The United States Golf Association (USGA) and The Royal and Ancient (The R&A), could very easily be called the Grinch that Stole Christmas for Golfers. Just before Christmas it was announced that the distance the golf balls you, me and the professionals on the PGA Tour hit, go too far. Their solution is to roll back allowable performance to what it was 20 years ago, with the restriction to take effect in 2028. The Ruling Bodies are looking into the future, but are zooming into the past. Whether you like their idea or not, we can get over this, as well as the negativity surrounding this issue and move on. Their logic says that for the past two decades the driving distance of elite players has steadily increased and should that trend continue, for another 20 years the game will be in serious trouble. In their eyes the problem is the golf ball. Their solution is to tell manufacturers the only ball that will be permitted is one that flies less distance. For PGA Tour players this difference is reported to be five percent, approximately 12-15 yards, for recreational players closer to a loss five yards. Recent surveys show that there are approximately 66 million golfers around the world. Professional tours account for around 5,000-6,000, less than .09 % of all golfers. Less than 10% (170,000) of American golfers carry a handicap of five, or less and are considered elite amateurs. The mass percentage of golfers in the world are being affected by less than 10% of all golfers. Restricting ball performance does not address improvements to driver technology, golf course conditioning, nor physical conditioning and training of elite golfers. Which begs the questions, Will there still be a distance problem 20 years into the future? Has the whole problem become a tin can and merely kicked down the road? The good news is the USGA by pushing the implementation date to 2028 may have avoided lawsuits from golf ball manufacturers, plus this
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