Here we go again. The golf distance debate is back with a bang thanks to the latest proposals from the R&A and USGA’s Distance Insights Project.
If you’re not up to speed, the governing bodies think golfers – mainly tour players – are hitting the ball too far and want to dial back equipment to prevent this.
I’m sure you’re wondering, given my background in the game and career in golf equipment, which side of the fence I’m on. Well, I’ve never moved. My initial reaction when this issue first came to a head was most of us really don’t hit it that far at all.
If anything most amateur golfers are playing golf courses week in week out which are too long for them. Have you ever walked off after a round and thought, ‘Well that was easy!’ No, me neither. Because no one has ever even thought those words.
Less than 1% of golfers are professional, so should the governing bodies really be putting this amount of time, effort, and money into to changing equipment rules for such a small minority? Why not put that to better use by promoting grassroots golf more, or boosting the profile of the women’s game?
Imagine my delight when, just hours after filing this column Rory McIlroy – the unofficial PGA and European Tour player representative – speaking in his press conference at the Phoenix Open, had my back. If you haven’t seen this, it’s worth a listen.
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And while the majority of the talk has been about those at the very top of the sport and those, as McIlroy describes them, “who play this game for enjoyment”, what about us in the middle?
Now I compete in several elite amateur events throughout the year. Do I have to not only own but use different equipment to play in a medal at my home club and, say, the British Amateur? This game is financially crippling enough, now you’re potentially asking a lot of players to have to invest in a second set of golf equipment.
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Another issue with bifurcation is for those looking to make the switch from elite amateur to tour pro. As if it isn’t hard enough to make that step up, those golfers, who essentially need to take the spot of a player who has tons of experience from playing the same courses each year, will be forced to learn to play with new equipment at such a vital stage of their development.
