'Range Balls Go Farther' - Watch Bryson DeChambeau Play With a Rolled Back Ball
Bryson DeChambeau did not enjoy playing nine holes with a rolled back golf ball, branding it "ridiculous" and saying range balls go further
He's not been a fan of the whole golf rollback idea from the start, and a stunned Bryson DeChambeau is even more against it after hitting one of the balls in question.
In a fascinating video on his YouTube channel, the former US Open champion took on Dallas National's front nine with a ball similar in its properties to what the rolled back ball of the future will play like.
Playing with a Nike One Tour golf ball, which DeChambeau suggests will act something like the rolled back golf ball when it is introduced for the pros in 2028, there were some eye-opening findings.
Namely, he found that even when smoking a drive the rolled back ball was as much as 20 yards shorter than his regular golf ball.
"I don't want a rolled back golf ball, it's ridiculous," was DeChambeau's conclusion.
"The range balls go farther than this, they don't have that type of compression," said DeChambeau as another beef with the rolled back ball.
He did manage to drive a par four at Dallas National but to illustrate his point he compared tee shots with the rolled back ball and his current Titleist Pro V1 on the same hole.
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Even though he did not catch it as well with his regular ball, he carried it 331 yards compared to 315, with a ball speed of 192mph up from 187mph with the rolled back ball.
"They're saying it's like a 10,11 yard difference, nah, it's like 15-20, I don't like it," he summed up.
Apart from the obvious reduction in distance, the main takeaway for DeChambeau was the lack of movement in the ball flight with his driver
"Because the ball is going shorter, it's just not curving as much," said a bemused DeChambeau. "When it's going shorter it's just not curving as much so normally that ball would be going farther and curving more.
"So I'm having to adjust to this golf ball from a curvature perspective as well. This is wild.
"That ball is curving completely differently to what I'm used to. I'm thankful I'm not playing right now, I'd have to change my whole set just because of the golf ball."
Even though he ended up one under for his nine holes, he was less than impressed with the rolled back ball, which he said didn't even stack up to current driving range balls.
"I know when I've hit range balls in the past and I'll hit it off the heel and toe it will miss right and left," he added.
"So there's something about the compression of it that makes the ball not react to send it back straight."
His verdict, then, on the roll back plan was as expected: "Everything I saw today, from my perspective, I personally wouldn't want it."
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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