson, a transgender athlete who competed in the second stage of LPGA Qualifying in October, fell short of an LPGA card but did earn limited Epson Tour status for 2025. She became the second transgender golfer to earn status on the developmental circuit. Bobbi Lancaster earned status in 2013 through Stage I of LPGA Q-School but never actually competed in an official event.

The LPGA’s new policy states that players whose sex assigned at birth is male must establish to the tour’s medical manager and expert panel that they have not experienced any part of male puberty, either beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after age 12 (whichever comes first). They must also maintain a concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nmol/L.

An LPGA statement read in part:

The policy—informed by a working group of top experts in medicine, science, sport physiology, golf performance and gender policy law—was developed with input from a broad array of stakeholders and prioritizes the competitive integrity of women’s professional tournaments and elite amateur competitions This working group has advised that the effects of male puberty confer competitive advantages in golf performance compared to players who have not undergone male puberty.

The LPGA’s updated Gender Policy extends to the Ladies European Tour, Epson Tour and any other elite LPGA competitions.

“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” said outgoing LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan in a statement. “The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”

Under these updated guidelines, Davidson, who played men’s college golf at Wilmington University, an NCAA Division II school in Delaware, before transferring to the men’s team at Christopher Newport, an NCAA Division III school in Virginia, would be ineligible. Davidson began transitioning in 2015 and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021.

In August, the Independent Women’s Forum sent a letter to the LPGA, USGA and IGF (International Golf Federation) signed by more than 275 female golfers that called for the organizations to repeal all policies and rules that allow biological males to compete in women’s events.

The USGA’s new policy, now called the Competitive Fairness Gender Policy, largely mirrors that of the LPGA with only minor differences.

Hailey Davidson poses with a trophy after winning on the NXXT. (courtesy Hailey Davidson)

Golf’s new transgender rules align with those of World Aquatics and the World Athletics Council, which oversees track and field. In June, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas lost a legal challenge against World Aquatics that argued its policies were discriminatory. In 2022, Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title.

“It was all based on competitive fairness as the north star,” USGA CEO Mike Whan told Golfweek of the process. “Right or wrong, let’s be able to look ourselves in the face and any competitor in one our women’s events in the face and say if you’re in this event, nobody has a competitive advantage relative to their gender.”

Q&A: Mike Whan explains major shift in transgender policy

Recently retired LPGA player Amy Olson, a former USGA champion, has been one of the few publicly vocal players about the need for organizations to return to a female-at-birth policy. Olson told Golfweek in October that she was cautiously optimistic that the tour would do the right thing.

“I am very, very sad that women’s organizations have waited so long to change their gender policies,” said Olson.

“There are people, human beings in the middle of these situations that it effects. I wish that it could’ve been dealt with before there was a face and a name involved.”

Lynch: The USGA just fired a major shot in the LIV war, but it was aimed at PGA Tour players

Whan’s comments will be celebrated in the LIV locker room — a hotbed of whining entitlement.

PINEHURST, N.C. — For an organization that has long labored against the perception that it’s led by austere, nerdish killjoys, the U.S. Golf Association must be comforted by the fact that, in these discordant times, it has a CEO who could talk a dog off a meat truck. Mike Whan is a highly polished presenter — a notch shy of slick, but trending that way — with more upbeat aphorisms at hand than a sales clerk in a Hallmark store. It’s a skill particularly well suited to our current moment.

That’s because, in part, there are things worth celebrating. Participation in golf has grown at the recreational level. So too has investment in sustainability, a rare oasis of social conscience in a sport seen as an arid desert of amoral accounting. And the 124th playing of the national Open is just hours away, and on one of the world’s finest courses. Whan is accustomed to selling such positivity and to receiving good notices in return, that being the norm for anyone who has served as commissioner of the LPGA Tour (Carolyn Bivens is the exception who proves the rule).

Leading a governing body, however, places Whan in an altogether different position: making decisions that are widely criticized and sometimes very unpopular, pushing back on unflattering narratives about his organization and its mission, and protecting his assets from being sideswiped in someone else’s wreck. He is proving quite adept at that too, as evidenced by two thinly-veiled warning shots he fired during the USGA’s annual press conference Wednesday at Pinehurst.

The topics were familiar — distance and LIV Golf — even if the intended recipients of his message went unmentioned.

The USGA and R&A introduced new conformance rules for golf balls that take effect in 2028 for elite competition and two years later for the rest of us. What they haven’t done is tackle drivers with highly forgiving faces, but one word from Whan today was enough to get the attention of club manufacturers from Fairhaven to Carlsbad: “Yet.”

Chief executive officer Mike Whan with the USGA , USGA president Fred Perpall and chief championships officer John Bodenhamer address the media during a press conference for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Pinehurst No. 2. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

“We had and have real interest in figuring out a way to provide a difference as it relates to the driver as well,” he said, while admitting that any action previously contemplated was dismissed because it would have had an adverse impact on recreational golfers. “We didn’t really come up with something that wouldn’t have a much more negative effect on the recreational game.

“We shelved it for now … but we didn’t retire the idea. We just didn’t, quite frankly, have an idea that we believed was worthy of going to the market yet. But I would just put a ‘yet’ on that statement.”

Pity the public relations professionals who face another long stint in rooms wargaming esoteric scenarios.

Whan’s second broadside was ostensibly about LIV Golf, but was aimed squarely at players competing on all tours, and at the executives charged with resolving the grubby, divided state of men’s professional golf.

Twelve LIV members are in the 156-man field at Pinehurst No. 2, all of whom earned a berth through final qualifying or long-established exemption criteria. Whan was at pains to point out that every LIV player had an opportunity to be here.

“We had 35 players from LIV that were exempted right into final qualifying. So if they really wanted to be here, they could go play 36 holes and qualify, and some did, to their credit,” he explained. “There is no out-of-bounds stakes on our field criteria … it’s not a closed field. It doesn’t require a committee or an invitation. If you want to play in this field you’ve got an opportunity to play in this field, and we’re proud of that.”

U.S. OPEN: Tournament hub | Hole-by-hole | Odds, picks | How to watch

But avenues exist directly from other professional tours into the championship, so the USGA’s head admitted that he and chief championships officer John Bodenhamer will discuss a potential pathway for LIV golfers deemed worthy but otherwise ineligible by other established criteria. “We’re going to talk about it this off-season, whether or not there needs to be a path to somebody or somebodies that are performing really well on LIV that can get a chance to play in that way. I think we are serious about that,” he said.

Translated from Whan’s positivity patter, that was a candid warning to the PGA Tour to get its house in order, that the USGA isn’t prepared to see its premier event diminished in the future because relevant golfers are absent. Whan isn’t quite drinking the ‘Gooch hooch’ favored by PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, whose outfit contorted itself to invite LIV’s Talor Gooch to last month’s PGA Championship, despite his having made no effort to qualify on merit. But Whan is at least suggesting he might pour himself a shot for the 125th U.S. Open if there is no more clarity on the future of the men’s game.

“If I’m being perfectly honest with you, we’ve always felt like for the last maybe year and a half that we’re always three months away from kind of understanding what the new structure is going to look like,” he said, echoing every other golf fan. “What is LIV going to be? What’s the PGA Tour? So we always kind of felt like we’re just about to know that answer. Now I think the reason we’re being more vocal about looking at that for next year is maybe this is the new world order, and if that’s the case, we wanted to take a look at that … We know that there’s an option to get there.”

His comments will be celebrated in the LIV locker room — a hotbed of whining entitlement about deserving places in major championship fields — but they’ll land with a thud on the PGA Tour’s side of the room. Tour loyalists have long banked on access to majors being a reason for players not jumping to LIV. A potential pathway from Greg Norman’s folly into the U.S. Open will give pause to any Tour members who might be resistant to whatever settlement terms are agreed with the Saudis. Decisions will have consequences for all parties, but the USGA just made clear that it isn’t planning on bearing any more of that load.

“Exactly what that looks like and how that’ll curtail, I’m not just being coy; we haven’t done that yet,” Whan said flatly.

Yet.

Should amateur golfers collect the purse if they win? PGA Tour rookie Nick Dunlap’s answer might surprise you

Dunlap must be in favor of a system that would have allowed him to collect the massive payday, right?

PINEHURST, N.C. — At the end of the annual USGA press conference before the U.S. Open with CEO Mike Whan, president Fred Perpall and chief championships officer John Bodenhamer, a reporter asked whether amateurs should now be paid their share of any winnings at the organization’s events.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/bl2rDZAB2QqDL26q772Q/1718216741596_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLmFueWNsaXAuY29tL2FueWNsaXAtd2lkZ2V0L2xyZS13aWRnZXQvcHJvZC92MS9zcmMvbHJlLmpzIiBkYXRhLWFyPSIxNjo5IiBkYXRhLXBsaWQ9Im1qd2RlNHNlbGphdWVtc3JvZmNleW1yd29lM3RvbXNyIiBwdWJuYW1lPSIxOTk4IiB3aWRnZXRuYW1lPSIwMDE2TTAwMDAyVTBCMWtRQUZfTTgzMjciPgo8L3NjcmlwdD4KPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJhcHBsaWNhdGlvbi9sZCtqc29uIiBuYW1lPSJhYy1scmUtc2NoZW1hIj4KIHsKICAiQGNvbnRleHQiOiJodHRwczovL3NjaGVtYS5vcmciLAogICJAdHlwZSI6IlZpZGVvT2JqZWN0IiwKICAibmFtZSI6IjIwMjQgVS5TLiBPcGVuIHByZXZpZXciLAogICJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IlRoZSBVU0dBIGlzIGV4Y2l0ZWQgdG8gcmV0dXJuIHRvIFBpbmVodXJzdCBmb3IgdGhlIFUuUy4gT3Blbi4gVGhlIGNvdXJzZSBvZmZlcnMgYSB1bmlxdWUgYW5kIGNoYWxsZW5naW5nIGV4YW1pbmF0aW9uIGZvciBwbGF5ZXJzLiBUaGUgdXNlIG9mIEJlcm11ZGEgZ3Jhc3MgYW4uLi4iLAogICJkdXJhdGlvbiI6IlBUNU0yNC45MzRTIiwKICAidGh1bWJuYWlsVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9zdHJlYW0uZ2VuaXVzcGx1cy5haS9ibDJyRFpBQjJRcURMMjZxNzcyUS8xNzE4MjE2NzQxODE2XzQ4MHgyNzBfdGh1bWJuYWlsLmpwZyIsCiAgInVwbG9hZERhdGUiOiIyMDI0LTA2LTEyVDE4OjE4OjEwLjE5MloiLAogICJpbnRlcmFjdGlvblN0YXRpc3RpYyI6ewogICAiQHR5cGUiOiAiSW50ZXJhY3Rpb25Db3VudGVyIiwKICAgImludGVyYWN0aW9uVHlwZSI6IHsgIkB0eXBlIjogImh0dHA6Ly9zY2hlbWEub3JnL1dhdGNoQWN0aW9uIiB9LAogICAidXNlckludGVyYWN0aW9uQ291bnQiOiAwCiAgfQogfQogPC9zY3JpcHQ+”][/anyclip-media]

Noting the changes to college athletics like NIL (name, image, likeness), Whan said the USGA has tried to stay on the front edge of the debate, even though it’s one that seems to be constantly changing.

“We’ve tried to evolve NIL and amateur status, as the game has, we as the USGA kind of created an NIL and amateur status angle before the NCAA did, so golf was kind of ahead of that time,” Whan said in advance of this week’s tournament at Pinehurst No. 2. “I’m not sure. You may be right. We may be heading to that path sooner rather than later.”

Interestingly enough, the next group press conference scheduled for Wednesday was Nick Dunlap, the last amateur to win a PGA Tour event when he did so at the American Express in January.

U.S. OPEN: Tournament hub | Hole-by-hole | Odds, picks | How to watch

The 20-year-old Dunlap, then a sophomore at the University of Alabama, did not receive a dime after winning the title as amateur players are not allowed to collect any prize money, and there is no avenue for him to retroactively declare himself a pro to collect the $1,512,000 first-place check.

Certainly, Dunlap must be in favor of a system that would have allowed him to collect the massive payday, right?

His answer might surprise you.

2024 The American Express
Nick Dunlap reacts after winning the The American Express at Pete Dye Stadium Course on January 21, 2024 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

“I honestly don’t think so,” Dunlap said on Wednesday. “I think there should be maybe some kind of end of the week to help out with some of the expenses maybe. Weeks like this are expensive, especially at Augusta.

“It does kind of suck that you can’t make any money, so you’re kind of out of whether it’s five, 10, 15, 20 grand, whatever it is. Some kind of help at the end of the week would be nice.”

Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991 by winning at PGA West Stadium Course, setting a tournament record by finishing 29 under.

“I think teeing it up with an ‘A’ next to your name, you know you’re not going to be paid, which is a little bit unfortunate,” Dunlap said. “I wish we could, now saying that after AmEx. Like I said, you know you can’t get paid. Like I said, end of the week would be nice to get something back.”

While Dunlap missed out on a big check in January, he’s done just fine for himself after turning pro soon after the victory. With his T-12 at the Memorial last weekend, Dunlap now has amassed over $1 million for the season. He also sits 93rd in FedEx Cup points, meaning he’s within striking distance for the PGA Tour ‘s playoffs later this year. The top 70 players will qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. And he’s had success at Pinehurst before, winning the North and South Amateur on the famed course last July just before he captured the U.S. Amateur.

So even without the cushy check he could have collected in the Coachella Valley, life as Nick Dunlap is pretty good these days.

“It was really, really cool for me to see everything that I kind of worked for come true. Playing out on the PGA Tour, making that putt at AmEx, it’s kind of what I always dreamed of as a kid. Like every putt was to win something. For me to have that putt was really cool,” he said. “I always kind of thought coming out here that I would have to learn a lot. I thought that my good was good enough. But these guys are so good consistently week in and week out. I knew I needed to do a couple things to be able to maintain my game, compete week in and week out.

“I’m three, four months into it. Kind of starting to get a grasp on it.”

U.S. Women’s Open future sites through 2048

The USGA has 18 future U.S. Women’s Open locations scheduled.

The U.S. Women’s Open had another smashing success at Lancaster Country Club.

Now, the countdown is on for the USGA’s national championship in 2025.

The 80th USWO will be contested at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin.

In all, the U.S. Golf Association has announced 18 future U.S. Women’s Open locations through 2048, although but there are several years with locations still to be announced.

Check out this list of future stops, which includes the first-ever trip to Riviera in the very near future.

For more info, go to usga.com.

USGA CEO Mike Whan can envision a LIV Golf pathway to the U.S. Open, just not yet

Whan said the governing body’s competition committee has held conversations about creating new criteria for LIV.

LIV Golf players have been clamoring for new exemption criteria to gain access to the four major championships, and while none have been created for this year’s events, one executive said he could envision a future pathway for players.

United States Golf Association CEO Mike Whan said the governing body’s competition committee has held conversations about creating new criteria for LIV players and also explained why one hasn’t been implemented just yet during the USGA’s media day on Monday ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open next month.

When the USGA was reviewing its criteria for this year’s championship, June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2, at the time it looked like the game was heading toward consolidation as the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund continued their discussions following last year’s shocking framework agreement. Instead of making a rash decision, the championship committee decided to let 2024 play out, thus the criteria remain unchanged.

“If you asked me a year ago, ‘What’s it going to be like in three months?’ I would have confidently given you an answer. I would have been confidently wrong,” Whan told Golfweek. “If LIV stays as a separate entity and keeps the quality of players that it’s got, can I envision a pathway to the U.S. Open through LIV? I can, but I’d like to see what the final product is, and we’re just not exactly sure we know that yet.”

As of last week, 36 LIV players have entered U.S. Open qualifying while 11 have not. Eight players are already exempt into the third men’s major of the year: Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.

On Monday, the PGA of America announced its field for next week’s 2024 PGA Championship, which will feature 16 LIV players, six of whom received special invites: Dean Burmester, Talor Gooch, Lucas Herbert, Adrian Meronk, David Puig and Patrick Reed.

The USGA has given out one special invitation to three-time U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods for this year’s championship, and the organization isn’t expected to hand out any more for 2024. As a championship with qualifying, it’s easy to understand why the USGA isn’t inviting more players. The same goes for the R&A and the Open Championship.

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said players shouldn’t hold their breath for new Masters qualification criteria earlier this year, but the green jackets did reward Joaquin Niemann with one of three special invitations due to his efforts to qualify via the Official World Golf Ranking and his performance in events outside of LIV.

It appears the PGA of America has done the same with some of its six invites. Herbert, Meronk and Reed are all still inside the top 100 of the OWGR. Burmester won twice on the DP World Tour at the end of 2023 and Puig has teed it up in a handful of Asian Tour events to earn points. Gooch, however, has only played LIV events and said last week he’s one of the 11 who won’t try and earn his way into the U.S. Open after he was boxed out last year.

LIV events have never earned OWGR points, and the league withdrew its application earlier this year. As past champion exemptions start to run out for some of the league’s best players, those who made the jump are growing increasingly desperate for ways to access the majors. While the majority of LIV’s 54-player field will try to play their way into the U.S. Open, the calls for special treatment from those who don’t will continue to fall on deaf ears.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=451198867]

USGA CEO Mike Whan went back to the site of his first golf job (in Ohio) after 40 years

Whan has worked for Wilson, TaylorMade, the LPGA and the USGA, but this is where he started.

“This doesn’t look anything like it did back then,” Mike Whan laughed before sitting down at a high-top table in the bar area of Coldstream Country Club.

Whan has spent 95% of his adult life in golf between Wilson Sporting Goods, TaylorMade Golf Company, the LPGA and his current position as the United States Golf Association (USGA) CEO.

On Friday, Whan, an Anderson High School graduate, returned to Coldstream Country Club, one of the places that helped fuel his passion for golf. It was his first time back in nearly 40 years.

USGA CEO Mike Whan (middle) became an honorary member at Coldstream Country Club on Friday, April 19, 2024. Whan became a grounds crew member at the club when he was a student at Anderson High School. (Photo courtesy USGA)

Tough, hourly work

Driving down Asbury Road Friday morning was a blast from the past for Whan, who now resides in Gladstone, New Jersey. Everything came back to him.

He remembered the lake near the road, where he shocked himself while working on a pump with a screwdriver, waking up a few moments later on his back. One fairway jogged a memory of a one-sided battle with a hornet’s nest that he hit with his head while cutting fairway aprons. With the wave of hornets chasing and stinging him, he jumped into the lake. A few hours later, he was left with severe swelling while watching Jimmy Buffett serenade a sold-out Riverbend crowd with “Margaritaville.”

“I wasn’t missing the concert,” he laughed.

Whan had caddied in Illinois before moving to Cincinnati as a sophomore in high school. He wanted a job on a local grounds crew and was introduced to Coldstream Superintendent Cal Gruber.

2023 American Express
USGA CEO Mike Whan putts on the 10th green during the first round of the 2023 American Express in La Quinta, California. (Photo: Taya Gray/The Desert Sun)

Gruber showed Whan a barn full of every piece of equipment needed to maintain a golf course. The only problem? It was off-limits to the rookie.

“He (Gruber) goes, ‘Here’s my deal with all my people. You have to make it through one summer as a bunker boy. If you don’t quit, then next year I’ll teach you to ride all that stuff,’” Whan said.

Like many high school students, Whan spent his summers in the sand – and nowhere else. From 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 in the afternoon, Whan was edging, weeding and raking bunkers and working on drainage.

“It’s a miserable experience. It’s tough, hourly work,” Whan said. “I worked here every summer until I graduated from college.”

‘Where I learned the game.’

Being the USGA CEO comes with plenty of perks. One week ago, Whan had birdies on 9 and 12 at Augusta before the Masters. Forty years ago, Whan’s interest peaked at free golf in the evenings at Coldstream and weekly showdowns with grounds crews across the city.

Whan would tee off at 4:50 p.m. on the weekdays and get 18 holes in before supper. He’d return home and impress his dad by playing at local courses like Hyde Park and Camargo.

“I got to play all these courses that probably wouldn’t have me as a member,” he said. “Those were two great perks as a young kid.”

‘I can get passionate about golf.’

USGA CEO Mike Whan speaks during a press conference during a practice round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

When he graduated from Miami Ohio in 1987, Whan took a job at Proctor & Gamble as the brand manager for Crest Toothpaste. A recruiting call about joining Wilson Sporting Goods’ golf division was enough to lure him away.

“I remember my dad saying, ‘you don’t leave P&G for Wilson. Play golf on the weekends, but have a real job,’” said Whan, who was a 23-year-old member of Maketewah Country Club at the time.

“I love P&G, but it’s hard to get passionate about tartar control. I can get passionate about golf.”

‘Weird career path’

Suddenly, Whan’s career in golf was revived. The leap to Wilson launched a unique journey that’s taken him to every facet of the game.

After grounds crew duties, he was on the manufacturing side of things at Wilson. He later helped lead the LPGA to unprecedented growth as its commissioner from 2010 to 2021 by embracing the international talent coming on tour and making million-dollar deals for TV rights, leading to more tournaments, higher purses and popularity.

Now he’s part of the governing side of golf, working to advance, sustain and make accessible a game that is 50% bigger than it was 10 years ago.

“Usually, people in golf are in equipment, tour work or they are in governance, but nobody is in all three,” Whan said. “It’s a really weird career path.”

Still, Whan’s passion for golf can be traced back to Cincinnati. Professional golfers would laugh at him for evening strolls on the course to watch a grounds crew get a hole ready for a tournament.

“I loved that 15 people showed up on a hole and 15 minutes later it was ready for tomorrow’s championship,” Whan said. “That’s what we did.”

Whan was never edging a bunker in cut-off shorts and a helmet thinking he’d one day be great in the golf business. But those long hours on sun-splashed summer days in Cincinnati had a bigger impact than he realized at the time.

“I learned to love the game here.”

Dusek: Here are 5 important takeaways from the USGA, R&A golf ball rollback announcement

Under the new rules, everyone is going to transition into the balls tested in a new, distance-reducing way.

The United States Golf Association and R&A jointly announced that the rules governing how golf balls are tested will change starting on Jan. 1, 2028. It’s how the governing bodies intend to stop the trends of golfers hitting the ball farther and golf courses getting longer.

The announcement came after years of debate, study and communications between the USGA and R&A with stakeholders like golf equipment manufacturers, the PGA Tour, the PGA of America and other prominent groups in the golf world.

Initially, the USGA and R&A proposed the creation of a Model Local Rule that would have resulted in only elite men being required to use distance-reducing balls. But under the new rules, everyone is going to transition into the balls tested in a new, distance-reducing way.

Here are my takeaways from the USGA and R&A’s decision:

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.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1364]

PGA of America memo is another blow to USGA, R&A’s golf ball distance plans

One of the biggest sports organizations in the world has come out against the idea.

[anyclip pubname=”2122″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8171″]

Four months ago, Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, strongly hinted that he and the club supported the USGA and R&A’s proposed Model Local Rule (MLR) that would mandate golfers in elite events use distance-reducing golf balls. Tiger Woods came out in support of the idea, and so did Rory McIlroy, giving the two governing bodies of golf some momentum in their battle against distance.

But as the comment period has continued, that momentum has slowed, and Monday, one of the biggest sports organizations in the world came out against the idea.

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard obtained a memo and posted it on Twitter that was written by the CEO of the PGA of America and sent to the USGA and R&A. In the memo, Waugh, who was writing as the head representative for the PGAs of America, Australia, Great Britain and several other countries, said that the groups, comprised of more than teaching professionals, course operators and others in the golf industry would not support the idea of the Model Local Rule.

“We fear that the proposed changes could seriously interrupt the current momentum in the game and be fundamentally damaging and detrimental in the long run,” Waugh wrote. “We are also very aware that there are sets of data that conflict with the R&A and USA materials. This is confusing and, in our view, needs to be considered fully, reviewed and clarified prior to any final decision being made.”

He went on to state: “For the whole industry to buy into any changes, we feel it is very important that everyone agrees with one set of data to be used to establish the basis of dramatic change. Also, to be abundantly clear as regards to the current proposal, after much thought and conversation, we arrived at full agreement as a group that we firmly oppose bifurcation for the following reasons.”

Golfweek contacted representatives of the USGA and asked for comment, then received the following statement:

We remain in a Notice & Comment period, accepting feedback from voices from across the game. The PGA is an important stakeholder and we appreciate the feedback they have contributed to this conversation.

The comment period on the proposed Model Local Rule is scheduled to conclude on next Monday, August 14.

Less than two weeks ago, a similar memo was written by Jay Monahan and sent PGA Tour players, explaining that the PGA Tour had informed the USGA and R&A that it was not in favor of the Model Local Rule in its current form.

The PGA Tour and the Alliance of PGAs cannot stop the USGA and the R&A from creating the Model Local Rule, but if they choose not to adopt it and implement it in the events they operate, it would be a massive blow to the overall acceptance of the MLR.

The USGA operates the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and several other championships, while the R&A runs the British Open, Women’s British Open and numerous tournaments as well. Mike Whan, the CEO of the USGA, and Martin Slumbers, his counterpart at the R&A, have stated that if the MLR is created, they plan to adopt it starting in 2026 at their elite men’s events.

However, the PGA of America runs the PGA Championship. If Seth Waugh and the PGA of America decided not to adopt the MLR, it is possible that the Masters, U.S. Open and British Opens would require golfers to use a different ball than they would use at the PGA Championship, the Players Championship and week-to-week PGA Tour events.

While the USGA and R&A’s proposed MLR is not intended to be adopted at the club level or at most amateur competitions, Waugh wrote that the proposal would create confusion, more work for PGA of America members and ultimately lead to bifurcation (the use to different rules governing professionals and recreational golfers). The USGA and R&A have adamantly stated that there are already several Model Local Rules, and tournaments are free to adopt them or not adopt them as they see fit. In the eyes of the USGA and the R&A, the creation of a Model Local Rule that requires elite golfers to use reduce-distance balls would not create a separate set of rules, but many people and organizations do not agree.

“Lastly and importantly, the suggestion that elite women should play the ‘recreational ball’ could be viewed very negatively at a time when we are all trying to promote and champion women’s golf and participation,” Waugh wrote.

In an interview with Golfweek, Mike Whan said that he does not feel there is a distance problem in women’s golf and hinted that the USGA would likely not adopt the MLR at the Women’s U.S. Open.

After the conclusion of the Notice & Comment period, the USGA and R&A are expected to study the comments and announce a decision on the Model Local Rule, possibly with six months.

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.

[anyclip pubname=”2122″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8171″]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451194984]