Golf's ruling bodies reveal bid to curb Dechambeau’s long-hitting
Stopping Bryson Dechambeau and his fellow long-hitters trying to make the likes of the Old Course at St Andrews and Augusta National look ridiculously easy looks to be a mission for golf’s governing bodies.
In a bold step, the R&A and USGA are proposing the introduction of a local rule to allow committees to limit the maximum length for clubs other than putters from 48 to 46 inches.
The development, which has come out of a combined project looking into the distance issue in the game, follows theon 48- inch drivers around the rescheduled Masters last November.
Dechambeau had used a 46-inch driver when he overpowered Winged Foot, one of the toughest courses in major golf, to win the US Open by six shots in September.
But, in his quest to add even more length to his game, the American tested a 48-inch one in the build up to the rescheduled Masters in November.
He eventually decided to leave that out of his bag that week, but it seemed inevitable that he’d have taken that step in big events before too long.
Club manufacturers and professional tours have until 4 March to comment on the proposal, with Dechambeau likely to have something to say in a press conference on Wednesday ahead of his appearance this week in the Saudi International.
The American is set to play in his first Open at St Andrews next year, with Gary Player believing he can use his pow-possible,” er to hit around nine greens off the tee.
“This is not person specific,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers told the BBC. “We were looking at this four years ago. And, in our 'Distance Insights' report, this was one of the options available to us when we were considering this back in February [2020].
"We've tried really hard in this to be agnostic to individual players, but, inevitably long hitters could be personalised in that and there is no doubt there has been a lot of players who explored the use of longer drivers, not just Bryson."
The proposal is part of the latest developments in a 'Distance Insights' project which seeks to limit driving distances, with the R&A and US GA also announcing review of club and ball specifications.
“We are now able to progress with the work on this critical topic and are beginning the next phase as expeditiously as said Slumbers. “the research topics and the proposed changes we have announced will be the focus of our attention in the coming months and we look forward to gaining insights from the golf industry and fully understanding their perspectives on these key areas.
“We remain fully committed to conducting this hugely important exercise for the sport thoroughly, efficiently and collaboratively.” Between now and 2 Novemberof interest” identified by the governing bodies will be considered by the golf industry.
Also released today, the R&A and US GA 2020 Annualreport again highlighted how courses are being over powered by a combination of equipment and players like Dechambeau bulking up.
The average driving distance on both men’s and women’s tours has increased by approximately 3.2 per cent since 2003.