‘I Don’t Want to…’: Following Several PGA Tour Pros’ Disapproval, USGA CEO Mike Whan Boldly Justifies the Controversial Move

The golf world has been at war with itself recently! Its most recent hot topic has been the rollback. The majority of the public and the PGA Tour pros have publicly voiced their displeasure with the USGA and the R&A for their ball rollback rule option. Having sat back and taken in all their lashes, Mike Whan has finally decided to break the ice on the matter. And with his bold statement, he certainly may just have turned a few fans over to his side!

Mike Whan defends the rollback rule from the PGA Tour pros

Rory McIlroy recently hit a brilliant 375-yard tee shot that made everyone point to the new rollback rule that would prevent that. But Mike Whan refused to stay silent about the matter any longer. On Friday this week, he called into a radio show on the topic of ‘A New Breed of Golf’ to justify his side. “Nobody loves a drivable par 4 more than us,” he claimed. “We love the game right now.”

Why, then, was he pushing for such a drastic change? Well, it’s quite simple, as per the USGA CEO. He claimed that in the future, golfers would of course be better and “athleticism” would grow, and then two generations down the line, golf courses would have limited options. “I don’t want to hinder athleticism, I don’t want to hinder advancements,” he claimed. “I want to watch people continue to grow.”

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But to Whan, that advancement shouldn’t be a burden for golf courses. He didn’t want them to pay the price by being forced to extend their grounds and buy more land. “I don’t want to watch a golf course have to go buy another 17 acres of land just for Rory’s kids’ kids,” he said, talking about the future generations of golf.

Whan explains why the rollback is the perfect solution

The CEO stated that the rollback of the golf ball was an ideal solution to the distance problem. “If we implemented this and the PGA Tour still wanted scoring to be as low or lower than ever,” he stated. “We’ve put something in place that Rory’s kids can accept and Rory’s kids’ kids can accept.”

He declared that the solution also catered to the future generations facing the same issue too. And that if the rollback wasn’t implemented, then the course would have to find “30 yards in the next 30 years” for “the elite level of golf.” Because advancement is undoubtedly coming, a solution will most definitely be needed!

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What do you think of Whan’s stance on the recent golf debate? Let us know in the comments below.