Coming Soon To A Theater Near You: Governing Bodies Engaging With The Golf World On The Distance Issue
The distance chatter around Riviera has included a great deal of shock over R&A Chief Martin Slumbers conceding that the line has been crossed, with nearly everyone I talked to then saying something to the effect of: "but a year ago they said everything was fine."
And I would note, that stance was taken with no shortage of hubris in some parts of the world.
I suspect the position reversal will be the first stumbling block faced by golf's governing bodies when they begin to discuss what to do about the distance explosion. And those discussions will be a big part of 2018, at least according to a Slumbers comment from Alistair Tait's Golfweek story:
Slumbers wouldn’t say what the governing bodies are planning, but they’re intent on reducing distance.
“There are a lot of options. There’s a lot of work still to be done with a lot of people, and engaging with not just the game but the equipment manufacturers and all sorts of things, but that work we now feel needs to be done."
I sensed after hearing different views at the PGA Tour level today that the R&A and USGA may not realize how few friends they've made over the years. Former R&A Chief Inspector Peter Dawson and his condescending, inconsistent positions were referenced more than once.
Those with opinions on both sides of the aisle will expect an explanation of the status quo position. Otherwise I don't expect the conversations to last very long.
Perhaps the upcoming distance report will address why there is a change in position when it was apparent long ago that there were issues on multiple fronts. If not, the discussions Slumbers referenced above will not go smoothly. Or very far.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 02:12 AM
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