HOLD BACK THE FLIGHT

A glance at the way the Royal Liverpool scorecard has altered since the club returned to The Open rota explains why our current golf balls will be obsolete by the end of the decade.

The authorities have decreed that under current specifications we hit the ball too far. 

I know, I know! For many of us this does not tally with our reality. But the fact remains that for years and years the biggest hitters have been overpowering golf courses across the planet.

When Hoylake re-emerged as an Open venue in 2006 it was a par-72 test measuring 7,258 yards. Under the championship configuration the par-5 18th was the longest hole at 560 yards.

By this time, modern ball technology had already transformed the game. The best balls, combined with giant-headed drivers, offered a combination of distance and control that was unimaginable back in 1967.

That was when Roberto De Vicenzo lifted the Claret Jug on the famous Wirral links.

Then the par-72 course measured just under 7,000 yards.

Fast forward to the most recent Open at Hoylake in 2023 and it was stretched to nearly 7,400 yards and adjudged to be only a par-71 challenge. Famously, Brian Harman - one of the game’s shorter hitters - romped to victory at 13-under despite filthy weather conditions.

Harman proved that distance is not everything; nevertheless he had to cope with a closing hole stretched beyond 600 yards for the first time. 

And remember that aggregate yardage included the introduction of “Little Eye” at just 136 yards, so the lengthening of the overall course has been significant.

Such developments reflect an indisputable fact that the best golfers have the equipment and conditioning to propel the ball further and further. It has become a game of speed and power with 340 yard drives the norm.

Courses are running out of space. Expansion, where possible, requires more maintenance, water and other resources. Throughout the 21st century, golf has altered landscapes over thousands of acres to maintain a semblance of balance.

But attacking the problem from this angle makes little sense. When throwers started hurling javelins so far they were endangering other athletes the specifications were altered, not the playing field.
In baseball top batters are forced to use wooden rather than metal implements.

Tennis balls were slowed down when serves became unreturnable, rather than increasing the size of a court.

Hence golf’s belated move to adjust the specification of balls to make them less distance efficient. Rory McIlroy, the champion at Hoylake in 2014 and one of golf’s biggest hitters, backs the move.
“Innovation is a part of every sport, it’s a part of every industry,” he said. “But whenever that innovation outgrows the footprint of the game, that’s when I think we have a problem.”

The R&A and United States Golf Association, who administer rules, held a detailed consultation process which began in 2021. They sought views from all areas of the sport.

Manufacturers remain against any change that would impede technological advances. Most top players - many of them recipients of lucrative sponsorship from such companies - also voiced opposition.

US Ryder Cup star Justin Thomas called the ensuing proposals “selfish” and “bad for the game” and he was far from alone. The PGA Tour and PGA of America also voiced opposition.

Initially The R&A and USGA wanted to restrict distance only to the elite game, allowing us humble hackers to continue to enjoy the benefits of current ball specifications.

But this “bifurcation” went against a key tenet of the game, which is that no matter our standard we all can play the same courses and equipment as the top players. 

The prospect of such a split prompted a furious response across the golf industry.

The rules-makers revised their position, ditching a split approach but not their desire to limit distance. So, ultimately, we will all be affected.

In 2028 elite competitions will be played using balls that have to comply with stricter distance testing, and two years later every player is affected, no matter what level we are playing.

But, despite concessions on the issue of bifurcation it remains a hugely contentious issue. When The R&A and USGA finally announced their definitive move at the end of 2023, leading American pundit Brandel Chamblee accused the authorities of being “not only out of touch with the game they govern, but the people that play it.”

The former PGA Tour player claimed: “There are 50 million global golfers against it and 28,000 PGA of America members against it and almost every single touring professional against it.”

Under the new testing regime the “Overall Distance Standard” of 317 yards in controlled laboratory testing can only be achieved with a clubhead speed of 125 miles per hour (it is currently 120 mph). 

This effectively means balls have to be less efficient and it is estimated that male elite professional tour players will see an average reduction of 9-11 yards, with distances falling by 5-7 yards on the LPGA and Ladies European Tours.

When recreational golfers are affected by the new rules in 2030, the loss of distance is estimated to be five yards or less. The figures do not feel that significant, but the important element is that brakes are being applied.

There is still vehement opposition. Derek Sprague, the new boss of the PGA of America - which looks after US club pros as well as the American Ryder Cup team and US PGA Championship - wants the proposals put on hold.

“I don’t know one recreational golfer that wants to hit it shorter,” Sprague told Golf Digest at the start of 2025. “I don’t think we want 30 or 40 million golfers to go out and have to not only buy new golf balls, but now buy new equipment to match the new golf ball.”

Sprague added: “I think it’s time to just hit the pause button, bring the leaders together with the governing bodies, and get us all around the table.”

The rules-makers point out that such a process has already been carried out to an exhaustive level. And USGA chief executive Mike Whan believes not before time.

He says the game should have acted two decades ago. The current process is now seven years old and doing nothing would be “irresponsible.”

Whan told the No Laying Up podcast: “This job would be so much easier if I backed off this topic.  But…you know it’s coming.

“And the data is obvious. It can’t be good for this game environmentally, cost-wise, driving ranges, netting, nutrients, maintenance, pace of play, time, expense, all of those things come with a game that just continues to get longer.

“So it’s either act like this or in 20 years from now they’ll be saying it’s too bad those guys didn’t have the guts to do something.” The authorities are not for turning. Despite it remaining one of the game’s most controversial topics, new golf balls will top recreational players’ present wish lists for Christmas 2029.

And if it has the desired effect, expect little change to the scorecard the next time The Open comes back to Royal Liverpool.