'The Penalty For Missing A Driver Isn’t High Enough' - Scott On Distance Debate

As things stand we are in the middle of a proposal to bring in a Model Local Rule (MLR) which would allow tournament organisers to use golf balls that have been tested under modified launch conditions to curb the impact of distance in the game.

In short, golf balls that conform must not exceed the current Overall Distance Standard limit of 317 yards (plus three yards tolerance) with a clubhead speed of 127 mph, 11 degrees of launch, and 2,200 rpm of spin. It's thought that drives would be reduced by around 20-25 yards.

Adam Scott is the chairman of the Player Advisory Council on the PGA Tour and he has already stated that there will likely be some pushback from the membership on a potential rollback. The 42-year-old was speaking on The Smylie Show podcast and he had a lot of interesting things to say about the driver, rather than the golf ball.

"The golf romantic in me likes the idea of bringing it (the ball) back. I'm just not sure throwing a blanket just on the golf ball is really the way to do it and I don't really love bifurcating either.

"It's not just the ball that goes long. We've chased distance, tees going way back and they're asking us to hit it further and guys have found ways to do that. It's kind of the chicken-and-egg thing but we can't have 800-yard holes and we've got to stop somewhere," the 42-yea-old explained.

"The biggest fundamental change in the game since I’ve been a pro is traditionally the driver has been the hardest club to hit in the bag, and now it’s the most forgiving. And, that’s the biggest evolutionary change in the golf bag to me, out of the equipment.

"The ball is the ball. But the driver went from the hardest club to hit to now the most forgiving and the go-to club for guys if they are nervous. The penalty for missing a driver just isn’t high enough any more, in my opinion, at the top level. I’d like to maybe address that first and see what knock-on effects that has. If guys want to swing at it 130mph, with a tiny driver head, then good luck.”

The Australian's first year as a pro was in 2000 which coincided with the advent of the Pro V1 and the 2013 Masters winner looks back on that time as being a watershed moment in the game.

"I'm probably the last of the guys who turned pro using a Balata wound ball and, towards the end of my first year as a pro, the Pro V1 was introduced and that was really kind of a revolutionary ball. All the other manufacturers spent a few years trying to catch up to where the Pro V1 was, that was a huge advantage if you were a Titleist player at that time as it was clearly a better golf ball.

"The distance thing started happening around that time, much more calmly for quite a few years and, over the last 10 years, it's kind of exploded. We've seen a few guys push the limits a few times, going back to Rory McIlroy in 2013-14, all of a sudden he had bulked up with speed and was launching drivers.

"Then Bryson (DeChambeau) a few years ago when he went crazy and just pushed it even further. I also see the younger kids and Gordon Sargent is the best example, they have this easy speed in the 190s which is so wild. We're becoming better athletes and we shouldn't stop that."

Manufacturers and golf stakeholders are able to provide feedback until August 14 2023 and, if adopted, the proposal would take effect in January 2026.