Equipment writer David Dusek takes a look at the pros and cons of ball changes announced by the USGA and R&A.
For months, people in the golf equipment world have speculated about what changes the USGA and R&A would make to rein in distance. On Monday afternoon, I finally found out in a chat with USGA’s chief governance officer, Thomas Pagel.
He described the proposed Model Local Rule (MLR) that, if adopted, would allow tournaments and high-level tours to mandate the use of reduced-distance golf balls. He hammered home the USGA and the R&A’s talking points and fielded my questions. Many of those questions were asked again Tuesday morning in a press conference that included USGA CEO Mike Whan and R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers.
They talked about several things, and here are my takeaways and thoughts.
On Tuesday, the USGA and R&A proposed a Model Local Rule that would roll back the golf ball for players at the elite level. The two governing bodies hope this will end courses having to extend tee boxes to outrageous yardages and return some of the most iconic venues in the game to the way they’re supposed to be played.
As you’d expect, the potential change created quite a conversation on social media. Some believe this is the right move while others think it will take one of the best aspects away from golf: the long ball.
Here are some of Golf Twitter’s responses to the news.
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.
A match play major for men and women makes perfect sense for the good of the game, on so many levels.
Golfweek recently reported the PGA Tour’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play won’t return to Austin, Texas, after this year because of sponsorship issues. While it’s a shame to watch the Tour’s one match-play event drop off the schedule, it presents a golden opportunity for the USGA, PGA of America, R&A or some other body to step in with a better product than the steady barrage of stroke-play events served up week after week.
Why match play? It’s the best format for golf at all levels. It reduces stress for beginners, increases the fun factor and lowers a barrier to entry for the game. For avid golfers, match play speeds up the game and elevates camaraderie. For pro golf, various match-play formats increase strategy and heighten personalities. For course setup, match play allows for more unique hole locations and tee placement. And for daily course maintenance, it eases the burden on unrealistic and unsustainable practices in the interest of fairness.
In Scotland – where the modern game was invented – and much of the rest of the world, match play rules the day. Many club golfers typically play hole-by-hole matches, be they various two-player formats or other team events, instead of individual stroke-play events with aggregate scoring totals deciding a winner. In the Home of Golf, stroke play is frequently the oddity, not the default.
The ruling bodies that conduct top-tier professional tournaments would be well-served to look to Scotland for what could make our game better.
Unfortunately, we often take our cues from pro golf on TV. Whether it be scoring format, equipment, clothing, pre-shot routine or most importantly course conditioning, pro golf on TV has a trickle-down effect, especially in the United States. TV producers prefer stroke play events because they are, barring bad weather, typically guaranteed to end at a predetermined time to complete a broadcast window. Stroke play usually makes for a tidy product without the risk of a lopsided match ending early, leaving an hour or more of dead air on a Sunday afternoon. But this reliance on stroke play has an unhealthy impact on the game. The loss of the Dell Technologies Match Play after this year offers up a perfect opportunity for event organizers to embrace professional match play events on an even grander scale.
Match play already presents some of the most compelling golf on TV, just not at most pro events. The U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur plus the men’s and women’s NCAA Championship finals deliver more drama and emotion than most PGA Tour events, albeit to smaller viewing audiences.
We need look no further than the Ryder Cup, one of the most-anticipated events every two years. The passion exhibited is unique in pro golf, with teams of players from the United States and Europe squaring off in various match-play formats. It brings out the players’ personalities and often spotlights their strengths and frailties.
Imagine combining the benefits of match-play formats in a major championship. This isn’t exactly a new idea, as the PGA Championship was contested as match play until 1958. But aside from one annual PGA Tour event in recent years, the format has been cast aside for elite pros.
Now is the time for a resurgence with the advent of the Men’s & Women’s U.S. Open Match Play Championship. It would be modeled after the U.S. Amateur and open to pros and amateurs alike – just like the U.S. Open. The event would immediately become more popular than the FedEx Cup Playoffs with fans and would serve as a match-play lead-in to the biennial Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup events. Not only would this be a win for fans, it could help solve the USGA’s venue challenges.
The USGA has locked in many of the U.S. Open sites for both men and women for the next 20-plus years at a handful of venues including Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pinehurst No. 2, Oakmont, Shinnecock, Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, Riviera, Oakland Hills, Winged Foot and Merion. Each is an amazing course with great architecture and tradition. And by repeating venues, the USGA has made the business of conducting championships easier in terms of scheduling, logistics and course setup.
However, the law of unintended consequences is that by locking in these venues, they have locked out others.
No. 5 green at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek)
The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Southern Hills in Oklahoma, Inverness in Ohio and other clubs have been great hosts before and have invested to conduct more championships. They are largely locked out of the U.S. Open schedule.
Municipal venues such as Bethpage Black in New York, Torrey Pines in California and Chambers Bay in Washington (my biased choice for future U.S. Opens and Match Play events, as I helped design the site of the 2015 U.S. Open) are also shut out. And what about any new course that comes along that might be worthy to host a national championship?
Creating The U.S. Open Match Play not only opens the door to all of these venues, but many, many more.
One of the great things about the U.S. Open is it was always the toughest test in golf. The winning score historically was usually around par. But that means there are only a couple dozen venues capable of hosting the event, and even then we see the USGA changing a course from par 72 to par 70, narrowing fairways, growing rough, speeding up greens and more, all in effort to protect par.
But with match play, par doesn’t matter. All of a sudden, venues such as Chicago Golf Club, National Golf Links of America in New York or Pacific Dunes in Oregon become viable candidates on the golf course side (there are still many other factors to consider).
Creating this championship would allow the USGA to match the venue to the event better. While Oakmont and Shinnecock work well for stroke play, venues such as Los Angeles Country Club (site of this year’s U.S. Open) or Merion (site of the 2030 Open) are far better suited for match play. It would also allow the USGA to better spread out events geographically. And instead of having the U.S. Open at Pinehurst three times in nine years, the resort could host two U.S. Opens and a U.S. Open Match Play.
This same idea holds true for the women’s game. The women actually have a wider range of great venue options because a course doesn’t need to approach 8,000 yards long. A best-case scenario would be finding a way for men and women to actually compete together on the same course, as in the major championships in tennis.
If the USGA doesn’t want to charge through the door the PGA Tour has opened, I hope the PGA of America, R&A or some other group will. More match play on great venues around the world is good for golf. All of golf.
The company self-admittedly “provides consultancy and agency services to accelerate the digital performance of the biggest names in sport” and has worked with everyone from the NBA and NFL to the Green Bay Packers and FC Barcelona. In 2021, Seven League became the digital arm for IMG Media and will now be integral to the game of golf due to the management company’s renewed and expanded long-standing partnership with the R&A.
“We are delighted to expand our partnership with IMG and to leverage their expertise on a deeper level as we continue to evolve as an organization,” said Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A. “Enhancing our media and digital expertise, evolving our partnership program, ensuring our championships continue to be world-leading and diversifying our business are key to our long-term commercial success. Our purpose is to ensure that golf is thriving 50 years from now and this partnership will help us open up a whole new range of opportunities.”
The relationship between the R&A and IMG goes way back to the Mark McCormack era, and for 50-plus years IMG has viewed the R&A as one of its most prestigious clients. The two are now locked into an ambitious 10-year partnership that, starting this month, will see IMG provide digital services powered by Seven League, evolve the R&A’s production and content offerings as well as distribute international media rights.
“We’ve really focused particularly in the last year or two in how our services need to evolve in order to cater for the changing landscape in media, the changing landscape in sport and how best to serve our most important clients,” said President of IMG Media, Adam Kelly, who has been with the company for 22 years. “Where we’ve expanded has been creating a solution that really looks at the whole business from the perspective of the fan, and how we engage with the audience, and how we develop and build value.”
For the first time, IMG has embedded a team – Seven League – to put dedicated staff within the R&A to work as a resource and provide bandwidth to “supercharge” the R&A’s strategy. The expanded partnership allows for IMG and Seven League to do what they do best, which will ensure the R&A gets to focus on what it does best.
“From an RNA perspective, as we expand and deepen the relationship with IMG, it allows us to leverage all of the expertise and the enhanced capability and ultimately drive commercial success and commercial performance,” added Neil Armit, Chief Commercial Officer of the R&A. “It’s our commercial performance and the revenues that are generated that are used to fund our investment back into the development of the sport.”
The R&A previously announced it was aiming to invest $200 million into golf over a 10-year period from 2017-2026. For Kelly, working not just with a property, but the sport itself makes the partnership all the more important.
“I think that’s what’s so interesting about the positioning for the R&A as an organization is that they have a responsibility to grow the game,” explained Kelly. “It’s not just like some others about a quick return on their investment or otherwise, it’s about building the game and building value for the sport itself.”
The emergence of LIV Golf, entertainment golf locations such as Topgolf and PopStroke and the booming number of online influencers are all examples that point to an everchanging golf landscape, one that Kelly views as ripe for new entrants.
“There’s always competition. I mean, this is an area that’s ripe for challenge, whether it be on the tournament side or player side, everybody in the sport is having to sprint in order to keep up with the pace of change,” he explained. “But I see that we’re in a golden age of sport. And in the battle for attention, that is the latest Netflix show versus the metaverse versus anything else, you’ve got to find an ability to cut through that noise. Live sport does that better than anything else. ”
So what can fans expect? Seven League has the capability to help enhance products like shot trackers or “live from the range” segments, as well as innovative new ones. The R&A is in active discussions in the virtual reality space and is looking into things like a VR Open, where users would play one of the courses on the Open Championship rota, and blending archival moments to give fans a chance to play a famous shot using VR.
With Endeavor Streaming also now in the mix, the direct-to-consumer concept will be an area of consideration going forward.
“I think it’s a longer term plan for us, where we certainly see the benefits of starting to enter into direct-to-consumer, but more of a global kind of free service, as opposed to an immediate pivot into a subscription or a pay-per-view model,” explained Armit, who noted how Endeavor provides extra value to light up dark and distressed markets with alternative options.
New gadgets and lofty plans for commercial growth aside, Armit was clear on one point: the R&A is most focused on ensuring it reinvests the money for the benefit of making golf more accessible, appealing and inclusive in the future.
“I can’t think of anything more exciting than to try and transform something that’s so long-standing, and yet has got so much potential to improve,” added Kelly. “A lot, a lot more to come here.”
Set to take effect Jan. 1, 2023, the USGA and the R&A want to make the rules more inclusive and sustainable.
Every four years, the USGA and the R&A, the two organizations that maintain the Rules of Golf, make updates and modifications to the code that establishes how the game is officially played. Sometimes the rule changes are significant and at other times, they are clarifications. On Monday, with the announcement of rule changes that will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2023, the USGA and the R&A’s biggest focus is on sustainability and inclusion.
After the 2019 updates to the Rules of Golf were announced, the USGA and the R&A printed two million copies of the rule book. No more. The USGA and the R&A have announced that they will not be making printed copies of the Rules of Golf, forgoing the use of a half billion pieces of paper and saving the organizations significant costs. It also eliminates the costs associated with shipping and distributing the books. Going forward, they hope golfers will utilize the free Official Rules of Golf mobile app on their smartphones.
“We feel really good about the digital means that we have created to access the rules,” said Craig Winter, the USGA’s senior director of rules and amateur status. “Going forward, we’re not going to be relying on the rules book being in every bag. Everybody has a smartphone, and they can download the free app. We’re continuing to move forward and modernize, as we did in 2019, and it connects us to the golfer better. The mobile app is real-time, digital and we can keep them updated.”
Cindy Lawrence hits her tee shot on the 12th during the first round of the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. (Photo: Jeff Haynes/USGA)
A year after the first U.S. Adaptive Open was held at Pinehurst, the USGA and R&A are moving the Modified Rules for Players With Disabilities into the Rules of Golf. Developed by the USGA and the R&A with input from adaptive organizations developed in 1996, the Modified Rules for Players With Disabilities were a set of standardized accommodations that provided courses and tournament committees with guidelines when they hosted events for players with special needs, but as Model Local Rules, they had to be adopted to go into effect. Starting Jan. 1, the modifications will automatically be in place for everyone who needs them.
“Right now, that set of rules sits in the back of the official guide,” Winter said. “We know there are millions of golfers, millions of individuals out there that could be benefitting from this and by moving them into Rule 25 it raises the level of awareness, just like the U.S. Adaptive Open will continue to do. There are rules for individuals that do need to be modified, and the modifications are very practical. The committees don’t need to do anything to make this happen. This really makes the game more welcoming.”
Four other rule changes were also announced on Monday:
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:
“If the game is not played with high value and respect, I have no chance to grow the game.”
The 151st Open Championship is in 264 days. We’re a long way from the opening tee shot at Royal Liverpool, a venue last visited in 2014 where now world No. 1 Rory McIlroy captured his Claret Jug.
However, we won’t have to wait that long to hear the R&A’s plans for LIV Golf members.
Fast forward three months and his message remains the same.
“We’ll go public in January/February with what we are going to do with regard to LIV golfers. But if you want a guide, go back to what I said in July. We’re not banning anyone. We are not going to betray 150 years of history and have the Open not be open,” Slumbers told Golf Digest this week at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship hosted by the R&A, the Asia-Pacific Golf Federation and the Masters.
“What we will do is ensure that there are appropriate pathways and ways to qualify. I’m looking forward to seeing Cam Smith tee up around 9:40 a.m. on the first day of the Open next year. The Open needs to set itself aside from what’s going in terms of disagreements and make sure we stay true to our principle, which is to have the best players in the world competing.”
Martin Slumbers, the CEO of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, speaks to the media during his pre-tournament news conference ahead of the 150th Open at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)
Smith, the current Champion Golfer of the Year, is now a member of the Greg Norman-led circuit backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
At St. Andrews earlier this year, Norman was excluded from the Champions Challenge and Champions dinner.
“With everything that was going on, it was clear to me that there was a reason why he wanted to be there this year,” Slumbers said. “If he had been there, it would have been about noise. The Open has to be distinct from all that. I didn’t want to have noise between two rival tours and two big personalities. It would have overshadowed what was happening that week.
“I wanted the 150th Open to be special and perfect. I didn’t want other issues going on around it, ones that would have undermined it in the eyes of the public. I was very polite and very deferential to Greg. I asked him to understand my perspective. And I did so privately. I did not make it public. I never said anything and never commented on it.
“That week was supposed to be about the first event in our game’s history reaching its 150th playing. On arguably the greatest course in the world. I was never going to lose focus on that.”
In regards to our fractured game, Slumbers understands the consequences of splitting the talent pool.
“To me, this is not about ‘them and us.’ I have no issue with the players. People play for a living. I note that Saudi Arabia wants to invest a lot of money in the game I love and care about,” he said. “That’s a good thing. But I want to preserve the pathways and meritocracy on which our game is built. Sport without that isn’t sport. So I want to make sure we have the best players competing week in and week out.
“If the game is not played with high value and respect, I have no chance to grow the game. Maybe the consequence of where we are is that we only get to see all of the very best players together four times a year. So we’ll enjoy it four times a year.”
Looking ahead to 2023, just to make you feel a bit better about how far we are from meaningful golf, the Masters begins in 158 days.
How a group of women in an R&A program built a foundation to help the golf community in war-torn Ukraine.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February a group of young players in the Ukrainian Golf Federation’s development program was relocated across Europe.
For the first time since they were forced to flee their war-torn country, seven kids reconnected in Scotland at the Project Ukraine golf camp last week, which was organized by a group of women in the R&A’s Women in Golf Leadership Development Program.
The women were inspired by Veronika Rastvortseva, a colleague of theirs who gave an emotional account of what her family experienced in Ukraine while participating in an online workshop. From there Project Ukraine was founded to support the golf community in Ukraine.
“We’ve all watched the horrors unfold in Ukraine and we were compelled to help after listening to our colleague Veronika Rasvortseva describe what was going on around her in the early days of the invasion,” said Project Ukraine’s Toni Zverblis. “Thankfully, she managed to move her family out of the country but has been working tirelessly from her temporary home in Belgium on this project since then. She has helped the group liaise with the Ukrainian Golf Federation and the families whom we are supporting.”
The camp at the Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf & Spa featured golf clinics, health and mental skills sessions as well as Rules of Golf workshops. Last Saturday, a match was held against players from the Stephen Gallacher Foundation, a junior golf program in Scotland. On Sunday the camp attended the final day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St. Andrews where they were interviewed on Sky Sports and even met the likes of Rory McIlroy, Adrian Meronk and event winner Ryan Fox.
“I have no doubt this experience has changed their lives. The support they have had during this camp from the Project Ukraine team is enormous. I can’t describe how important it has been for these kids to be back together like a family, getting them back to the tee to play golf, and to just sit and chat in the lobby and share what they have been through over the past months,” said Rastvortseva, who attended the camp with her two daughters.
“Our goal was that the camp provided hope and inspiration,” said Zverblis. “We want to ensure that these young golfers’ dreams and ambitions are kept alive despite the devastation they face at home in Ukraine.”
“Their dreams have come true – they met Rory McIlroy and shook his hand. They had a welcome message from Tommy Fleetwood – it’s a dream for any junior. Unfortunately, all these kids have trauma – but for us, it was so important to keep them away from that for a short time,” added Rastvortseva. “It’s hoped that Project Ukraine will continue to be able to help other families and junior golfers because there are many others that need our assistance. They need support with education and getting them back out onto the golf course regularly. They need to remember those emotions that they felt when they were able to play golf in their home county, which unfortunately they haven’t been able to do for a long time.
“When these kids grow up in a few years they will understand even more how this camp has impacted their pathway. It’s inspiring.”
Ashleigh Buhai claimed the first-place prize of $1,095,000 at Muirfield.
It’s been a banner year for prize money in LPGA majors.
Jennifer Kupcho earned $750,000 for winning the first LPGA major of 2022, the Chevron Championship, the only major first-place prize that did not exceed $1 million this season.
Minjee Lee won the 77th U.S. Women’s Open to claim the biggest prize, banking $1.8 million for her dominating performance at Pine Needles Golf & Country Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Even runner-up Mina Harigae took home seven figures.
In Gee Chun, runner-up at the AIG Women’s British Open, pocketed $1,350,000 for winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
At the Amundi Evian Championship, Brooke Henderson made $1 million for winning her second career major. She won $525,000 when she won her first major six years ago.
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai claimed the first-place prize of $1,095,000 after becoming the first woman to win a professional title at historic Muirfield. The 33-year-old has now earned $3,503,926 on the LPGA over the course of her 12-year career.
Take a look at the complete money list from the 2022 AIG Women’s British Open.
