Equipment
A PGA Tour player’s response to the USGA’s new golf ball proposal
On Tuesday, March 14, the USGA and R&A officially announced a proposal to introduce a Model Local Rule (MLR) option for “elite competitions.” The proposal was sent to equipment manufacturers yesterday (on Monday), and they have until August 14, 2023 to provide comment.
You can read the full proposal that was sent to manufacturers here.
Most notably, within the proposal, the USGA and R&A state as follows:
“Specifically, for this proposed MLR, golf balls will be tested for conformance to the Overall Distance Standard (ODS) limit of 317 yards (plus 3 yards tolerance) at modified Actual Launch Conditions (ALC), namely a clubhead speed of 127 mph and ALC values of 11 degrees and 37 revolutions per second (2220 rpm). Within the current Equipment Rules, all other golf balls will continue to be evaluated using the existing ALC values: 120 mph clubhead speed, 10 degrees and 42 revolutions per second (2520 rpm). The current ODS limit of 317 yards (plus 3 yards tolerance) will remain unchanged.”
The USGA and R&A also said in a press release:
“The MLR is intended for use only in elite competitions and, if adopted, will have no impact on recreational golf…The Overall Distance Standard was established in 1976 as a ball test intended to reflect maximum potential hitting distance by the longest hitters currently playing the game. There is a direct correlation between clubhead speed and hitting distance (further research having been published in the Distance Insights reports). Over the last 20 years hitting distance has increased on average by around one yard per year. The modified testing set-up in the proposed MLR is expected to reduce hitting distance by 14-15 yards on average for the longest hitters with the highest clubhead speeds.”
The proposal also states that the new local golf ball rule would be “available for implementation on 1 January 2026 (at the earliest).”
Addressing growing concerns with driver conformity, especially as it relates to distance and used drivers, the USGA and R&A said this: “While not pursuing a reduction in the CT limit, the USGA and The R&A are concerned that many of today’s drivers exhibit levels of CT creep – meaning their CT values are appropriate at the point of manufacturing/initial use, but can become non-conforming after repeated use, especially at the highest level of competition. This is contrary to the purpose and intent of the Equipment Rules. As such the USGA and The R&A are undertaking a comprehensive investigation of this phenomenon. Further details on this topic will be forthcoming in due course.”
Effectively, the USGA and R&A are proposing bifurcation in relation to the golf ball. Professionals (and elite amateur competitions) would play with a golf ball that flies shorter under the new testing requirements, whereas amateurs would use a golf ball with less restraints.
In the coming days, weeks, and months, golfers from every realm of the sport will ask questions and weigh-in with their opinions, and equipment companies will provide their feedback to the governing bodies. At this point, nothing is certain and the rules have not changed. We likely won’t know for sure until after August 14, at the earliest, what decision has been made.
To see where a PGA Tour player currently stands on the debate, GolfWRX asked tour player Doug Ghim for his thoughts. Here’s what he had to say on the new proposal:
“I’m a little indifferent about it. I do think it makes sense that they’re trying to do it. I think when it comes to the argument that the distance between the longest guy and the shortest guy will still be the same is not quite correct, because it’s exponential. I think guys that hit it the furthest will be affected the most, and the guys who don’t hit it as far, because they don’t spin it as much, won’t be affected as much. Because, I’m assuming if they roll the ball back that it will be spinning more, but at the end of the day, everyone is really good. They changed the groove rule on the irons and guys seems to be hitting it closer from the rough than ever.
“At the end of the day, if you’re a really good player you’re going to figure it out, so I don’t foresee it being a really big deal. I’m sure club manufacturers are not going to be happy, and ball manufacturers are not going to be happy, but, I feel like it’s not going to be as big of a deal as people think. The same guys are still going to be playing well. It’s in order to protect the golf courses that we already have. Obviously land is getting scarcer and scarcer these days, and water is also becoming scarcer. I think there’s no more room to expand courses so they have to roll the ball back.”
But what about tightening the fairways, growing the rough, pinching the fairways at 300+ yards, and increasing green speeds? Doesn’t that effectively limit the need to lengthen courses and give tour players all the challenge they need?
Ghim continued: “I understand that argument, and I feel the same way, but when it comes down to it, when a player decides not to use driver and he uses a 3 wood instead, it’s like playing in the NBA without being able to dunk the ball. At the end of the day, it is a product that we’re trying to sell to people. And the same thing with the designated events.
“It’s all about the product and what fans want to see. And fans don’t want to see Rory hit a 4 iron off the last tee and still be able to hit a 7 iron into the green and win a tournament. They want to force guys to hit driver. When it comes down to that, it makes the product more compelling, it makes it easier for club manufacturers to market their drivers. When I think of certain tournaments, like DJ winning at Oakmont, he striped a drive at the last to win the tournament and I’m sure that sold a lot of TaylorMade drivers. At the end of the day, I see…I asked Jim Furyk the same question when we played in a practice round at Shinnecock in 2018, and he said no one wants to watch someone hit 5 iron off the tee each time, because it’s just not an appealing product.”
Everyday amateur golfers, I pose this question to you: In 2026, when you tee the ball up with your buddies for the first time after the new rules could take effect, would you use the shorter golf balls that the pros play with, or would you use the longer golf balls made just for amateurs? Let us know in the comments.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.
TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.
The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.
One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.
Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.
See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:
MySpider Tour
MySpider Tour X
Equipment
Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory
In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.
McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.
So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?
Driver
2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)
McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.
What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)
The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.
Fairway woods
2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X
The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.
The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.
Irons
2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.
With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.
Wedges
2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.
Putter
2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.
Ball
2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)
As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.
Grips
2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC
Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black...
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Ed Hart
Aug 8, 2023 at 2:03 am
Some of us amateur golfers use the line on the ball of overcome peripheral vision issues. My game will have no impact on the pros, so leave me alone!
Mat
Mar 19, 2023 at 4:14 am
We won’t have a choice; every ball now is non-conforming.
They will make balls that conform, and this hurts everyone — there won’t be a choice.
Rich D
Mar 17, 2023 at 4:05 pm
The ball is already bifurcated. Harvey Hacker might think he’s better off hitting a ProV1, but he isn’t. He can’t access its features; he’s spending twice as much as he should. He’d be better off with a 2-piece low-compression ball like the Callaway Supersoft. It curves less, launches higher, and it doesn’t spin as much around the greens. (That last one sounds like a bad thing, but Harvey can’t control spin around the greens anyway, so no.)
If you dial back the tour balls, 90% or more of amateurs simply will not be affected. They’re either playing balls at lower tiers or would not be noticeably affected by the change in tour balls. (Again, because they can’t max them out.)
The players are objecting to the dial back because they hate change. It’s a little bit difficult to predict the impact of the change, so they resist. But guys like Palmer and Nicklaus–two big hitters back in the say–were great even though they were 50-or-more yards shorter than today’s players. And they balls they used were mushy and spun like crazy. These guys today will be fine; they’ll adjust.
Hughes Paul
Mar 16, 2023 at 2:06 pm
The USGA is not doing anything but give the Tour the option of using a special ball…if it wants to.
The people complaining seem to think it a slur on their manhood to suggest the pros are so much better than them they (the pros) might need to use a special limited ball.
Jacob
Mar 16, 2023 at 5:07 am
Why not increase size of the golfball? It will be easier to hit for the amateur, and fly shorter for the hardhitter.
Jbone
Mar 17, 2023 at 4:22 pm
Agreed but they might need to make the hole bigger if they do that right?
Jacob
Mar 16, 2023 at 5:01 am
Why not increase the size of the Ball. It will be easier for the amateurs to hit, an fly shorter for the hard hitters.
Mont
Mar 16, 2023 at 2:34 am
Is this really necessary??
I don’t see Bryson winning every week? Sure, you have to be able to hit it long to compete but it is not like the really longest hitters easily win on tour every week.
Look at the Masters 2020, Bryson ended up after Langer, Na and Poulter!!
Montgomery
Mar 16, 2023 at 2:32 am
Is this really necessary? I don’t see Bryson winning every week? Sure, you have to be able to hit it long to compete but it is not like the really longest hitters easily win on tour every week. Look at the Masters 2020, Bryson ended up after Langer, Na and Poulter!
Verners Tess
Mar 15, 2023 at 6:31 pm
3 simple changes
1. 10 clubs
2. 56 degree max loft
3. Max 2 par five holes
MhtLion
Mar 15, 2023 at 2:49 pm
The golf ball is the biggest money in the industry. After this rule change, why would anyone buy $50 box of balls? It’s not, definitely not the same ball, that your favorite pro uses. PLEASE THINK carefully. Such a rule will hurt the industry more than anything.
Kevin
Mar 15, 2023 at 9:15 pm
I’m playing what the pros play…
DeezNutz6943
Mar 16, 2023 at 9:18 am
What are you talking about? I buy the golf balls I buy because Iike playing them. Not cause some PGA tour player with 123 mph clubhead speed plays them. What are you? A teenage girl who does everything their favorite actress does?
Nathan Schrock
Mar 15, 2023 at 1:47 pm
I hate everything about this bifurcation idea, but I would choose to play the professional version of the golf ball. I am not a professional golfer, but I am a very good golfer. I’ve fluctuated between a scratch, and a 2 handicap player since high school. I’m now 30, and my favorite part of golf is OCCASIONALLY being able to hit the same shot as my favorite pros on tour. If you bifurcate the balls used by pros and amateurs, you’ve forced me to choose a lesser performing golf ball in order to achieve that same feeling of hitting a shot on the level of my favorite pros. My average capability is lessened, to preserve the integrity of my game in comparison to pros. That comparison, on a level playing field as the pros, is part of the magic this game offers to its players. Other sports don’t have the same ability as golf to offer one to one comparisons of amateurs to pros. A 320 yard drive, is a 320 yard drive. But as an amateur, you’ll never take on Lebron 1v1, and you’ll never step up in the pocket and throw a touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr.
JOEL K GOODMAN
Mar 15, 2023 at 1:46 pm
STUPID IS THE ONLY WORD THAT COMESTO MIND THAT CAN BE PRINTED.
IF THE USGA WANTS TO RAISE THE SCORES TRY SOMETHING REALLY MEANINGFUL.. CUT THE FAIRWAYS TO 30 YARDS IN WIDTH MAXIMMUM AND LET THE FIRST CUT GO TO 3 INCHES AND THE ROUGH TO 6/8 INCHES. WATCH THE SCORES GOT UP.
Jerry
Mar 15, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Any change won’t amount to a hill of beans for me. I haven’t bought new balls for years now as I play whatever I can find in the woods or pull out of water holes. For my game, they all play the same. One ball I won’t play is ProV1’s. I don’t have the swing speed to compress them and they feel like rocks.
Larry
Mar 15, 2023 at 11:52 am
Its really a silly idea.make all the balls the same for everybody. Im not going to decide on two different balls when i buy.
Mike J
Mar 15, 2023 at 9:33 am
Trifurication = red, white, and blue tees? All the hand wringing from the peanut gallery here….ugh.
I think it’s a bad idea because I had to read a story mentioning meathead Bryson.
At least Patrick Reed will have an opportunity to cheat by using an amateur ball.
PJ
Mar 15, 2023 at 9:09 am
Why does golf allow the USGA to define the rules? Hopefully the golf ball mfrs tell the USGA to EAD. Can you imagine the NFL telling QBs they cannot throw the ball more than X yards? How about we tell Olympic sprinters you cannot run too fast because not everyone can run as fast as you and it isn’t fair. If this actually happens I’m done watching golf.
Scott B
Mar 15, 2023 at 11:49 am
Hey PJ, While I agree that bifurcation is not the answer, especially since amateurs are allowed to compete in pro tournaments, I wanted to let you know the NFL argument you make doesn’t work. NFL footballs are larger than college ones, and don’t have the white stripes, so not only are they harder to throw, but also harder to catch.
We actually bifurcate a lot with amateur to pro levels, for example 3 point line distance in basketball, metal vs wood bats in baseball, and the above point about football.
Bifurcation is not an inherently wrong idea. I think it just gets messy when amateurs and pros are playing on the same field, at the same time, for potentially the same stakes, and one is expected to play by a different set of rules.
Anthony
Mar 15, 2023 at 6:10 am
I will not play the shorter ball. I’m 56 yrs. old and not the longest hitter. If I stripe a drive it’s going 240-250 with roll out with an average drive at 225-230. I play often and find that most amateurs are in that range and shorter. I already find it very difficult to hit a green in regulation on a 400 yard par 4 as do the vast majority of golfers out there. I hit my 8i 140 yards. Pros hit theirs 180-200. I think using course design is the way to go. Don’t penalize the player that can stripe one 330 yards. Penalize them if they are not accurate with OB, impossible rough, trees, etc. These options don’t really hurt the typical golfer at these courses. Rough can be cut for typical play. Greens can be rolled back from a 14 to a 9, etc.
EdJ
Mar 15, 2023 at 12:01 pm
A-Men!
Two-tone ball
Mar 15, 2023 at 5:50 am
100% will conform. Why? Every ball manufactured by then will conform.
What needs to be said is that the ball companies are going to have to make conforming balls because they don’t want to be caught out with bad PR. Will it affect amateurs? Probably not.
Of course they’re missing the real win here – had they just required a 65-compression ball for everyone, they’d be fine. Instead, it’s manufacturers meeting tolerances, just like the driver head they are complaining about at the same time. ¯\_(?)_/¯
Mike
Mar 14, 2023 at 9:37 pm
Of course I’ll still use my regular golf balls, I’m a regular golfer, not a pro. Not a big fan of this idea. There’s plenty of other options they could have come up with. Pinching the fairways. Growing the rough. Stop mowing the fairways down to a 10 on the stimp meter. And I can’t wait for the ball manufacturers to scream about this. “Hey, play a pro v1 one, but not the one the pros play”.
Poo
Mar 14, 2023 at 8:51 pm
This will wreck golf for all.
It would be so much easier to just leave it where it is, and cap it now.
If they want to change anything they should roll back the COR and lower it to 0.800 and call it a day.
Chris C.
Mar 14, 2023 at 7:45 pm
I will be 72 in 2026. I will play the “official” ball and give up any idea of hitting irons into par 4s. I hope that the professional tours opt to ignore the USGA and refuse to use the USGA’s 21st century feathery. If they do so, everyone should feel comfortable declaring that the “USGA is dead to me.”
gdb99
Mar 14, 2023 at 7:40 pm
I’m playing the balls that I can play as an amateur. But I don’t like this change.
Bill Prickelson
Mar 14, 2023 at 5:21 pm
Why not just go with non-conforming drivers and illegal distance balls, if all fans care about is the long ball?
It’s becoming like baseball where it’s just home run derby.
Shank Machine
Mar 14, 2023 at 4:56 pm
Not really a fan of creating a two tier system. If they’re wanting to implement rules like this, apply it to everyone.
Chuck
Mar 14, 2023 at 4:25 pm
Bifurcation is bad because it ends the era of all golfers playing by the same rules. Bifurcation is bad, full stop.
Trying to “protect” courses with hyper fast green speeds is bad because it eliminates a number of interesting hole locations, and might even cause delays when winds are high.
Trying to control scoring by narrowing fairways and growing rough is bad because it distorts golf course architecture and limits strategic choices of lines of play.
Trying to limit distance by water-soaking courses is bad because dry, firm and fast courses emphasize the ground game, demanding more and better course knowledge. Firm and fast golf is vastly more interesting than wet target golf.
The one single obvious intelligent balanced proper solution to golf’s distance problem is a single unified rollback of solid core multilayer urethane balls. The only balls that elite players use.
James Kendzior
Mar 15, 2023 at 2:39 pm
So do you believe that there should only be one set of tees for all golfers? Do you play from the championship tees like the pros? Do you use a handicap if you play in a league or tournament? Of course there are different rules for different levels of players. Why should it be any different with the golf ball?
Thomas Hertwig
Mar 14, 2023 at 3:51 pm
News Flash the NBA is limiting the height of players to 6ft 6in and let’s not forget Boeing just signed a huge deal with the Saudi’s so I guess you could say the PGA tour is condoning sponsors doing business with blood money countries.