When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Latest Governing Body Notice To Manufacturers Outlines Significant Rollback Possibilities (For Elites)
/While we already knew of these were the focus, the June 8th specifics suggest as much as a thirty percent reduction for the longest of long hitters. Stachura writes:
The original proposed change was to raise the test swing speed for the Overall Distance Standard from the current 120 miles per hour to 125. The June 8 announcement now proposes studying a test speed “between 125 and 127 mph and will include studies of the effects of these test speeds on the launch conditions and aerodynamics of the golf ball.” At the maximum, that speed would be more than 12 mph faster than the current average clubhead speed on the PGA Tour but only a little more than two mph faster than the two current fastest swings on tour, Cameron Champ (124.76) and Branden Hagy (124.41).
As the USGA’s John Spitzer previously indicated when the speed being considered was 125 mph, nearly all of the balls played on tour would be non-conforming under the new standard, and of course many of those balls are also among the most purchased balls on the market.
The bigger set of changes proposed in the June 8 notice, however, would not affect average golfers, but could dramatically alter the performance of drivers at the elite level. The new proposal suggests tournaments or tours could institute a “model local rule” for equipment that would severely roll back how springy faces are and how forgiving drivers are on off-center hits.
As Stachura notes, these are just proposals and may have been crafted to begin a discussion, listen to the inevitable whining, and negotiate to a place that would keep courses relevant and anticipate the next generation of decathletes reared on modern stuff.
The notice also appears to have taken a few things off the table: grooves, changing the size of the ball or minimum ball spin.
Interested parties have until September 2nd to get their comments submitted. To date the manufacturers have been largely silent on the proposals.
Quadrilateral: Just A Little More Masters
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An Easter Sunday edition of the Quad touches on a few leftover topics.
The Fried Egg Podcast: Is An Equipment Rollback On The Horizon?
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Andy Johnson and yours truly chatted about an array of topics, with a focus on the distance rollout and the repercussions for players and course design.
Hope you enjoy!
State Of The Game 120: Latest Distance Report Analyzed
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Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly discussed the long-awaited follow-up from the USGA and R&A.
We discussed some of my reporting and comments from the R&A’s Steve Otto, featured here.
As always, State of The Game is available wherever podcasts are streamed. Or you can check it out here at the show’s page. Or just listen via the embed:
Distances That Were Supposed To Level Off Are Growing At A Steady Rate
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From the R&A/USGA 2021 Distance Report
No kidding, right? But there are also numbers showing the PGA Tour’s longest have leveled off again. So Mike Stachura considered the USGA/R&A distance report and boiled a key number that might justify not only a hard stand but the dreaded “r” word.
Then again, there is a fundamental difference between looking at the rate of growth in distance compared to the actual growth. In the last five years, distance on the PGA Tour is increasing at a rate of about a yard per year. That’s less than half what it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but more than double the rate from 1980-95. And when those increases are coming on top of a driving distance average that is in the mid-290s now compared to the low 260s then, that’s what has the ruling bodies concerned. It’s not the size of the distance gains, it’s that, at least to the ruling bodies, they don’t appear to be leveling off, despite all the equipment regulations. That’s especially concerning to them at a time almost two decades removed from their Joint Statement of Principles that declared “any further significant increases in hitting distances at the highest level are undesirable.”
R&A, USGA Release "Updated Areas Of Interest And Research Topics On Hitting Distance In Golf"
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Lots and lots to chew on here for the next six months, but as I write at The Quadrilateral with exclusive comments from the R&A’s Chief Technology Officer Steve Otto, we may be on the cusp of reigning in the madness while opening new innovation doors for average players.
For Immediate Release from the R&A (the USGA also sent out the same release):
THE R&A AND USGA RELEASE UPDATED AREAS OF INTEREST AND RESEARCH TOPICS ON HITTING DISTANCE IN GOLF
16 March 2022, St Andrews, Scotland and Liberty Corner, N.J., USA: The R&A and USGA today released updated areas of interest and research topics on hitting distance in golf.
In doing so, the governing bodies are continuing their work to address the long-term cycle of increased hitting distances and course lengthening that threatens golf’s long-term sustainability and undermines the core principle that a broad and balanced set of playing skills should remain the primary determinant of success in golf.
The update follows a consultation with the industry and focuses on the Notice and Comment and Areas of Interest from the 1 February 2021 release.
The official notice to manufacturers regarding these new Areas of Interest can be found via this link.
The R&A and the USGA will investigate the potential impacts on hitting distance from increasing the ball test speeds for golf balls to reflect the clubhead speeds achieved by today’s longest hitters.
The governing bodies will also narrow the focus of previously announced research topics for drivers, specifically within the context of potential Model Local Rules, to explore a reduction of spring-like effect to reduce hitting distance and changes to the Moment of Inertia (MOI) limit to enhance the reward of a central impact.
The R&A and USGA have also made industry stakeholders aware that they are considering whether these potential changes could be coupled with other changes to the Equipment Rules that could provide the potential for enhanced innovation for recreational golfers.
The governing bodies believe that the changes being considered could:
· Address hitting distances for the longest hitters, whose impact on the game and golf courses has been the most significant.
· Minimise the impact on shorter hitters with slower swing speeds at the recreational level.
· Allow for continued innovation of balls and clubs for players at all levels.
The updates released today are as follows:
Areas of Interest
1 Potential changes to the testing methods for golf balls
Evaluate the effect of increasing the clubhead speed used to determine conformance to the Overall Distance Standard (ODS) to at least 125 mph and to use optimised launch angle and spin parameters (that are specific to each ball tested). In conjunction with the potential new test conditions for the ODS, the Initial Velocity Test may be modified or eliminated to provide the opportunity for innovation for shorter hitters. These potential changes would apply to balls used at all levels of the game.
2 Model Local Rules – club performance
Investigate the impact of a reduction of the allowable spring-like effect and moment of inertia in drivers. The governing bodies are considering these topics within the context of Model Local Rules that could be utilised for competitions involving the highest level of elite golfers. There is also interest in considering whether the adoption of these potential Model Local Rules could also allow the elimination of the MOI limit for recreational golfers, which could facilitate greater innovation and provide modest distance increases at this level of the game.
Golf’s stakeholders can provide feedback and research on these topics by 2 September 2022.
Distance in Golf
The Distance Insights Report released in 2020 identified a long-term cycle of hitting distance increases and lengthening courses that the governing bodies concluded is detrimental to golf and the way it is played. More specifically, the report highlighted how this cycle is impacting, and is likely to continue to impact, the strategic challenge of the game and alter the variety of skills needed to be successful.
The report also found that the overall trend of golf courses becoming longer has adverse consequences that ultimately affect golfers at all levels of the sport, including by increasing the cost and time to play, limiting the advancement of sustainability efforts especially with respect to water usage and reducing the challenge of courses - in some cases creating a risk of them becoming obsolete.
The R&A and the USGA are working with the key stakeholders in golf to address these issues and to ensure that skill remains the primary determinant of success in golf.
The governing bodies have also researched how course-related factors such as set-up, conditioning and maintenance could be selectively used to impact the way a course plays. These factors have modest and varying degrees of impact on distance, costs and golfer experience and, therefore, should not be viewed as a means to sustainably reduce the long-term impact related to distance across the game. These potential practices will continue to be reviewed as part of the ongoing conversation with the industry on distance.
In line with Equipment Rulemaking procedures, the latest Areas of Interest confirm the key areas of focus of the governing bodies but do not represent a proposal or decision on any aspects at this stage.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We have been working through this process carefully and collaboratively with the golf industry and greatly appreciate the constructive feedback we have received. Our thinking on these areas continues to evolve and we believe we are moving in the right direction to maintain the balance between skill and technology in golf that we have said is important. We will continue to work quickly but carefully as we look to resolve this complex and challenging issue for the sport as a whole.”
“We’re moving forward on this important work because we want golf to remain just as strong 50 years from now as it is today,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “It energises all of us to do what is in the best interests in the game and keep it thriving long into the future.”
The 2021 Annual Driving Distance Report
The R&A and the USGA also today released the 2021 Annual Driving Distance Report. The full report can be found
here.
State Of The Game 119: Well That Escalated Quickly
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Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly convened to wade into the various issues of the day. And there are plenty. Ball rollback drinking gamers should be pleased, too.
The Apple listening option. And the pod remains available wherever you get your shows.
Club Pro Guy Introduces Non-Conforming "Punchout" Club
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Most major manufacturers steadfastly refuse to offer game-improvement clubs that would be deemed non-conforming by the Rules of Golf.
So credit Club Pro Guy for going where the Callaway’s and Taylormade’s refuse by pushing the boundaries in unimaginable ways. Not since the Perfect Club or the C3i have golfers had reason to plunk down $99.95 for something so transformative. CPG’s xe747 Punchout Club can (purportedly) be hit left or right handed while also delivering “state of the art camel toe technology which positions two humps of camel hump grooves on the toe” to give players another option from the woods.
If Mike Stone can sell albums on Golf Channel, this deserves its place on the list of other breakthrough products advertised on the channel:
Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes, February 24, 2022
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Player moves and Zach gets the Ryder Cup nod lead off this edition.
Plus, distance talk, the fairway landing area on Augusta National's 11th, Oakland Hills update, women's major notes, Rory's Masters approach and Reads. Never have I been more thrilled to deliver some old school notes and observations.
As always, Thursdays are guaranteed free for all Quad subscribers and looky-loos.
Cantlay: "The biggest problem for me is when we lose the architectural integrity of the golf course...Something has to give.”
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In conversation with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Patrick Cantlay became the rare under-30 golfer to have given the topic of distance its impact on courses any thought.
But he did better than that. Golfweek’s Adam Schupak reported on the comments and transcribed.
“That’s the hardest part of it. The knee-jerk reaction is don’t do anything. They may mess up the implementation, so it won’t be worth it,” he said.
“Theoretically, the golf ball needs to go shorter,” he continued, “Every golf course I go to has different tee boxes farther back than even 4-5 years ago when I visited the golf course. It’s getting to the point where the tee boxes are already to the perimeter of the property, so much so that Augusta National has been buying up all the adjacent pieces of property so they can put more tee boxes and change the holes.
“That’s not sustainable. Not only that if pace of play is one of your biggest concerns, how many golf course do I go to on Tour where the tees are 100 yards back? They can’t keep going in this direction.
Cantlay added: “The technology isn’t only better but young guys are trying to hit it farther and farther because the stats say the farther I hit it, the better I’ll play. Something has to give.
“I think the biggest shame is that I can’t go to Cypress Point and play the course the way the designer designed the golf course to be played. The biggest problem for me is when we lose the architectural integrity of the golf course. We’re to the point where that’s where we are. Something has to give.”
The full conversation:
