R&A CEO Martin Slumbers doubles down on golf ball rollback; decision by year’s end

Before LIV Golf burst onto the scene, the biggest controversy in golf happened to do with the golf ball itself.

Advancements in equipment have allowed players to overpower courses, which has made hundreds of them obsolete. Other courses have been forced to expand, requiring more resources to maintain larger areas.

Thus, to help curb these changes and to ensure players are not competing on 8,000-yard-plus courses in the years to come, the R&A and the USGA—golf’s governing bodies—have pushed for rolling back the golf ball for elite players.

“Unequivocally, the ball is going further than it did 15 years ago,” R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said in an interview with Golf Digest.

“And I see no reason to doubt it will not continue to do so. I’ve long been of this view. And for a long time, I had to keep it private. But once we published our distance report at the start of this process, I was very clear that, for the good of the game, we need to address this issue.”

Photo by Ross Parker/Getty Images

In March 2023, the R&A and USGA unveiled a modified local rule that, if approved, would come into effect in 2026.

Competition organizers would have to require their fields to use golf balls tested under modified launch conditions to address the impacts of hitting distance in golf. Think of limited-distance balls that some driving ranges employ to keep shots within their respective properties.

“From that point of view and from an environmental point of view, we have to do something,” Slumbers continued.

“We have been very clear, as has CEO Mike Whan at the USGA. There are only three options: We can bifurcate; you change the whole game; or you do nothing. And doing nothing is not an option. We stand by that.”

The term “bifurcation” has been a fancy word thrown around the golf world, and it means that this rule would only affect elite competitions and, if adopted, would not impact recreational golf.

But professional golfers have not viewed this new idea too keenly. Dozens of pros have responded negatively; so has PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

In a memo obtained by Sports Illustrated in late July, Monahan said to PGA Tour members that golf ball rollback “is not warranted and not in the best interest of the game.’’

Yet, some of the game’s biggest stars, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jack Nicklaus, all feel this rule needs to be instituted.

“If you’re going to do anything about the equipment, I don’t think you can change the size of the heads anymore, just because there are so many out there,” Woods said at Augusta National before the 2023 Masters.

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“But I still think it’s very much like baseball with aluminum bats and wooden bats. You can have a difference in the golf ball. Tennis has the same thing. You go to different events, and you have different balls. The public doesn’t know that, but the players do.”

This discussion has been happening for years, but Slumbers insisted that a decision on the golf ball would come by the end of the 2023 calendar year.

“The game was not happy with the rule,” Slumbers added.

“But our responsibility is to the long-term future of the game. Along with the USGA, the R&A is a custodian of the game. We’re responsible for our period of time, something that has gone on for hundreds of years and will go on for hundreds more. So, we are listening. And we have made a decision about what we are going to do. We’re working that through at the moment and will make it public before the end of the year.”

Luckily for everyday golfers, this rule will not affect the common man.

But for players who qualify for the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and other significant events on the PGA Tour, rolling back the golf ball will undoubtedly affect them.

What do you think golf’s governing bodies should do?

Should rolling back the golf ball be instituted?

Or should golf’s professional circuits continue to play any ball they please?

Let us know in the comments below.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.