The rollback rule, which the PGA Tour denied, has to be complied with by everybody now. The USGA and R&A will announce a fixed golf rollback policy next week. Besides, it will be for both elite golf and recreational golf. Moreover, the golf balls will be tested to see if they conform to the Overall Standard Distance. The test will increase the swing speed of the golf ball from 120 mph to 125 mph. Although the test wouldn’t affect the distance limit of 317 yards.
After three years of notice with the golf equipment companies, the golf bodies reached a decision involving the ball and a distance rollback. The USGA and R&A previously proposed the speed to be 125 mph, which changed to 127 mph in March. Previously, the Model Local Rule was for only elite golfers but it received a huge pushback from the golf industry. Thus, the ruling bodies have to set rules that everybody will abide by.
USGA and R&A Decide the Future of Golf
Previously, the rule was only subject elite golfers. The governing bodies said in an interview,
“The USGA and the R&A were not considering changes that would result in substantial reductions in hitting distances at all levels of the game. We don’t see recreational golf obsoleting golf courses any time soon”.
This separate set of rules for marquee golfers didn’t fit in the manufacturing industries as well as the PGA Tour and other golf federations. Thus, CEO Martin Slumbers revised the approach and said,
“Our job is to listen. But our responsibility is to the long-term future of the game. …We’re responsible for our period of time, something that has gone on for hundreds of years and will go on for hundreds more. So, we are listening. And we have made a decision about what we are going to do.”
The golf balls that conform to the rule will be 15 or more yards shorter at the elite level. The effect on recreational golf will be less but proportional. Hence, if an elite player loses 15 yards on a 300-yard drive, a recreational golfer will lose 11 yards on a 225-yard drive thus, losing a similar percentage in his or her shots by 5%.
Most golfers and enthusiasts are refusing to abide by these newly formed rules. Therefore, it is to see what the new set of rules unleash.
