ROLLBACK REACTION

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan – AGAINST

During discussions at a Players Advisory Committee, Monahan conceded there was some level of support from players for the rollback proposal but ultimately there was a “widespread and significant belief that the proposed rollback is not warranted and is not in the best interest of the game.”

World No.2 Rory McIlroy – FOR

“I don’t understand the anger about the golf ball rollback. It will make no difference whatsoever to the average golfer and puts golf back on a path of sustainability. I don’t believe an average golfer giving up 5-10 yards off the tee is going to have a material effect on their actual score, handicap, or enjoyment of the game. It will also help bring back certain skills in the pro game that have been eradicated over the past two decades.”

TV commentator and former Tour pro, Brandel Chamblee – AGAINST

Chamblee believes the everyday golfer will be hurt most by the rule change.

“Because a few tour players through years of practice, thousands of hours in the gym, and yes, advances in tech, can carry the ball 283.8 yards (tour average for 2023) they want to penalise 50 million golfers,” Chamblee said.

“Appreciate the athleticism of the best, but don’t punish the only people in the game who will feel the sting of this decision.”

Course designer, former Tour pro and Golf Australia magazine architecture editor, Mike Clayton – FOR

“This rollback is at least a start. It’s not going to have the effect many hope for, but at the very minimum it’ll keep things where they are now,” he said.

“If the administration were really serious, they’d go back to a driver the size of the Titleist 975 driver Tiger Woods used at the 2000 U.S Open – where he averaged just under 300 yards off the tee.”

2020 U.S Open Champion, Bryson DeChambeau – AGAINST

“I think it’s the most atrocious thing that you could do to the game of golf. It’s not about rolling golf balls back; it’s about making golf courses more difficult. I think it’s the most unimaginative, uninspiring, game-cutting thing you could do. Everybody wants to see people hit it farther. That’s part of the reason why a lot of people like what I do.”

15-time major champion, Tiger Woods – FOR

“I think this should have happened a long time ago,” Woods said.

“I’ve always been for bifurcation. I’ve been of the position if you play in a pro event or you have a ‘P’ next to your name, you should be playing a pro ball. If you have an ‘A’ next to your name and you’re playing an amateur event, you should use an amateur ball.

“This has been the talk ever since I’ve been out on Tour. And then to finally see it come to this point where I think both governing bodies who control the rules around the world are going to come to a collaborative understanding of how far — we just don’t have enough property anymore. So I think that understanding that, yeah, we’ve been hammering the ball and it needs to slow down, but it has kept speeding up my entire career and here we are.”