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The athletic evolution in golf has seemingly reached its peak. So much so that, according to ShotLink data, the average PGA Tour driving distance has climbed from about 262 yards in 1997 to nearly 300 yards in 2023. Many classic venues have already stretched beyond 7,700 yards. But that raises a big question: How much longer can these venues stretch? To tackle the issue and keep the sport’s future intact, the R&A and the USGA had already been discussing a Model Local Rule.

For tours and championships that adopt it, it would effectively mean rolling back the golf ball and introducing bifurcation among professionals and top amateurs vs. the rest of the golf world. Although the outgoing USGA President Fred Perpall confirmed the rule will change from 2028 for the professional golfers, LPGA legend Annika Sorrenstam believes it can wait.

Sorrenstam joined The Loop for an interview before the 2025 Ryder Cup to discuss various aspects of the sport. During one of the segments, she was asked about her thoughts on the ball rollback rule. Sorenstam told the reporter, “I feel like what we have today is fine. But the way it’s going, you need to be aware, you need to pay attention to what the future could be like. We’re proud at the moment that we’re one of the few sports where every golfer has the same rule, right? We all play the same.”

Although many believe that the equipment is still not so advanced to give the players too much of an advantage, the evolution in golf cannot be ignored. The professional golfers are getting bigger, stronger, and healthier. The equipment manufacturers, too, have done their job to make better equipment with more precise manufacturing techniques. With the ball rollback rule, Perpall believes they will be doing their job. 

But they have gained enough criticism from the PGA of America, the PGA Tour, and even the players. In fact, Justin Thomas also holds strong views on the rule.

In his verdict, “For two of the four biggest events of the year, we’re going to have to use a different ball? How is that better for golf?… We’re athletes now. We’re training to hit the ball further and faster.” He also received support from President Donald Trump for it.

As of now, Sorenstam believes that women’s golf certainly doesn’t need the rule anytime in the near future. They don’t hit it nearly as long as the men or some of the college golfers. However, even when it came to men’s golf, she had an alternate strategy to implement instead of introducing the ball rollback rule: “Let’s not go that extreme yet. Let’s start tightening the courses a little bit, get the thicker roughs.”

According to her, making the course narrower and more challenging will become a huge obstacle for long drivers. Hence, pros like Bryson DeChambeau & Rory McIlroy won’t be able to take advantage of every course they play on just because they can hit the ball 20 yards further than their peers.

Using the revised ball testing conditions, the USGA confirmed golfers at 183 mph ball speed and above should expect to see as much as 13-15 yards in driver distance loss. The average pro and elite male golfer will see a reduction of 9-11 yards. As for LPGA and LET players, the USGA believes the reduction would be around 5-7 yards with the driver.

And it’s not like Sorrenstam was completely against the introduction of the ball rollback rule. She believes there will come a time when modifying the course won’t be enough to stop the players.

“When in that part of the game, you can’t do any more, then you might want to look into it. If we’re running out of land, we’re running out of space. But I also feel like hitting it long is a part of the game. Don’t penalize people for hitting it far. Just tighten it up a little bit. Because if you’re going to hit it long and straight… That’s why you spend hours on the range and in the gym, so let’s not penalize them.”

Golf has always been about reaching from the tee to the cup as soon as possible. Adding the ball rollback rule will discourage the players from pushing themselves to achieve that. Instead, making the course more challenging will encourage the pros to either avoid hitting long or improve their accuracy with the driver. Either of which will be better for the sport.

So, while ball rollback might be beneficial, what will make the sport more exciting and entertaining for the fans will be increasing the difficulty of the course. If the proposed rule does get applied, testing balls at the proposed clubhead speed would mean essentially every ball now being played on Tour would be deemed non-conforming since they would exceed the 317-yard distance limit set by the governing bodies.

However, are the long-driving players also good with accuracy? Let’s see who leads both the stats in the PGA Tour to understand how narrowing the fairways might just be the key to improving the quality of golf for everyone.

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Are Justin Thomas & Co. as good at hitting long as they are at hitting straight?

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Rory McIlroy sits in the top ten of the fastest PGA Tour players with an average swing speed of 123mph. With that, he is also one of the longest hitters from the tee on the PGA Tour. In fact, with the sport’s growth, many have become long shooters. Team Europe defeated Team USA in the Ryder Cup with the strength. But when it comes to the accuracy, it cannot be said as confidently. Let’s take a look:

Considering all these numbers, the success of these players will be heavily affected if every PGA Tour event course becomes narrower and the roughs are raised higher. In such a case, do you think the PGA Tour or the USGA really needs to introduce the ball rollback rule at all?