Golf Ball Distance. Go Long? Go shorter? Or Go Away.

Well it looks like the debate around the distance of the golf ball and whether it needs to be tamed has been taken.

The R&A and USGA have announced steps to reduce the distance of the golf ball. Currently the average on the PGA tour for distance is around 299.9 yards. Several players go beyond that and reach 320 yards.

When will this happen?

The rollback ruling is likely to come into play in 2028 at the professional level and 2030 at the amateur level.

Course Design

This will take the pressure off course designers, and to a degree bring back a level of skill, preventing the hit it long 'to the green' tactic.

It does though make one think - will club design further improve and hence result in the ball going the same distance?

Another Solution?

If we keep the ruling as-is, and allow big hitters to well hit big, we could try and solve the issue through more rough or make the hazards even tougher. This would remove the risk/reward ratio in favour of risk.

What will the impact be on Amateur Golfers?

Many take the view - the new grade of golf ball will not really impact the amateur golfer. Lets see how this goes. 

One thing is for sure, us amateur golfers will continue to lose golf balls, perhaps the discussion should be more on tracking golf balls and speed up play as a result. 

Happy Golfing. From the GFI Golf Team