By changing the specs of the balls, golf has become the latest sport to add new rules that limit the effects of better performance.
The rules say that starting in 2028, the best golfers will only be able to hit tee shots from about 15 yards farther away.
Manufacturers will have to change the shapes of balls over the next four years to make sure they meet the rules.
Golf has now joined other sports in taking steps to stop players from getting better.
How and why are golf balls being changed?
“We really think we need to do something and bring the rules up to date for today’s game,” R&A boss Martin Slumbers told BBC Sport. Why, though?
In 2002, only John Daly (with 306 yards) had a drive longer than 300 yards. Only 98 pros beat the average of 299.9 yards last year.
Augusta National’s famous 13th hole had to be made longer this year, from 510 yards to 545 yards, so it would still be a challenge.
In 2021, golf’s governing bodies decided to limit the length of drivers. Now, the distance the ball goes will be limited. This can be done by changing the ball’s composition and dimple patterns to change its spin rate.
There will be strict rules that balls must follow to meet their Overall Distance Standard.
Rory McIlroy and other PGA Tour players whose drives average more than 320 yards will lose about 15 yards on their longest shots once the rule is put into place. On the other hand, recreational golfers whose swing speeds are usually lower will lose less than five yards.
“Super shoes” take over sports
In recent years, world records in athletics have been broken, and the importance of so-called “super-shoes,” which usually have a carbon plate in the midsole, has been talked about a lot.
In January 2022, World Athletics changed their rules so that shoes could not be used unless they were offered to all athletes and met technical standards for the thickness of the sole.
The effect of the shoes has been most clear in the marathon. This year, Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia broke the women’s world record by crossing the finish line in Berlin in 2 hours 11 minutes 53 seconds, beating Eliud Kipchoge’s old record by two minutes and 11 seconds. In Chicago, Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum ran 2:00:35, beating Kipchoge’s old record by 34 seconds.
Kiptum wore Nike’s Alphafly 3, and Assefa wore Adidas’ £400 Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes. Assefa had only run her first marathon in March 2022. Those two brands are in the lead to see who can make the shoes that the first athlete can run 26.2-miles in less than two hours.
High-tech suits aren’t allowed in swimming
Performance-enhancing bikinis were banned in January 2010 because they caused almost all of the world records to be broken in less than two years.
Fina, which is in charge of swimming in the world, made the choice after 29 world records were set in the first five days of the 2009 World Championships.
After that, there were only two records left from before polyurethane suits came out in 2008.
Speedo’s LZR Racer, a 50% polyurethane swimsuit, was one of the suits that caused the most controversy. Michael Phelps, an Olympic hero, threatened to pull out of the 2009 Worlds if the suits weren’t banned.
In cricket, bat sizes are fixed
There are now defined size limits on the edge and depth of cricket bats. These were added to the rules in October 2017 after years of debate.
The Marylebone Cricket Club, which makes the rules for the sport, decided that the game had become “tipped too far in the batsman’s favour.” They made the first changes to cricket’s rules since 2000.
With that decision, the sides of the bat could be no more than 40 mm, the depth could not be more than 67 mm (60 mm plus 7 mm to allow for a possible curve on the face of the bat), and the width could not be more than 108 mm.
A bat gauge was used to make sure those rules were followed because some badly hit shots went over the fence for six.
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