The USGA have been forced into delaying the golf ball rollback.
With rapidly increasing distances in modern golf, the golf ball rollback was intended to cap how far players could hit it when it was eventually implemented. The new golf ball was supposed to come into play for the pros in 2028 and amateurs in 2030, but the USGA has pushed that date back.
In part due to player feedback, the golf ball rollback will now take effect for everyone in 2030, giving golf’s governing bodies more time to make this transition effectively. To some, that’s a sensible move. If this is going to be done, it must be done right.
But Golf Channel analyst Ryan Lavner didn’t hold back on golf’s governing bodies when discussing the decision to push the rollback two years back.
Ryan Lavner slams ‘embarrassing’ golf ball rollback decision
The USGA’s decision to delay the rollback was seen by many as a much-needed precaution, but Lavner, speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, said it’s embarrassing that this was even necessary, given the amount of time the USGA has had to implement it.
Lavner said, “I think it’s an embarrassment. I do think it’s embarrassing they have worked on it for a decade, and now they are conceding that the rule they worked on basically for a decade does not either work or does not go far enough to even make meaningful or significant change.
“Keep in mind that was the motivation to begin with for the governing bodies that, yes, we have a distance issue right now where some of the classic courses are being overpowered, and the game has become too one-dimensional at the elite level.
“If you are looking five or 10 years down the road, and the longest drivers on the PGA Tour are hitting it 325-330 on average. Five years from now, are they going to be at 340-350, and some of the game’s cathedrals become cut down to size even more?
“I do think if you are a golf fan, you are probably relieved at this point because we were looking at a potential game of chicken between the governing bodies at the PGA Tour.
“Because if in 2028 and the governing bodies were insistent and they were stubborn and saying we are not going to acquiesce to the players, we are going to do this in the Open Championship, the US Open, Augusta National was on board for The Masters, the PGA of America had dipped its toes.
“They didn’t like beautification, they liked the fact everyone was playing the same equipment across recreational and elite levels.
“You could have a scenario where you have a different set of equipment for regular PGA Tour events and at least three of the four major championships. I think that would have been a nuclear option and confusing. I think that would have been a potential catastrophe for the game.
“What I think is obvious is this is the first time that PGA players and the Tour at large are acknowledging distance is a problem, and something should probably be done about it.
“And secondly, this rule as it was written and as it was intended, does not go far enough. That is the problem, that is the crux of the issue, and that is now why they are punting until at least 2030.”
This move is a poor reflection on how the governing bodies have handled the rollback so far, so now they have delayed it, they better get it right.
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