THE SHACK GOLF CLUB in Glenview is expanding and the new section opens next month. Hear out interview from yesterday with owner Nick Larkin. Shackgolfclub.com.
THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or connect-LinkedIn/Facebook/Instagram
THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION-LIBERTY CORNER NEW JERSEY.
AS REPORTED HERE LAST WEEKEND- THE USGA and the R&A have announced a rollback to the golf ball. The rollback begins on professional tours in 2028, but then for the amateur in 2030.
The USGA feels the impact on amateur and recreational golf will be very minimal. But time will tell if that is the case. Test conditions revised were at 125 MPH clubhead speed which equals 183 MPH speed. Spin rate at 2200 rpm and launch angle of 11 degrees. Current conditions set in 2003 were at 120 mph, 176 ball speed, 2520 rpm and 10 degree launch angle.
Mistwood Golf Dome on Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook, book hitting bays at (630)-739-7600 see Mistwoodgolfdome.com Home to Toptracer Golf and McWethys Sports Bar.
The revised data is a collection from worldwide tours and reflects the yardage and speed from the games longest hitters, with the top ball speeds.
So the biggest affects to golfers are expected as follows by the USGA.
A loss of 13-15 yards to the longest hitters on professional tours. 9-11 yards from average distance hitters on tour. Top LPGA and LET players will be 5-7 yards.
But for amateur golfers-yardage loss is expected to be 5 yards or less, based on swing speeds of 93 mph for men and 72 mph for women. Existing golf balls approved to be in conformance in 2027, are allowed in play until January of 2030. In fact more than 30 percent of current golf balls on the marker will still be conforming after the rollback is in effect.
“Governance is hard. So while thousands will claim that we did too much, there will be many who said we did not do enough to protect the game long term,” said Michael Whan, CEO of the USGA. “But from the very beginning, we’ve been driven to do what is right for the game, without bias. So as we’ve said, doing nothing is not an option-and we would be failing in our responsibility to protect the games future if we did not take appropriate action right now.”
Marin Slumbers, CEO of the R&A, said. “We are convinced that this decision is one of the key ways of achieving a sustainable future of golf, protecting the integrity of the game and meeting our environmental responsibilities. The measure we are taking has been carefully considered and calibrated while maintaining the “one game” ethos deemed to be so important to the golf industry. Importantly. Importantly, it also keeps the impact on recreational golfers to an absolute minimum. We are acting now because we want to ensure that future generations can enjoy the unique challenge of golf as much as we do.”
THE USGA also announced that it will begin further testing and researching of drivers and the effects on distance they are creating. So the USGA has put equipment companies on notice, and that they have been and will be watching. At one point in the future, drivers will likely get trimmed back a notch-kind of like the golf ball. So learn more from the USGA at USGA.org/distanceinsights.