While many Americans headed to the polls and voted in state and local elections on Tuesday Nov. 2, that day also marked an important point in golf’s distance debate.
Golfers around the world have been waiting for some clarity on what the U.S. Golf Association and the R&A plan to do about distance. Tuesday marked the close of the organizations’ comment period, a time when golf equipment makers, superintendent groups and other industry organizations could submit their ideas and research regarding distance to the USGA and R&A for consideration.
As you might recall, back in February, the game’s governing bodies put out a request for data, opinions and insights to help get a more complete, 360-degree view of distance and how it affects golf. The USGA and R&A announced at that time that they felt the ongoing distance trend, with players hitting the ball farther and golf courses getting long over the past decades, was unsustainable. The folks in Far Hills, New Jersey, and St. Andrews, Scotland, made it clear they intend to stop the trend, but they stopped short of saying precisely what they wanted to do.
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On Oct. 12, golf’s governing bodies announced the creation of a new Model Local Rule that will allow tournaments and event organizers to reduce the maximum length of clubs (aside from putters) down from 48 inches to 46 inches starting in 2022. The PGA Tour and LPGA are taking up the Model Local Rule, and the USGA confirmed that beginning in 2022, it will adopt it as well in all its championships.
Inside the golf world, that announcement was expected, but what comes next is still unknown. Theoretically, the passing of Nov. 2 and the closing of the comment period means the USGA and the R&A have all the data and feedback they will receive from outside sources on distance. Now, they need to start sifting through it, with the goal being to develop a better understanding of precisely what might happen if specific changes are made to equipment, course setups and other aspects of golf.
For golfers around the world, there is nothing to do now but wait. If history is a guide, we will hear something from the USGA and R&A regarding distance in early to mid-February. They have made distance announcements in that period in the past, and there is an unwritten rule among golf’s ruling families that says, “Thou shalt not make news during another group’s time to shine.” In other words, the PGA of America is not going to make announcements around Masters time, and the USGA will avoid dropping important news during the Players Championship.
It is worth remembering that even if we get a major announcement in February, it will not affect you, the recreational golf, for years to come. Remember when the USGA and R&A changed the rules governing grooves? The announcement came in August 2008, and elite golfers had to start using the new-groove wedges beginning in 2010. Manufacturers agreed to stop selling wedges and irons with the older, sharper grooves in 2011, but recreational golfers were still free to play those clubs. In fact, if you still have a pre-2010 groove wedge, you can legally play it until 2024!
So, if you are among the golfers who recently bought new gear and are waiting to get it, the USGA and R&A are not about to outlaw your new driver. The golf balls you buy today, and in the months and years to come, will remain legal.
All we can do now is wait.
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