Increased distance hurts game, must be slowed, golf rulers say

Golfers at all levels keep hitting the ball farther, and the game’s governing bodies plan to do something about it by going after the one area they can control — equipment. The USGA and the R&A on Tuesday released their “Distance Insights Project,” which revealed a steady increase in distance for more than 100 years — with average gains of about 30 yards by PGA Tour players in the past 25 years — and golf courses that keep expanding. “We believe this continuing cycle of courses increasing in length is a cycle we want to break,” said Mike Davis, chief executive of the USGA.

The report attributes distance gains to modern clubs and golf balls, improved athleticism and training, swing techniques geared toward hitting it longer and course conditions with tightly mowed fairways that allow extra roll. But the report made clear the governing bodies are targeting equipment as they seek solutions. Among the possibilities: using specific golf balls or clubs that result in players not hitting it as far.

The report said equipment committees for the USGA and R&A would look into the option of a local rule “that would specify use of clubs and/or balls intended to result in shorter hitting distances.” That suggests the possibility of tour players using different equipment than recreational players under the guise of a local rule, though the report said any golfer can choose to play with equipment that goes shorter. “We’re still committed to a single set of rules,” said Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior managing director of governance.

It’s not clear when any changes can be expected.