This week, the golf world was hit with a shocking and radical proposal that would limit the types of golf balls used in professional competition in an effort to limit the distance players are able to drive the ball. It’s a controversial proposal, but United States Golf Association CEO Mike Whan said it’s necessary to plan for the future.
Mike Whan said this week that the proposed changes are “not really about today,” but rather about how the game is expected to evolve in the next few decades.
“In the debates and the arguments that will certainly ensue over the next days and weeks that we’ll all be a part of, I think we’ll constantly find ourselves in this discussion about somebody saying, ‘Why would you do this today, the game is fine today,'” USGA CEO Mike Whan said according to ESPN.
“This is not really about today. It’s about understanding the historical trends over the last 10, 20, 40 years and being able to be very predictive in terms of those trends over the next 20 or 40 years going forward and questioning whether or not the game can sustain 20 or 40 years from now the kind of increases that are so incredibly easy to predict.
“If we simply do nothing, we pass that to the next generation and to all the golf course venues around the world for them to just simply figure out.”
It’s safe to say this proposal will see plenty of debate over the next few months.
[ESPN]
