"They (the USGA) want to have data to present against emotional arguments."

Ryan Ballengee adds a few important details about the USGA's ball testing event in Canada and features quotes from an equipment company goon perspective.

"[The] USGA may have progressed on collecting data with short distance balls," the source said.  "[A] few years ago, OEMs were asked to provide balls with 20% less driver distance."

So, is there a desire to roll the ball back?

The source says the data collection may be done in the event that a ball rollback is eventually needed, but that it is not imminent because of the flattening of distance increases in the last three years.

The source added, "They (the USGA) want to have data to present against emotional arguments."

Actually, the manufacturers getting emotional on this topic clouded their judgment and has them now boxed in a corner with little wiggle room for club innovation. All to protect those little white balls that we'll always have to buy to play the game, no matter how far they fly.

Comments

[bytherules]

A stange argument - along the lines of "have you ever tried to argue religion using facts and data"? It doesn't work; although reining in the ball needs to be done!

[Average Golfer]

Narrower fairways, longer rough for pros. Balls are just fine for you and me. This is a similar argument to raising the basketball hoop to 12 feet.

[Chuck]

"Narrower fairways, longer rough for pros" means that at golf's highest levels, where most of the public's attention is focused and where golf history is written, the game will be much more boring, less imaginative, and more constricted than ever.

What a pathetic tribute to bomb-and gouge, and the annual returns of perhaps just one ball manufacturer.

[Lynn S.]

I have my doubts about the distances being flat. I have attended pro events for 45 years. Presently I accept that drives are going to be in the 300-340 range by today's bombers. Five years ago I expected a long hitter to hit is 280-310. If TV is correct 5 irons are going 200 yards today. If TV was correct they were going 185 yards five years ago. Are the testers throwing out 3 woods struck on their measuring holes? Can you tell me that shafts haven't improved in the past 5 years? Can you insist that shafts are not lighter than 5 years ago? Can you insist they won't be lighter 5 years from now?
I submit that drives will be longer 5 years from today.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

I don't want narrow fairways and long rough. Or a shorter ball.

I say we widen fairways. We cut rough down to the point where people feel like they can play a shot out of it and, with the grooves, it may or may not jump. Keep the greens firm and keep the fairways firm too. Bring back the dogleg - either fake (a tree or a bunker in the landing zone) or real.

The short par fours are always the most confounding to players. I'd rather see more 300-yard par fours than 500-yard par fours. Fight fire with... water instead of fire! (I don't mean water literally there - I'm just saying you fight distance with something other than added distance... like less distance).

[Ryan B]

I'd submit that the distance ceiling has been reached for now, but technology (as well as fitness), has brought distance to the groups that typically didn't have it before.