Rolling it back… To the Feathery?!

Golf. The game itself is beautiful in so many ways. From the way that golf course architects carve out their design using Mother Earth’s canvas. To the superintendents that upkeep the fairways, greens, and peripheries making all of the hues of greens and blues pop to life. There isn’t much to complain about when it comes to the collective inner and outer beauty that is our game.

Really, when I pause and reflect about golf the only thing that detracts from it is when we get in our own way. For it is us, the players, that get irritated after a piss-poor shot. You may try to find fault because of a bad lie or because a blade of grass distracted you, but ultimately it’s your fault for failing to execute. The game can be so cerebral. Like I said, we get in our own way. Or in some cases, others do their absolute best or worst – depending on which side of the tracks you grew up on – to get in our way. For example, the R&A and the USGA, the game’s sanctioning bodies.

It seems like a lifetime ago when we first heard Jack Nicklaus call for a golf ball rollback stating that the players were hitting the golf ball too far and in doing so rendering some golf courses obsolete. A statement that was more akin to Arizona’s “Biosphere 2” project than an umbrella. Had Mr. Nicklaus and mainstream golf’s pundits qualified the statement by stating the “men’s professional game” would have been more palatable. Or maybe they did. Quite honestly, I’ve lost track because it’s gone on so long. 

For the record, back in March TaylorMade Golf put out a survey looking to collect data on how golfers felt about a golf ball rollback. The survey was distributed via their social media channels, email database and media outlets. A vast majority of the 45,000 respondents opposed the proposed rollback. 

I’ve written before about the distance issue. The golf ball itself is only a fraction of the problem. Factor in technology (TrackMan, FlightScope, Hackmotion etc), R&D technology for designing the equipment, advancements in golf shaft technology, equipment, player development (see collegiate golf), the sheer athleticism and fitness of players (remember Tim Herron?), course set-up (tour events are “one-offs” and not sustainable for everyday play), and advancements in agronomy. The turf equipment now is not the same as the turf equipment of the 70’s, 80’s, or early 2000’s for that matter. Just based on these points the golf ball is only 1/9th of the problem. 

Fast-forward the clock to December 2023. Like in a cartoon where you have a character cleaning a shotgun while looking down the barrel, the gun goes off in the face. The USGA and R&A in their infinite wisdom made a ruling to roll the golf ball back. A decision that in concept was geared towards the “Top 1% of the Top 1% of golfers in the world”. 

In 1980, the average driving distance on the PGA TOUR was 256.89 yards. In 2023, that number rose to 299.9 yards. At the top of the list you’ll find Rory McIlroy and on the other end of the spectrum there’s Brian Stuard at 271.5. Unfortunately for Brian, he would have been near the top of driving distance… in 1980.

Meanwhile, there’s the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour. Polly Mack leads the way at 281.50 yards. Dottie Ardina finds herself on the opposite end of the proverbial stick at 235.94 yards. The median driving distance totaling 258.72 yards. There’s been absolutely no talk about the golf ball being too long with the women’s game. Yet, the advancements in technology listed above apply to them as well. 

But where the R&A and the USGA really look tone deaf is how their decision affects the most important players. As far as I’m concerned it’s the golf consumers that matter the most. Without golfers actually buying products there’s no TaylorMade Golf, Titleist, Callaway Golf et al. Without the golf consumer there’s no need for an annual PGA Show displaying the latest, greatest, longest, most-forgiving ever. I’m sure that there isn’t one LPGA player that says that she’s hitting the ball too long. For the mere amateur (I’m not even talking elite amateur) the median driving distance falls even more. 

Personally speaking, since 2018 my clubhead speed has dropped no less than 30 mph. The reasons are numerous. Between a stroke, arthritis, a back that requires surgery, and now amputations that I’m sure will hinder loading and speed even more, I need all the distance that I can get. As excited (insert eye roll here) as I am at the prospects of hitting the golf ball a shorter distance when the rule becomes implemented in 2028 (and then 2030 for the rest of us) I already have my own “Golf Ball Bifurcator” and it’s a “Tour Proto”. Time. The reality is that we all have one of those.

Without getting too crazy about numbers the initial suggestions were that the golf ball would be some 3-5% shorter or 10-15 yards. But then you have PGA TOUR professional Keegan Bradley who stated 

“Srixon made whatever the USGA was saying, and it was 40, 50 yards [shorter] with my driver,” Bradley, 37, said Saturday at the Hero World Challenge. “I was a club or two shorter. I think that the USGA … everything that they do is reactionary”.

I couldn’t agree more. This ill-advised decision by the “powers that be” is nothing short of a “knee-jerk reaction”. It was like a panel at the PGA Show in 2018. The topic for the panel was, to paraphrase, “What’s wrong with the golf industry?” Everybody on that panel knew what the problem was, however every one of those dinosaurs was afraid to say it (that article can be seen here). 

To the USGA and the R&A. The distance issue isn’t an LPGA problem nor is it a recreational player problem. It’s a YOU problem. This is a problem limited to an infinitely small percentile of golfers worldwide. Look at the person next to you at the table on the left. Now, look at the person next to you on the right. Is this rollback going to help you and/or him or her? In the next breath ask yourself this question. Is it going to be detrimental to your game? 

Yes, we could move up a tee block or two. But, what if we’re already playing ill-placed afterthoughts of forward tees? Now we need to find Executive and Par 3 courses fun.Imagine a 3.5 hour long sojourn to play 9-holes on a busy executive.There will be a premium on them. Backlogs on short courses are always a great test of patience.

Don’t get me wrong there are amazing designs and golf architects out there as it relates to this genre of golf course design. For one, Agustin Piza of Piza Golf Design has developed stunning creations with small parcels of land. 

The rollback will be good for Rory McIlroy and other “bombers” on the PGA TOUR. The concept is a great example of a “Gerrymander” or “stacking the deck”. For the rest of us driving the ball 30-50 yards less like Keegan Bradley? Disastrous.

Well, I always wanted to play a feathery.