SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — The USGA and R&A are moving ahead with a new standard for golf ball distance in 2030, while saying Wednesday they will broaden their study to review and test other areas that might help keep distance from getting out of hand.
Without firm details on what they plan to explore, key to the expanded study is more direct involvement from tour players.
“Maybe there are some ideas here that are getting reopened that we looked at in the past
and probably closed the door on because of some of the tour's feedback," USGA CEO Mike Whan said, adding the dialogue with tour players seems “more open today."
“I think it would be the wrong way to govern if we don't listen to that when we're starting to now talk about similar objectives," Whan said.
The objective has been keeping distance from making golf too one-dimensional, and in some cases leading courses to getting longer. The target has primarily been golf balls.
The governing bodies in 2023 announced the test for “Overall Distance Standard” would be updated. Golf balls would be tested with a 125 mph swing speed (up from 120 mph), and the distance limit would remain at roughly 317 yards.
The original plan was for the new test to start in 2028 for elite players, and in 2030 for everyone else. After feedback from the golf community, the USGA and R&A decided a single-date implementation in 2030 was the best route.
But it also wants a deeper look into distance.
The USGA and R&A said in a statement that discussions among the PGA Tour, the tour's Player Advisory Council, the European tour and other stakeholders recognized that distance continues to increase at the elite level; the new ODS standard might not reduce distance enough; and a willingness to “reconsider alternative approaches” that might have a greater impact on increases without disrupting the overall golf market.
A new wrinkle in the golf ball debate came earlier this year when Cameron Young used a new Titleist golf ball that didn't spin as much. It met the standards of the new ODS test, yet Young didn't lose any distance. His final tee shot when he won The Players Championship went 375 yards, wind-aided and with roll on the firm fairways of TPC Sawgrass.
One argument from the players has been the new standard would affect some players far greater than others depending on how they launch the ball. And given the expanse of technology in the game, Whan said there were questions whether any reduction in distance with the new golf ball test would be enough.
Whan and other USGA officials have met with skepticism — and criticism — from PGA Tour players at the Memorial each of the last three years, though he said this year the players sounded as though they wanted to be part of any solution.
“There's been a lot of tour involvement from the very beginning, but probably less individual players and a lot more tour leadership and the folks that are representing players,” Whan said.
“What really kind of changed with us more recently is the number of individual players that stepped forward, both in that meeting and since, with a real sense of wanting to help and share and asking for more information. That’s exciting.”
But he said an expanded review of distance cannot take as long as the eight years to reach the implementation of a new golf ball test.
“When we talk about other approaches, we want to be doing that with the speed of saying ... if we were going to do something in addition to 2030, we need to know that sooner than later,” Whan said. “So it creates a sense of urgency for all parties. This isn’t another eight-year effort. We need to get at it and do it with a sense of urgency.”
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