Is It Time For A Serious Reset In Professional Golf?

The USGA, along with the R&A, PGA Tour and DP World Tour, earlier this week confirmed it would not be rolling the golf ball back until 2030 and admitted its initial proposal had not gone far enough.

It hinted that it was exploring new options and gave the impression that anything and everything is now back on the table.

A big blow came earlier this year when Cameron Young struck the longest drive in ShotLink history on the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass on the way to winning The Players Championship. It travelled 370 yards, and weeks later we found out he did it with a ball that would conform under the new 2030 testing standards. It made a mockery of the proposed rollback.

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

The rollback, which would introduce a golf ball that conformed to new, more stringent tests, would reduce distance by an estimated 5-10% at the top of the game.

The consensus is that figure simply isn't enough as the world's best continue to find ways of hitting the ball farther and farther, and the professionals think the same.

"The idea of things needing to be done isn't incorrect, but how they were going about it wasn't fixing it," Justin Thomas said earlier this week.

Fellow PGA Tour winner Michael Kim agrees. He said that bifurcation - i.e. pros and amateurs using different equipment - would be the "only" way for the governing bodies to achieve their goal of reduced hitting distances at the top of the game.

The thought of bifurcation is sad - but is it the only realistic route?

I've been a golfer my entire life and the thought of bifurcation is sad. But I am starting to think it is the only realistic route forward.

I love the idea that I use the same type of equipment as the pros as it's a great yardstick of how I compare to them.

I use a 460cc driver like they do and the exact same ball used by many players on Tour. If a pro shoots 65 on a 7,500 yard course, that directly translates to me. I know that I could perhaps manage a 95 and leaves me in awe of just how good they are.

As well as taking away yardsticks, bifurcation would also give us grassroots players the impression that we're playing a watered-down version of the game and are almost cheating with our top of the range clubs and souped-up equipment that would be illegal in the hands of the top players.

I am a single figure golfer and I certainly wouldn't want to feel like I'm using clubs that are designed to make the game as easy as possible - but then I guess I already am?

The problem is that the top 0.001% of golfers in the world are doing the same.

Bifurcating equipment would also force the manufacturers to make different products for the Tour, the cost of which would only be passed on to regular golfers.

Are these negatives worth it to produce a more entertaining professional game? I'm not so sure, but I am starting to come around to the idea.

A blanket rollback has some serious challenges, as the governing bodies are discovering. Golf is extremely hard for us mere mortals so giving us a ball that travels 5% shorter ultimately makes it even more challenging. And we play golf for fun.

The game is also enjoying huge growth since Covid-19 so making things tougher is surely not the best idea.

New golf ball rules would also cause chaos at courses where some players might use the old, non-conforming ones and others don't. You would then start finding different versions dotted around the course. It ultimately would create confusion and just seems a little bit silly and unnecessary.

So bifurcation is surely the only way to achieve the desired outcome, which is a more entertaining professional game that also stops the incessant lengthening of courses to stop draining water, resources and land.

The game has changed dramatically in the last few decades. John Daly led the PGA Tour's driving distance average with 288.8 yards in 1996. 30 years later and the average driving distance is 304 yards, almost 40 longer than the 265.9 yards in '96. That 304 figure has crept up by eight yards in just five years, too.

The world's best players are incredible athletes now with access to the best technology in the world. From forgiving, fast drivers to low-spinning balls and high-tech launch monitors, they are seemingly able to gain yards very easily.

All power to them. They are the best of the best, and the modern game rewards long hitting so the blame is not on the players. The blame is surely on the governing bodies who have not acted fast enough.

That's why I believe we are approaching a time where the professional game needs a genuine reset.

We've seen Bryson DeChambeau hit a 427 yard drive this week at Shinnecock Hills and Rory McIlroy hit a pitching wedge with his second shot to a 600 yard par 5. Yes it's on firm ground and wind-assisted but these numbers and facts we see week-in, week-out are frankly ridiculous.

Some may argue that DeChambeau's drive had a tarmac-assisted bounce but it still would have gone over 400 yards. He had a 45 yard pitch shot into a 475 yard par 4 - a hole that once would have been considered brutal. It made a mockery of the modern game.

A close-up of one of Ludvig Aberg's drives at The Players Championship was also quite eye-opening. He almost missed the clubface, yet his ball still travelled 306 yards down the middle.

It was a great advert for Titleist drivers' forgiveness but it did leave me wondering why the game's top players are able to benefit from such technology.

Bifurcation, courtesy of a number of local rule equipment changes for the Tours and Majors, would make the professional game more enjoyable to watch and allow the pros to play some of the classic courses once again.

One of my all-time favorite courses is Sunningdale, yet that is now too short for the top players and has been for some time. It last hosted a men's regular Tour event in 1992. I'm sure there are dozens and dozens of great courses that fall into the same boat.

Watching pro golf has become fairly boring these days.

The top players all hit the ball so straight and undermine the test and challenge of long, brutally difficult courses. Because of the hitting distances, many great courses are obsolete and we regularly see big tournaments played at mundane, uninteresting venues.

So what would I propose? Here are my thoughts below - and be sure to let me know yours in the comments section.

Bifurcation in golf: My 4 proposals...

Golf balls

Bring in a golf ball that spins significantly more. This would reduce hitting distances and increase workability and shot-shaping.

Driver head-size

Reduce head size to sub-300cc and reduce MOI. Make hitting it out of the middle a skill that gets rewarded, and hitting toe and heel-strikes a severe punishment. This would stop players trying to hit it as hard as possible, reward the best players and also reward accuracy.

Tee height

Ban any tee longer than a certain height to ensure players cannot hit up on the ball to the same extent they can today.

Number of clubs

Reduce the number of clubs allowed in a pro's bag to 10, 11 or 12. This would immediately create more shotmaking - which would result in greater entertainment for fans while also rewarding the best players.

What do you make of my thoughts? Are you opposed to bifurcation or do you think these would be too drastic? I'd love to hear you view. You can join the conversation in the comments section below.