From the players…
Tiger Woods
“I think this should have happened a long time ago. We’ve been hammering that the ball needs to slow down. I’ve been of the position that 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.”
Rory Mcilroy
“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.”
Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel
“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. Appreciate the athleticism of the best, but don’t punish the only people in the game who will feel the sting of this decision.”
Justin Thomas
“I think the USGA over the years have made some pretty selfish decisions. They have done a lot of things that aren’t for the betterment of the game. The amount of time and money manufacturers have spent trying to create the best product possible, and now you’re going to tell them and us that we have to start over? They’re basing it off the top 0.1 percent of golfers. No amateur comes in from the course and says, ‘You know, I’m hitting it so far and straight today that golf’s not even fun anymore.’ Like, no. That’s just not reality.”
Rickie Fowler
“To take the game and knock it back when it’s in the best position it’s ever been in, I don’t want to see it as the golf ball being necessarily the right move. I don’t see how, when we’re at the best place the game has ever been. ‘Oh, you love the game? Yeah? Hey, thanks for joining us over Covid. Now we’re going to make you hit it 20 yards shorter. Have fun.’ I understand both sides, but looking at it in terms of the game, and everyone talks about growing the game, I just think it’s going to be a huge step back.”
Bryson Dechambeau
“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.”
‘IF YOU’RE A PRO, YOU SHOULD BE PLAYING A PRO BALL. IF YOU’RE AN AMATEUR, YOU SHOULD USE AN AMATEUR BALL’