There have already been plenty of changes to professional golf over the past several months thanks to the rise of LIV Golf, but nothing has changed the way the game is played quite like the proposal this week that could limit the type of balls players use across professional golf.
The USGA and R&A – which help shape the rules of golf – announced a massive proposal this week that could limit the types of golf balls that professionals can use in competition with the goal of shortening the overall driving distance.
“The USGA and The R&A have proposed a Model Local Rule (MLR) that gives competition organizers the option to require use of golf balls that are tested under modified launch conditions to address the impacts of hitting distance in golf,” the USGA and R&G said in a release on Tuesday, according to Geoff Shackelford.
And there it is. 😁 pic.twitter.com/uWYiX9v3XY
— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) March 14, 2023
The goal of the change is to shorten the distance in which competitors are able to drive the ball. This change would put a greater emphasis on precision, strategy, shot-making and putting.
It would be a massive change, especially given how dependent the game has become on driving ability, and the golf world had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
A nod to Shac here, who has spent years (decades?) advocating for some regulation, motivated only by common sense and his background in the game, and against the animus and intense lobbying efforts of equipment manufacturers and the players/media they sponsor. https://t.co/UsT29uah4e
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) March 14, 2023
augusta national just spent untold sums of money fixing #13, only for the USGA/R&A to announce a rollback weeks before they actually get to show it off. that is objectively hilarious https://t.co/XwFBBV0HSt
— joshdub (@joshdub_) March 14, 2023
Rory will go from 320yds to 317? Boy that will really show those golf course designers. 😂😂 https://t.co/kgHl4hiiat
— Jim (@Cakalacman) March 14, 2023
Shocking idea. No way equipment manufacturers agree to this https://t.co/fE7Gb0rYLx
— Josh Coop (@joshj_coop) March 14, 2023
— Richie Ramsay (@RamsayGolf) March 14, 2023
We’ll have to see if this proposal actually goes into effect. If it does, it will certainly be interesting to see how it changes the game of golf.
