The groups that run golf say that a new rule change that will shorten the distance balls move is “fair” and won’t have a big effect on casual players.
Before, the R&A and USGA came up with the idea of a Model Local Rule (MLR) that would let elite tournaments choose to use balls that move about 15 yards less.
Martin Slumbers, CEO of the R&A, and Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA, both stated that the MLR would be used in their own events, mainly the Open Championship and the US Open.
The PGA Tour and the PGA of America were against the plan, and top equipment maker Acushnet and golfers like Justin Thomas, who plays with their market-leading Titleist balls, were very critical of it. Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods also backed it.
The R&A and USGA are changing the speed at which balls are tested because Slumbers said there was “pretty much no support” for the MLR. This means that present versions will not meet the new standards.
The top level will have to follow the change starting in 2028. From 2030 on, recreational players will also have to follow it.
Keegan Bradley said at last week’s Hero World Challenge that he had already tried a possible version of the new ball and that it was 40 to 50 yards shorter with his driver. He called it “monstrous” that the new rule would affect amateur golfers.
But Slumbers told the PA news agency that those “emotional numbers” were not at all true as he explained why the change was made.
“Having had pretty much no support for an MLR, we thought how can we best achieve our objectives, which is bringing back a little bit more skill in the game, slowing down hitting distance and our environmental sustainability concerns, without a tremendous impact on the recreational game,” said Slumbers.
“There is nothing we can do. The game can either be split in two, which was the MLR, or it can be changed for everyone.” There was no such thing as doing nothing, we always said.
Since 2004, the clubhead speed at which balls are tested has been raised from 120mph to 125mph. The distance limit, plus three yards, will stay at 317 yards.
“Over the last six months we’ve had quite a lot of golf balls sent to us that could have conformed with the MLR so we’ve been able to test and understand how a ball at the fastest clubhead speeds would perform with the different rule,” Slumbers said.
“The impact on the game is as follows: For the fastest swing speeds it will be 13-15 yards, for the average Tour speed nine to 11 yards and for the average recreational player less than five yards.”
We also know that the impact will get smaller as the clubs get shorter because the speed of the clubhead slows down. We believe it is fair and targeted, and that it won’t have much of an effect on the leisure game, especially not in the way that has been talked about recently.
Different people will have different reactions to the change, but Slumbers didn’t like the idea of more “notice and comment” times.
“This is a rule change to the rules of golf equipment standards,” Slumbers said, admitting that the PGA Tour and PGA of America would have liked things to stay the same. “There is a process that we agreed on with everyone in the industry and we stuck to it.”
We have heard and worked hard for five years to get to this point, but we think the process is over and the rule change won’t happen until January 2028.This is a long time, and we’ve already given you more information; we were talking about 2026 before.
It’s not easy to be a leader, but it’s our job to think about the future and make sure the game is set up correctly for the long term. We think this change to the rules is part of that. I believe it is a crucial and advantageous time for the game.
The ruling bodies will also keep an eye on how drivers can stop working properly after a while of use and look into how well the clubs work when hits are off-center.
The PGA Tour and the PGA of America both said they were somewhat pleased with the news, but they were against the test clubhead speed going up.
“Throughout the process we have provided feedback to the USGA and The R&A and are pleased to see a number of our recommendations reflected in this most recent announcement,” the PGA Tour stated in a statement.
“They are golf’s rule makers, and we therefore respect the decision they have arrived at” World Tour DP.
While we agree with the Player Advisory Council, Player Directors, and Policy Board that test clubhead speeds should go up to 125 mph, we think this is too fast compared to the rate of increase we see when we look at PGA Tour radar data. We will continue to share our thoughts with the USGA and The R&A.
In a memo to players that was published by Golf Channel, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan went a little further. He said, “We do not support… the increase to 125mph, believing a more moderate adjustment is appropriate.”
“We appreciate the amount of time and effort the game’s governing bodies, The R&A and the USGA, have put into research in this area,” a DP World Tour spokesperson said. They are in charge of making the rules for golf, so we accept their choice.
