Sir Nick Faldo Reveals Quick And Easy Fix For Rollback Problem - And Rory McIlroy Approves

After Sir Nick Faldo got the backing of Rory McIlroy when suggesting the one inch tee could be the solution to golf's big rollback problem - he spoke to Golf Monthly about the idea and how Bryson DeChambeau helped convince him it could work.

Faldo says one of golf's biggest and most complex issues can be solved simply by making all the pros use nothing but small one inch tee pegs in competition - which would really test their golfing skill and also limit distances with the driver.

The idea was floated by Faldo on social media, when he posted a video from Royal Birkdale alongside Rory McIlroy, who was preparing for The Open - and the Grand Slam winner gave the solution his approval.

And just hours after Faldo released his video he joined Golf Monthly's Joe Ferguson on our golf gear show Kick Point, and revealed just how the idea came about, and what role Bryson DeChambeau played.

"What is the goal of the rollback is to make the golf ball go shorter," Faldo says in an upcoming episode Golf Monthly's Kick Point podcast.

"It's pretty harsh to say off you go, you've got to go retool, which I assume costs hundred of thousands, and how do they market this ball that goes 15% shorter than last year, good luck with that one.

"So as I said it's right under our noses, give them a short tee."

Faldo saw a Golf Monthly video on tee heights and then managed to try out the idea on two of the biggest hitters in golf, who helped convince him that the short tee peg could be a genuine solution.

"This is where it started - Gary Player's golf day last October. Bryson's there, hitting it 360 through the air with President Trump standing there.

"And I go forward and I said 'Oi try this' and I tee it up this high (an inch). I wasn't recording it, and I kicked myself because his opening line was 'I can't do that'.

"First one snipe hook, second one banana, and I go 'jeepers' and that's where it all started."

Faldo also speaks about how long drive champ Kyle Berkshire made him "laugh my a*** off" after hitting "the best buried top, with a huge pitch mark one inch in front" after trying to hit off the small tee.

Faldo suggests driver limits & fewer clubs in the bag

Faldo is passionate about "bringing the skill back into the game" which he says can be achieved by players having to use the smaller tee.

He also had a few other suggestions about tee lengths being made longer or shorter depending on the length of the golf course, and had a couple of other big ideas for limiting distance.

One was about limiting the lofts on drivers, with nothing allowed under 10 degrees, while he fully backed an idea raised by Jose Maria Olazabal about restricting the number of clubs pros would be allowed in the bag.

"Olazabal said well nine clubs, well yeah, and again, bring back skill," Faldo added.

"If you only had nine clubs, it'd be fabulous for TV because they'd probably arrive at a tournament with 20 clubs and they'd work out what nine they need for that golf course, which is a great story as well."

Faldo explained why fewer clubs would not only promote more skill being used in shot shaping but also could speed up play with fewer clubs to pick from.

The three-time Open champion explained how manufacturers could actually benefit from these new rules, and how it would really show who the best ball strikers in the game were.

"I came from an era where the better striker you were, the better player you were."

And Faldo is desperate to at least see the small tee pegs put into play even if just for a trial tournament, as he sees it as the perfect solution - he'll even pay for the experiment.

"Faldo Design will even sponsor the tee pegs, I will pay," he added. "We worked it out it would cost 100 bucks, I'll ship in the 100 bucks and you can all have claret and green one inch tee pegs with Faldo Design on them.

"Let's do it and get the feedback, I think the guys would love it."

Faldo goes into greater depth about his ideas for the rollback, about fewer clubs, smaller tees and even driver lofts - while also going through his equipment history and more memories in the latest edition of Kick Point - out soon...

McIlroy approves of Faldo's tee plan

Faldo's original tee peg idea got the approval of McIlroy while the two were at Birkdale together - with the both of the six-time Major champions feeling like it should at least be tested.

“Hopefully you know I’m a big fan of trying to bring back the ball-striking skills to our game," Faldo said in his video on X.

“I now believe the answer is right under our noses. It’s the one-inch tee.

“All I’m asking is to do some testing. Let’s give it to the pros, get it on the range and get some feedback.

“I asked a leading player whether he would consider doing that.”

That leading player was back-to-back Masters champion McIlroy, who had no problem with putting the smaller tee peg into competition play.

“Absolutely, I would endorse that,” McIlroy said. “The tee shot I just hit here into the wind was probably off a one-inch tee.

“It’s a multifaceted solution where I think you can look at the tee, you can look at the ball, you can look at all sorts of stuff.”

Serious time and money is going into developing a new golf ball, doing research and gathering feedback on a new golf ball.

But Faldo offers his solution, which he says "could be, I really believe, as simple as buying a big bag of one-inch tees for the pros”.

Maybe it's something golf's lawmakers could and should take a look at.