There has been plenty of reaction to Tuesday’s announcement that players at future Open Championships could be made to use modified golf balls that will not travel as far as the ones in use today.
The purpose is to reduce the length of tee shots by about 15 yards with the aim of the plans being adopted across elite golf in 2026.
The plan from the R&A and the USGA to rein in the big-hitters has been sent to the manufacturers who have until the middle of August to respond.
I must admit I don’t understand who benefits from this move.
Massive uptake in golf
Golf is booming just now. We have had a huge surge in people taking up the game following the Covid pandemic because it was one of the few sports people were able to play for a while.
There has been a massive uptake in golf after lockdown which is great but this seems to be a proposal that will be unpopular with the professionals and the manufacturers.
It will make things very difficult for an amateur who qualifies for The Open using a certain ball and then has to change to play a different one in the major.
I feel there are other ways we could tackle this problem.
I have spoken to friends who are in the golf ball industry and they can’t understand this move.
One of the reasons it is being brought in is to try to preserve some of the more traditional courses which are playing differently, and much easier, now that professional players are hitting the ball a longer way off the tee.
When I played Augusta, I had a practice round with Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez and they were showing me where the old tees were. The organisers took the decision to ‘Tiger-proof’ the Masters course and moved a lot them much further back.
More important issues
Augusta is not one of them but there are some classic courses which wouldn’t be suitable for a tour event today because technology has changed the game so much since they were first designed.
But I think there are more important issues that the game’s governing bodies should be looking to tackle ahead of this one.
In tennis, they restricted the ball when players started serving too fast and I think that was understandable because it was having a damaging impact on watching the sport.
But in golf, hitting the ball a long way doesn’t give you any guarantee you will win the tournament. At some courses, it provides no real advantage.
Golf is in a really good place just now so it feels like this is a negative thing to be doing.
If this proposal is approved then I think it would have to be enforced across all professional tours.
The R&A and the USGA have said this rule won’t affect the amateur, recreational golfer.
I can’t imagine too many amateur golfers will be queuing up to get a ball that does not travel as far as the one they currently use.
It seems strange to announce such a potentially drastic change to top level golf before this year’s four majors have been played but if the R&A and USGA want this proposal to be approved then they will want to properly consult with the manufacturers to assess any potential challenges.
But I’m not convinced it is going to be an overly popular move.
Scheffler takes pole position
Scottie Scheffler is back on top of the world rankings after a dominant display at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
It was the American’s second win of 2023 following his success at the Phoenix Open last month.
He has not finished worse than tied 12th in his previous seven events which highlights how well he is playing.
I felt the number one ranking would be flipping between Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm a lot this year.
But if Scheffler continues the year like this he is going to hard to move.
The competition coming into the four majors is really healthy as I’m not sure there is that much between these top players.
What Scheffler has proven is he is a great frontrunner. The pressure doesn’t seem to get to him, he is very calm and makes good decisions. He hits the ball well and putts well but it is his mentality and approach to the game which seems to be taking him to the next level.
He doesn’t have many flaws and it never looks like he is going to slip up when he takes the lead.
He is only 26 so he’ll have plenty more wins in front of him.
Tyrrell Hatton also caught the eye with a superb finish which will have pleased European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
Campillo can make Ryder Cup push
Jorge Campillo had a great week at the Magical Kenya Open to claim his third DP World Tour title.
The course was very tight which meant it was easy to drop shots if you weren’t finding the fairways.
It was a good week for the Scottish contingent with Bob MacIntyre up in contention and Grant Forrest, Craig Howie and Calum Hill also finishing well.
A return to the winner's circle after 3 years and 3 days 🏆 #MagicalKenyaOpen pic.twitter.com/FdFk7AqDHW
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 12, 2023
Campillo is a great player and he got over the winning line in style.
I played with him a couple of weeks ago. He is very composed and a brilliant putter.
He is now a contender for the Ryder Cup. He has given himself a platform to push for the team.
He will be up there on the leaderboard most weeks because he is a solid player and I’m sure he will be on Luke Donald’s radar.
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