USGA and R&A - Distance Rollback Proposals

This is the most "no ****" thing ever.

Also, Rory hit 43% of fairways this week and finished in the top 20. Maybe, just MAYBE, they need to spend a bit more time making courses more difficult and stop trying to cheap their way into higher scores by screwing with equipment.

On Friday, on the South Course, Will Zalatoris hit 1 fairway and shot 71. He is not a long hitter. If someone only hits one fairway in a round, they should not be shooting under par for that round.
 
At some point a problem becomes a problem when someone believes there's a problem. It does not require everyone to agree with it. In fact, instances when everyone agrees on a singular issue is extraordinarily rare.
 
Rules officials better be ready to check every ball in Patrick Reeds bag for non-conforming balls.
 
The problem with simply raising the mower blades is that with the longer players, they can play target golf. The biggest area of improvement to diminish distance is to make a course more penal when missing.


agreed, the proper way to play tournament golf is firm and fast. That puts a premium on accuracy.

Stole this from golf digest.


The areas specified in Tuesday’s documents involve everything from shorter golf balls to smaller, less forgiving and less-springy drivers. Even under study are possible limits on center of gravity that theoretically would make drivers spin more so they flew shorter for tour-level swing speeds. In short, the governing bodies are looking to throw every possible speed bump at not only further distance but potentially taking distance back two decades to when they first raised warning flags about elite players’ driving in 2002. Or the research might pave the way for previously overlooked technological methods of reducing distance for the best while having minimal consequences for the less than best. In any case, in the rulemaking process, this notification of an area of interest is followed by another 30 potential steps and considerations to be navigated before any rule change is fully implemented.
 
They actually cut the rough shorter right before the tournament started.
AAUI, they made the fairways narrower, though?
 
And here we go again.:ROFLMAO:
 
The problem with simply raising the mower blades is that with the longer players, they can play target golf. The biggest area of improvement to diminish distance is to make a course more penal when missing.

Grow the rough up & in
 
I don’t see anything in the proposal that impacts my game even slightly. What am I missing?
 
agreed, the proper way to play tournament golf is firm and fast. That puts a premium on accuracy.

Stole this from golf digest.


The areas specified in Tuesday’s documents involve everything from shorter golf balls to smaller, less forgiving and less-springy drivers. Even under study are possible limits on center of gravity that theoretically would make drivers spin more so they flew shorter for tour-level swing speeds. In short, the governing bodies are looking to throw every possible speed bump at not only further distance but potentially taking distance back two decades to when they first raised warning flags about elite players’ driving in 2002. Or the research might pave the way for previously overlooked technological methods of reducing distance for the best while having minimal consequences for the less than best. In any case, in the rulemaking process, this notification of an area of interest is followed by another 30 potential steps and considerations to be navigated before any rule change is fully implemented.

Correct. Stop playing the same damn courses every year or make the rough and holes more penal and you eliminate any distance debate.
And the distance debate is a 1% debate. 25 million golfers do not struggle hitting the ball too far.

Its a relation to par debate. Get rid of par 5s on tour and you no longer have that issue either.
 
Bifurcate and get it over with. :D

Or get creative with course prep... 18 holes... have 6 greens stimp less than 5, 6 stimp between 6-10, and 6 stimp more than 11.
 
From the article GolfDigest

This is about the long term and making the game more sustainable, more enjoyable,” Davis said. “This isn’t about hurting golfers, this isn’t about necessarily lessening their distance. But the data is irrefutable. We have a problem and we’ve got to solve for it. I would almost go so far as to say that for those who don’t think that we have a problem, I would either say they haven’t read the data or they have some personal conflict of interest. When you look at this data, it’s so crystal clear that something needs to get done.

——

I’m sorry, what? So it’s a problem because you say it’s a problem, and anybody who doesn’t think it’s a problem isn’t as smart as you.
The Distance Report says that the average is up ~3% since 2013. 3% is breaking the game?

I get they are trying to protect the longterm health of the game, but the report and governing bodies seem to only be correlating course difficult with length. The solution to keeping courses difficult cannot solely be based on length. This is so incredibly shortsighted.

I don’t see any way that implementing these does any BUT place even more emphasis on driving distance, especially at the tour level.
 
Didn't they try that for the 2020 U.S. Open and it backfired?
I mean, sort of. One guy showcased that growing the rough is not the only way to trick out a golf course. Everyone else kind of got hammered by it.
 
On Friday, on the South Course, Will Zalatoris hit 1 fairway and shot 71. He is not a long hitter. If someone only hits one fairway in a round, they should not be shooting under par for that round.

He's 9th in driving distance on tour...Smashes it.
 
I have yet to hear a convincing argument that there is a distance problem.

There is a distance problem. Its terrible. Really, i dont understand what the big deal is, i stand to win more on the course if everyone is limited to hitting the ball as short as i do! Lmao. As much as i say it would be fun to level the field for the pros, do one tournament. Call it the calloway open or something else. All pros show up for their fitting on tues. same clubs. They can adjust loft only Practice weds. Play thurs. same balls too. See what happens. Then go back to normal. Yes, manufacturers would get pissed at being left out of 1 tourney. No club or ball announcements prior to tues.
or, start making some dog legs with tee set ups that make it stupid to try to cut it.
Look, in the late 80’s when i was young i hit long. 195 6 iron. 300 drives with wood ping driver. I was strong and flexible. Then the surgeries came. Knees. Shoulders.
Neck. Abs. Elbows. Wrist. Middle finger. No longer strong and not flexible. I have rice krispie knees. I hit a lot shorter now, but i am damn good inside 130. Let the big dogs eat, just adjust a few holes on the courses to test them. Dogleg right, left. Put some bunkers in bad spots. Set up flags so you need to plan a tee shot. Thats all you have to do. Some will still try to rip it. They may succeed or they may crash and burn like us amatuers do.


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I can see the fairways being short and fast as the ball rolls out into a penalized area, rough, bunker and so on.
I can also see if the fairways were longer, it becomes target golf, hit it to this area and your safe.
Narrow fairways, longer rough, this would be the way to go imo, it would make a player be more accurate and rewarding.
 
At some point a problem becomes a problem when someone believes there's a problem. It does not require everyone to agree with it. In fact, instances when everyone agrees on a singular issue is extraordinarily rare.
You cannot alter the conditions for millions of people because a handful of pleated dingbats are stuck reading tour data with their single malt every night.

...and if you do, it's a massive over step laced with ignorance
 
You know what stops a ball from lumbering down a lightning fast fairway? A dogleg.
You know what stops a player from hitting over trees and cutting off the dogleg? Better teeing ground conditions.

Etc etc. It's not exactly rocket science. Maybe it's time to retire some of the courses that, while having wonderful history, are not the best design for skilled players.
 
He's 9th in driving distance on tour...Smashes it.

I had read an article in Golf Digest which stated that he only averaged 298 off the tee on Friday. And the author stated he was not a long hitter nor a short hitter.

I don’t know how that writer would state that someone who is 9th in driving distance is “ not ovely long”.

Can’t believe everything you read 😆. Thanks for pointing this out.
 
I will not support or adapt to an adjusted golf ball. It has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of my golfing experience to fit into a golf ball and enjoy the benefits of one that suits my game. To take that away now would be gutting. If that means I don't play in any sort of event, great. I could not give a ****

From the pro side, I think it's stupid. Flatter swings benefit the most.

I'll now stop jumping to conclusions until I see the full depths of their (likely terrible) proposals.
I don't understand your issue? so if they roll back the ball or limit it how is this going to affect your choice of ball?
if they are all affected what option do you really have?
 
Seems like the best way to stop bombers is place more hazards and longer rough in the 310-350 range with a wider more forgiving fairway 310 and in. Make it high risk high reward to bomb it as compared to a standard drive. Long hitters still have an advantage as they can hit 3 wood to the easier landing zone where short players hit driver.
 
You know what stops a ball from lumbering down a lightning fast fairway? A dogleg.
You know what stops a player from hitting over trees and cutting off the dogleg? Better teeing ground conditions.

Etc etc. It's not exactly rocket science. Maybe it's time to retire some of the courses that, while having wonderful history, are not the best design for skilled players.
I think that's what jb said, time to change up the courses.
 

He is a loud voice saying that distance is a problem. Even though he was the longest player in his day, sold golf equipment designed for distance, and makes 8,000 yard golf courses.

He's no longer a valuable opinion for golf, especially in relation to the modern game.
 
Why are we stopping bombers (on tour) again?

Why do the bombers on tour get to be the biggest influence on what my dad, father-in-law, wife, and me play?
 
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