PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague has suggested the organization is against the golf ball rollback, which was announced by governing bodies the USGA and The R&A in December 2023.
Speaking to Mike Stachura of Golf Digest, Sprague cast doubts on the plan and suggested the PGA of America wouldn’t support it.
The plan would see the golf ball rolled back for professional, elite amateur and recreational players to "reduce the impact of increased hitting distances have on golf's long-term sustainability."
As things stand, pros will begin using the new balls in 2028, while recreational players will start using them in 2030.
However, Sprague said the closer their introduction gets, the more the PGA of America opposes the plan: “We have our statement that said we were against the rollback, and then I guess I just happened to be the first one that verbalized it,” he said. "So that's our position, and it's getting stronger now as we get closer.”
Sprague also suggested that the PGA of America wasn’t heavily involved in the latest plan, which came nine months after a proposal to introduce bifurcation of the golf ball, which would have seen professional golfers use new specially-tested golf balls, but not recreational players.
Sprague, who replaced Seth Waugh in the role last month, added: “I wasn't involved in that, but I can tell you from what I've heard is that there hasn't been a lot of discussion. To my knowledge, we haven't had a lot of dialogue on it. We really want to have a seat at the table because we're a key component in the golf ecosystem.
“The USGA and R&A have said they want to protect the game for the next 20, 30, 50 years. The PGA of America wants to do the same thing, but we're not part of that process.”
The USGA, which is headed by Mike Whan, announced the plans along with The R&A more than a year ago
The new balls are expected to see a reduction in hitting distance of 13-15 yards for the longest hitters down to “5 yards or less” for recreational golfers, but Sprague has misgivings.
He explained: “I don't know one recreational golfer that wants to hit it shorter. 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.”
Instead, Sprague thinks other options ought to be explored. “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,” he said. “What problem are we trying to solve and let's solve it.”
He added: “There might be other things that others can bring to the table that will do the same thing without a big disruption.”
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