The committee responsible for regulating the world of golf has modified its equipment tests to ensure that balls go less far, regardless of the caliber of golfer, ranging from Tiger Woods to the Sunday golfer.
The USGA and the R
“It is virtually impossible to deny that the sport, played at the highest level, spans much further than it did 20 years ago,” said Mike Whan, USGA president and chief operating officer.
On the Golf Canada side, we have for the moment been content to publish the press release from the USGA and the R
This change will only be adopted in 2028 for the main professional circuits on the planet, and in 2030 for recreational golfers.
The initial proposal tabled in March was called Model Local Rule and attempted only to limit the distance the ball travels in professional circuits, which would have created two rule scales for the first time in history. The PGA Tour and PGA of America were strongly opposed to it.
The USGA and the R
The new test states that the swing with the bat must be made at 125 mph, the equivalent of 183 mph in ball speed (up from the pre-swing speed of 120 mph and the speed of 176 mph bullet); with a ball spin speed of 2200 rpm (down from 2520 rpm) and a contact angle of 11 degrees (it was previously 10 degrees).
For heavy hitters, they could lose up to 15 yards on their tee shot – it will be more like 11 yards for the average professional golfer, 7 yards for the professional female golfer, and 5 yards or less for all other golfers.
Keegan Bradley doubts these predictions. He said golf equipment manufacturer Srixon produced a golf ball for him that met the new criteria, and it lost between 40 and 50 yards of distance.
“I think the USGA…they’re just reacting,” Bradley said last week at the Hero World Def in the Bahamas. She doesn’t try to find solutions. She only says that she will have an impact on 100% of the population who play golf. For an amateur golfer, it will be catastrophic. I don’t think there’s anything stupider than that. »
The PGA Tour had 98 golfers averaging 300 yards per tee shot, and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was the most powerful at 326.3 yards.
McIlroy spoke out on social media last week when Golf Digest first reported the adoption of the new test.
“It won’t make any difference to the average golfer, but it will allow golf to become a sustainable activity again,” McIlroy said. It will also force professional golfers to focus on certain golf skills that had been neglected for two decades. »
For his part, Woods mentioned last week in the Bahamas that he favors the adoption of two rule books – much like baseball did with the aluminum bat and the wood bat. This example, however, suggests that we should instead attack the driver.
The driver was in the sights of the USGA and the R
Furthermore, the greatest progress has been made with the golf ball – just look at how far it has traveled over the past 40 years, a fear that is amplified among different federations across the planet by the fact that golfers are getting stronger and have developed better techniques.
