ORLANDO, Fla.—The 72nd annual PGA Show, held last week, is the ultimate gathering where the golf industry brings to the forefront the vast array of different business elements tied to the sport.
Equipment companies, those in the apparel area, and a slew of other interested participants saw fit to bring their efforts under the roof of the Orange County Convention Center.
The show attracted more than 33,000 golf industry professionals from 94 countries and all 50 U.S. states, along with more than 1,100 participating brands. That made the 2025 PGA Merchandise Show the most attended since 2009.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature saw fit to dampen festivities with unseasonably cold temperatures and lingering rain showers. The dark clouds that enveloped Orlando seemed to exemplify an issue that could very well shake the game to its core and cause even longer-lasting storms.
For a number of years, the sport’s two primary rules-making organizations—the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club (R&A)—have expressed concern that golf ball technology has advanced to such a degree that important skills in playing the game are eroding and making the game less challenging, most notably at the highest of elite levels.
The USGA and R&A then instituted a multiyear deep-dive process in which they reached out to the principal stakeholders—equipment companies and others—to receive feedback on what solutions could be implemented.
The first answer came in early 2023 when the two rules-making bodies stated those competing at the highest of levels would be mandated to play a golf ball that travels shorter distances than the ones used today. Those playing the game at the recreational level would not be impacted and could continue to play existing golf balls.
A comment period followed, and the pushback was nearly universal—bifurcating the game between elite and recreational players was a non-starter. Then in late 2023, a second solution was announced. In this case, elite players would be mandated to play a rolled back golf ball starting in 2028. Recreational players would also need to switch, starting in 2030.
The desire to have a rolled back golf ball was not universally praised. The issue resurfaced in grand fashion at last week’s PGA Show when the PGA of America held a press conference in which new President Don Rea Jr. and CEO Derek Sprague openly questioned the need for such an action.
Sprague has only recently taken on the CEO role for the 30,000-plus member PGA of America. His background was formed during his earliest days as a golf professional and working his way upward in becoming a past president of the association.
“I’m a big fan of not having bifurcation,” Sprague said.
“People can debate on both sides because it’s done in other professional sports, so that makes golf unique in the sense that you can play the same golf equipment, whether you’re the best player in the world or shooting 100 or whatever. You’re playing the same everything, same golf ball.”
Sprague also confirmed he was also not in favor of the rollback in general.
“I don’t know what recreational golfer—or many Tour professionals, quite frankly—that want to hit the ball shorter,” he said. “Then also this 2028 start date for elite level and ‘30 for the recreational golfer. That’s even more challenging. ... They’re going to have to be checking to see if everybody is playing a conforming ball.”
When asked if this was a hill he was willing to die on, his answer was even more telling.
“Yeah, I think so. Again, it’s probably my upbringing in the sport. I’ve been playing the game for a long time, and I really feel strongly about our sport and the beauty of it,” he said. “Not only is it a lifelong sport, we’re playing by the same rules no matter who you are, same courses, same equipment, and to me that’s probably one of the best things in golf.”
Sprague closed with a clear line in the sand comment when addressing media at the PGA Show: “It’s time to just hit the pause button.” Those same feelings were echoed by the PGA Tour, which has held the solutions being presented are in search of a problem that would only hurt the sport on multiple levels.
The involvement of both the PGA of America and the PGA Tour on how recreational golfers play the sport cannot be discounted. Weekly telecasts of PGA Tour events and the role PGA club professionals play each time they come to a course provides an invaluable influencing opportunity.
How the golf ball issue is resolved is now the most immediate question, but others will likely emerge—namely, about drivers.
Before leaving his position as CEO of the R&A at the end of 2024, Martin Slumbers indicated there was an early desire by both rules-making organizations to change both the golf ball and driver club at the same time. Slumbers also indicated that the desire to deal with drivers has since been placed on the back burner but will come back into view after the golf ball remedy has taken place.
Interestingly, on a related topic: Titleist celebrated the 25th anniversary of its highly successful Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls at the PGA Show. When that golf ball came into the scene, the upward tick of enhanced science for golf balls was lifting off in a big-time manner.
The USGA and R&A had a golden opportunity when Callaway came forward with its “Big Bertha” driver in 1991. The writing was on the wall then that the sport would be seeing significant technological improvements.
The Big Bertha elevated Callaway to a lead position in club sales. Frank Thomas, then the USGA’s lead equipment director, said that a series of proactive reforms were needed for both golf balls and clubs. Golfers were still playing with wooden club heads for drivers, and the need to keep the game in a traditionalist mode was at-hand.
Instead of banning metal club heads, the two rule-making groups buried their heads into the sand—no pun intended. Much of that inaction was tied to the concern that key equipment companies could opt for legal action, as was carried out by the company Ping and its founder Karsten Solheim several years before. The specter of losing a mega-million lawsuit paralyzed the two rule-making organizations, and this allowed various advancements carried out by equipment companies.
In short order, newer metals such as titanium and then carbon entered the scene. Lighter and more durable metals allowed for the length of drivers to go far beyond the standard length of 43.5 inches. In addition, the mass of driver heads increased from under 200 cubic centimeters to 460.
In 1997, John Daly became the first player to average over 300 yards per drive on the PGA Tour. In 2024, 100 players were at or above that number.
Additionally, golf courses have been jumping in length. In 1997, when Tiger Woods won his first Masters, Augusta National Golf Club played to a distance of 6,925 yards. For the 2024 event, the length increased to 7,555 yards. The concern expressed by the USGA and R&A is that it seems likely 8,000-yard courses will be needed for the game’s biggest championships. Will existing courses have the capacity to add even more yardage? Many will not.
Golf luminaries such as Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player have long bemoaned the distances golf balls travel today and have wondered why rule-making organizations have taken so long to do something about it.
Other sports have faced key questions concerning the role of technology and the desire to keep a sport in a similar manner to years past. Major League Baseball (MLB) banned aluminum baseball bats, given the distance such bats could bring and the parallel need to increase the size of ballparks. MLB also instituted a pitch clock in order to speed up games.
The USGA and R&A have no jurisdiction beyond the events it administers; the two bodies need to persuade others to follow its lead. However, two critical events—the U.S. Open and The Open Championship—are arguably the two most consequential in the sport and under their direct control.
The Masters is another of the four major championships, and given the desire to be in alignment with the USGA and R&A, it would likely proceed with a rolled-back golf ball starting in 2028. That would leave the PGA Championship, which is under the domain of the PGA of America.
Could it be that in 2028 a rolled back golf ball could be in effect for three of the four major championships? If the existing proposal by the USGA and R&A remains in effect—that could mean a different type of golf ball played for certain events but not others.
The net result? Utter confusion.
The vexing issue for the USGA and R&A is that most people playing golf do not get anywhere near the distance achieved by elite golfers on the various pro tours. Telling recreational players to play a golf ball that will effectively lessen the amount of limited distance they are achieving now will require tremendous salesmanship. Even Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA, has admitted as much.
As of now, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour do not see the issue as a threat to the game. In fact, both organizations are closely aligned with golf ball manufacturers who see the issue as a likely revenue loser in producing a golf ball many will not purchase.
There is still time for all the important concerns to be addressed. However, unlike other sports that are housed in a unified environment, the varied needs of the different key stakeholders in golf means each group is in their respective silos. Getting all of them on the same page has proven elusive thus far.
The longstanding legitimacy of the USGA and R&A is now front and center. If the USGA and R&A back down from the proposed solution they have amended once already, it will mean all the previous talk about concerns tied to increasing distance via golf balls and clubs will have amounted to nothing more than empty talk.
Yet, if the USGA and R&A remain defiant and leave in place the timeline of 2028 and 2030, it may set in motion serious shock waves for the future of the sport.
Sprague indicated in Orlando that he would be in direct contact with the USGA on this matter. There’s no question the leadership of the USGA and R&A realize what other stakeholders are saying.
Can the existing gap be bridged? Or will the divide only grow into Grand Canyon widths?
The stakes are indeed that high.
