As the USGA and R&A prepare to rein in driving distances to protect historic courses, the sport’s biggest entities are being forced to pick sides. Caught squarely in the crossfire is the PGA of America, an organization currently wrestling with a massive identity crisis. Now, as pressure mounts from all sides, the organization’s internal politics are reportedly nearing a breaking point.

“I think for the internal politics of the PGA of America, when push comes to shove, they’re going to go with the other three majors. They’re not going to go with the PGA Tour if the tour chooses the ball rollback,” Eamon Lynch claimed during his appearance on Golf Channel’s Live From The Masters.

Golf ball rollback has been a hot topic ever since the USGA and R&A decided to change standards and make the balls travel shorter distances to combat excessive hitting distances in 2023. Starting from 2028, professionals with high-speed hits may lose around 15 yards, and from 2030, amateurs may lose 3-5 yards to improve golf’s sustainability.

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Coming back to what Lynch said, the PGA Championship has struggled to separate itself from the other PGA Tour events. Rory McIlroy, in 2025, claimed that Quail Hollow felt just like the previous year at the Wells Fargo. Even though the rough felt a bit juicier, the cut lines and visuals remained the same for the world number two.

In fact, under Derek Sprague’s leadership, the PGA of America seemed reluctant to get into the rollback. However, Lynch did not believe that the PGA of America would support the PGA Tour over a ball rollback.

“PGA Championship is utterly indistinguishable in terms of identity from the week-to-week product on the PGA Tour… If they’re going to create an identity, it’s not going to help them. To further isolate themselves from the other three majors and become more like the week-to-week product,” Lynch continued.

But Brandel Chamblee paused Lynch and questioned the 25 million people who stand against the rollback. After all, many believe that losing distance greatly compromises the joy of golf. However, Lynch pointed out that it was a necessary decision for the game’s sustainability. 

“But leadership is also doing what you think ought to be the right thing to do at the time for the good of the game, rather than for people again, who have a valid opinion and valid tested financial interests in it. But because it’s popular among the membership doesn’t necessarily make it the right thing to do,” Lynch confirmed.  

Yet, Chamblee remains adamant in believing that rollback won’t affect the best players’ speed. 

Brandel Chamblee and Fred Ridley issue their honest opinions on the ball rollback

In a recent conversation with Golf WRX, Chamblee remarked:

“With all due respect to the USGA and the R&A, the proposed rollback will not sufficiently slow the best players down, as they will recoup the distance lost very quickly, especially if the current trend in the game to widen corridors, cut down the trees and rough continues.”

Back in 2020, the USGA and R&A claimed that longer courses and hitting distances were negatively affecting the game of golf. And later in the same year, the governing bodies decided to change the swing speed standards and introduce shorter travel distances for the balls in the near future. 

Even Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, stood in support of the rollbacks.

“I’ve said in the past that I hope we will not play the Masters at 8,000 yards, but that is likely to happen in the not-too-distant future under current standards. Accordingly, we support the decisions that have been made by the R&A and the USGA as they have addressed the impact of distance at all levels of the game,” he said.

That’s because two decades ago, the Masters Tournament was less than 7,000 yards long. But now, the major championship is played on a 7,565-yard-long course because of a 10-yard and 35-yard elongation of the 17th and the 13th, respectively. 

Nevertheless, if the PGA Tour officially decides to create a local rule and ignore the USGA’s rollback to protect its entertainment product, the PGA of America will have to make a definitive choice. Whatever they choose, the internal politics will probably leave a lasting scar on the organization.