Will the findings of the distance inquiry by the R&A and USGA change anything?
MORRI: Frustratingly for many, the answer to this is likely ‘eventually’.
The governing bodies have been gun shy about regulation in the decades since the PING groove finding and will remain cautious about any roll back of equipment.
However, support for such a move among the hard-core golf community has steadily grown over the past decade and while far from the majority, that groundswell will definitely steel the resolve of those in charge.
The distance report is comprehensive and thorough and leaves little doubt about the direction the governing bodies wish to take the game.
However, they have also been careful not to lay out in too much detail what action they may be considering.
Local rules regarding equipment for dierent levels of competition is one obvious way forward but ultimately, on a planet of finite resources, a general decrease in the size of golf ’s footprint is what is going to be required.
Implements that don’t allow the game’s strongest players (and importantly this means not just elite or professional golfers) to propel the ball as far as they presently do will need to be a key part of that strategy.
The arguments for reducing overall distance are many and compelling but will take time to gain the necessary broad support to implement them.
That is frustrating for those of us who would like action now but will ultimately be best for the game.
HAYES: The editor is very familiar with my stance on the PGA Tour and its relationship with the “good of the game”, so I’m not surprised that I get to close with a rant. This question, sadly, is laughable.
I’d be more optimistic of Scott Morrison becoming a climate change warrior than the PGA Tour making a decision that was legitimately in the sport’s interests before their bottom line.
(We should note here that the LPGA doesn’t have the same issue – YET.)
Sure, those in Ponte Vedra do a lot of things extremely well.
But putting big-picture issues ahead of finances is definitely NOT on that list.
Let’s be honest, the USGA and R&A report is well overdue. But it will be a long time yet before this glorified players’ union goes against the will of their cashedup constituents and puts it into play.
It defies all logic to expect any change to either the PGA’s marketing campaigns; or to the stars’ lucrative contracts with equipment suppliers who trade in the dreams of the average club player clambering for every possible five metres.
And if you need proof, I point to an email from Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to his players that essentially denied substantial changes to distances in the past 25 years – in which time
“Long” John Daly’s Tourleading average of 302 yards is now dwarfed by Bryson DeChambeau’s 320 and the average has climbed from 274 to 295.
The note concluded with a promise to continue to collaborate with the USGA and R&A in the hope that “our perspectives will align”.
Laughable, as I said.
When it’s widely expected that the Tour would adopt its own rules on such matters before acceding to the lawmakers, what chance should we hold for logic that is the last chance to keep venerable courses relevant?
Until the PGA Tour becomes a benevolent charity, precious little remains the answer.
HUGGAN: Any sympathy I once had for the position of the R&A and USGA in the ‘distance debate’ has long since evaporated. While I get that golf ’s rules-makers have to jump through every possible legal hoop before this thing makes its inevitable way into a courtroom, the time for action was years – maybe even decades – ago. So, forgive me if, back in February 2021, the announcement that a rollback of equipment is in our near future caused my eyes to roll (yet again).
Through their well-compensated representatives, the club and ball manufacturers were quick to leap into defensive action.
Rory McIlroy called the ‘Distance Insights Report’ a “waste of money.”
And Justin Thomas went further. “It would be extremely selfish of the USGA and the R&A to undo all the hard work manufacturers have put into making their equipment as great as they can,” said the former USPGA champion.
All of which was oh-so predictable – and depressing. While the legal aspects of this aair have dragged on, golf at the elite level has suered hugely. What was once the ultimate art form epitomised by the likes of Lee Trevino and Seve Ballesteros has been transformed – and not in a good way – into a largely one-dimensional slug-fest populated by muscle-bound “athletes” whose only thought is “how far can I hit this one?” Where once there was subtlety and nuance, there is now increasingly tedious and mindnumbing blasting.
So, will the “distance inquiry” make any real dierence? Will art rebound and overcome science as the most important aspect of the game at the highest level? Lord, I hope so. But my cynicism says otherwise. The equipment manufacturers have pockets deep enough to employ those expensive attorneys for years. And years. And years.