With the USGA and R&A reportedly set to announce a universal retirement of the standard golf ball, Rory McIlroy is among those defending the governing bodies following their decision.
The four-time Northern Ireland major champion expressed his thoughts on the move back in a social media post on Sunday.
“I don’t understand the anger” caused by the backtracking, McIlroy wrote in part. “It will make no difference to the average golfer and will put golf back on the path to sustainability. It will also help bring back some skills to the professional game that have been eradicated over the past two decades.”
Moving the golf ball back to reduce distances for professional and amateur players — a topic of discussion in the sport for months — will be made official in an announcement from the USGA and R&A next week, Golf Digest reported Friday.
Golf balls will be tested at a new swing speed of 125 mph, rather than the old standard of 120 mph. Balls must not exceed the distance limit of 317 yards despite this change, as Golf Digest explains. Therefore, golf ball manufacturers will need to change their designs to comply with the new testing standard.
McIlroy believes that those who don’t like the new rules shouldn’t be angry at the USGA and the R&A, but rather at “the elite pros and club/ball manufacturers because they didn’t want to bifurcation”.
He said governing bodies had presented bifurcation as an option: one set of rules for the pros, another for the average weekend duffer.
“Elite professionals and ball makers believe bifurcation would negatively impact their bottom line, when in reality the game is already bifurcated,” he said. “You think we play the same thing as you? They pressured the governing bodies to bring the game back to a lesser degree for everyone. Bifurcation was the logical answer for everyone, but still a Sometimes in this game, money talks.”
