A Golf Ball Rollback Decision Is Coming Soon, and It Might Affect Everyone

The chief executive of the R&A said in an interview that 'doing nothing is not an option' and that a bifurcated game may not be the answer either.

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A decision on the proposed rollback of the golf ball is due by the end of the year—and it might not just be for elite players as part of a Model Local Rule originally put forth by the United States Golf Association and the R&A.

Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, told Golf Digest in an interview last week that he expects a final decision soon; a comment period on the matter ended in August.

There has been considerable pushback about the proposal, with a majority of professional players and golf ball manufacturers not in favor of the idea. Both the PGA Tour and PGA of America have come out against it, although key names in the game, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, expressed their support.

Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, said a decision on golf ball rollback will be announced by the end of the year / Imago

And yet Slumbers suggested some sort of change was imminent.

"The game was not happy with the Model Local Rule," said Slumbers in the interview. “There was a view that it would create a bifurcated game at the elite level. It was a very strong pushback against that. The PGA Tour was very public about it. So was the PGA of America. A number of players spoke out. And our job is to listen.

"But our responsibility is to the long-term future of the game. Along with the USGA, the R&A is a custodian of the game. We’re responsible for our period of time, something that has gone on for hundreds of years and will go on for hundreds more. So, we are listening. And we have made a decision about what we are going to do. We’re working that through at the moment and will make it public before the end of the year."

The Model Local Rule would allow golf committees at various tournaments the ability to require players to use a golf ball that was tested under different launch conditions that effectively require the ball to travel less. It would only be employed at elite levels and regular everyday golfers would not be impacted.

“Unequivocally, the ball is going further than it did 15 years ago,” Slumbers said. “And I see no reason to doubt it will not continue to do so. I’ve long been of this view. And for a long time, I had to keep it private. But once we published our distance report at the start of this process, I was very clear that, for the good of the game, we need to address this issue.

“From that point of view and from an environmental point of view, we have to do something. We have been very clear, as has (CEO) Mike Whan at the USGA. There are only three options: We can bifurcate; you change the whole game; or you do nothing. And doing nothing is not an option. We stand by that.”