There is one issue that has been slowly manifesting in golf with each passing year: professional golfers are regularly hitting their balls further at alarming rates.
The fields can’t get bigger, longer, without breaking the bank for new land and mass course renovation. Golf is already an expensive sport with surging costs. The solution? The plan is to rebuild the golf ball in a way that requires more power to send it at the same distance. And currently, the PGA is quietly testing these balls with their players.
Why Is Golf Ball Rollback Being Implemented?
A rookie playing in the PGA, Aldrich Potgieter, has already set some driving records at such a young age. To combat this from reoccurring year on year, the PGA is teasing out the potential of reimagining the design of the golf ball. This option has increasing support as an alternative to tournaments needing to renovate in the past. Moving trees, tee boxes, and sand traps, all to compensate for players that just hit too far doesn’t seem a logical solution.
Facing the issue of course size, the USGA and R&A have been hard at work trying to figure out a way to take care of this issue without increasing the course sizes. Eventually it was decided to revamp the golf ball itself. These new balls are being specially designed to reduce the distance they go when hit.
With the main issues involving pro players, there is unlikely to be an impact on casual players who are just playing a few rounds on the weekends.
What Do The Pro Players Think?
The PGA performed their own single blind tests on the new balls with ten of their pro players. These players include Brian Harman, and Ben Griffin. Griffin gave some insight on the new balls and immediately figured out which ones were the new ones.
“They wanted feedback on what we felt that was different in the golf balls,” Griffin said. “Let’s just say it was pretty easy to notice which balls were part of the roll back. It definitely comes out of the air faster. But it still didn’t curve as much because I think the technology of the clubs is so much better. It will affect low-ball hitters the most. Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy won’t experience as big a difference compared to someone like Brian Harman who relies on more roll.”
Brian Harman is very skeptical about the effectiveness of this new policy, and even the need to have the courses renovated to begin with. He gave said this about the golf ball rollback at the Arnold Invitational.
“Just because a guy that looks like (Houston Astros infielder) Jose Altuve is able to hit home runs doesn’t mean you make the ballparks bigger.” Harman went on to say, “Instead of trying to grab low-hanging fruit, there needs to be a more nuanced conversation about the future of the game, what that looks like, and what you want that challenge to be. I’m afraid this golf ball rollback will have the opposite effect of what they want.”
What’s Next For The Golf Ball Rollback?
The players don’t like the new balls and are questioning the need to address far hitters to begin with. The comparison to other sports is something to note. As more record-setting players push the boundaries of other sports, the fields were not increased, and the balls were not compromised. Instead it was the other professional players who evened out the playing field. Here one could argue that leaving the courses and balls as they are could be a roundabout solution for slow-play.
Main Photo Credit: © JEFF ROMANCE/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
