The Golf Ball Rollback Is Likely Being Delayed. What Does It Mean?

Let’s rewind to December 2023 when everyone had an opinion about the USGA and R&A’s proposed golf ball rollback.

Boy, does that feel like ages ago.

The schedule for implementing the rollback was originally set at 2028 for the pros and 2030 for all golfers including the average recreational player.

That now appears to be changing as golf’s governing bodies are signaling there probably won’t be two dates for the implementation of the rollback.

It is looking more likely that all golfers—from PGA Tour players to weekend hackers—will be rolling things back at the same time in January 2030.

What does it all mean? Let’s get into it.

What is the rollback?

You’ll be forgiven if you forget the nitty-gritty details of the rollback. It’s been a couple of years. The target dates were so far in the future that it wasn’t exactly top of mind for golfers over the past little while.

The specific details: The USGA and R&A, as golf’s governing bodies, told golf ball manufacturers that, in order to be considered conforming, future golf balls can travel only 317 yards (+/- three yards) at 125 mph of clubhead speed with an 11-degree launch angle and no more than 2,220 rpm of spin. The current guideline specifies the same distance but at 120-mph clubhead speed, 10-degree launch angle and 2,520 rpm. The rules would apply to all golfers.

The TLDR: Essentially that means we’ll all be playing a shorter, higher-launching and lower-spinning golf ball. It’s believed Tour pros will lose around 10 to 15 yards off their drives with faster swing speed players seeing the biggest reductions. Amateurs would see distance reductions but not to the same extent.

Golf’s governing bodies gave manufacturers an advance notice to implement the new manufacturing process over a two-phase system with professional golfers and other elite golfers being accounted for first in 2028.

But now that schedule could be shifting

The rollback is moving forward; it’s just a matter of when it will happen.

The original point of having two dates for the rollback was to give manufacturers more time to rework product lines and build a deeper catalog of conforming balls for recreational players.

Retailers could also sell existing inventory more easily while weekend players weren’t rushed into a change.

But in a letter released Jan. 16, the governing bodies said they are reconsidering the timeline due to comments from stakeholders who, once they had gotten into their own implementation process with design and prototypes, realized that 2028 might be too soon.

The USGA and R&A are now opening up a period for official feedback to see if the two-phase system should go into one phase.

Another problem is that some manufacturers feel that having two dates could create logistical challenges such as golf shops selling balls that are legal for one player and not legal for another.

Those manufacturers would have to manage overlapping products and expiration dates, trying to educate golfers about whether their ball is conforming based on which competition they are in.

Responses to the letter are due by Feb. 15 and we can expect a decision sometime after that point.

But reading between the lines, it seems likely the date will be shifted to 2030. It provides more time for manufacturers to prepare and may also give some space for the PGA Tour and PGA of America to get on board with the changes.

The PGA of America has been highly critical of the changes. The Tour, meanwhile, doesn’t see the need to alter its product. Conversations between the USGA, PGA Tour and PGA of America have been ongoing but there is no real indication which way they are trending.

What does this mean?

This update means nothing to the recreational player. You can still expect a rollback coming in four years.

But in terms of the professional game and other elite competitions, the distance “issue” feels like it is being kicked down the road once again.

“Unity” has been an important buzzword for the golf industry. It’s one of the primary reasons why all golfers are being rolled back instead of just those in elite competitions—this decision would align with that rallying cry.

But many are commenting that it does seem increasingly ridiculous that all of this is being done over a dozen or so yards of distance.

In four years, pros will probably be hitting the ball farther and negating the effect of these regulations so some people feel the rollback should be harsher or not exist at all.

Rory McIlroy, a proponent of rolling the ball back, recently said that even 2028 seemed too late to be making these kind of changes.

“We’re frustrated as players and as an industry because the lead times these equipment companies have been given to figure it out … by the time we play these balls in 2028, there’s not going to be a difference. Or the difference is going to be so marginal that it’s not going to make a difference.”

We’ll toss it over to you, MGS reader. What do you think of the rollback update?