On June 17, a joint statement was issued by the R&A, the United States Golf Association, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. They announced three outcomes from their recent discussions: a) recognition that distance continues to increase at the elite level; b) a concern by the Tours that the updated ODS [Overall Distance Standard] testing approach may not achieve the desired results; c) a collective willingness to reconsider alternative approaches that may more materially impact the pace of future distance increases, while minimizing disruption to the overall golf market.
At the elite level, there is no doubt that the situation is getting worse….sorry, longer. For example, when the US Open was played at Shinnecock Hills in 1995, the average driving distance was 263.3 yards. The average on the PGA Tour this season, when Shinnecock again hosted the championship, was 302.9 yards. That is a significant increase. But then this has been a recurring issue. To stick with the US Open by way of example, the championships of 1999 and 2005 were both played at Pinehurst. In 1999, the longest man in the field was John Daly, with an average poke of 286.3 yards. Just six years later, 64 of the players who made the cut were longer than that.
All parties are eager that they act in unison, and they intend to do so by 2030. Perhaps of most interest was what Global Golf Post described as “options that had been off the table are being reconsidered”. For instance, Mike Whan, chief executive officer of the USGA, said: “Three years ago we were told pretty point blank that MLRs [Modified Local Rules] would not be implemented that are distance-related at the PGA Tour level. Given that, we had a crossroads. Do we keep going down that path if they’re not going to be implemented? So we moved on from some of those. Clearly that mindset has shifted.”
Equipment manufacturers are at the forefront of those who urge against bifurcation – one rule for ‘them’, the tour pros, and one for the rest of us; this even though no one really believes ‘we are all playing the same game’. Would it really be so bad if the tour pros were compelled, via a modified local rule, to play a ball that was different from one most of us would choose to use?
Advances in equipment technology have been immense, with the players at the top end of the range inevitably being able to extract the maximum benefits from these developments. A couple of years ago I played with a guy who was a European Tour pro in the 1990s. He said he was longer now with all his clubs than he was then – in his prime, in fitter physical condition, before he had become a senior golfer.
We shall see what will be done but the authorities do appear to be determined that the answer will not be nothing. Specifically, they may also look to further rein in the driver. And if the main ‘threat’ to the integrity of our most storied golf courses is indeed the driver, then a few months ago I read a magnificently low-tech, non-legally contentious, suggestion from Nick Faldo, a guy who knows a thing or two about playing top-level golf. His idea? That in professional tour events, tee-pegs would not be permitted. Just think about it! That would knock scores of yards off any big gun’s biggest blast.