Justin Thomas criticises plans to restrict how far golf balls fly at future elite tournaments

1 year ago 41

US PGA champion Justin Thomas has heavy criticised plans by the R&A and United States Golf Association to restrict however acold play balls alert astatine aboriginal elite tournaments.

Former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and the manufacturers of Titleist play balls person besides been critical.

The rule-makers privation apical nonrecreational and elite amateur play to beryllium played utilizing a "tournament ball" that would not alert arsenic acold arsenic those presently successful usage crossed the game.

"You're trying to make a solution for a occupation that doesn't exist," said Thomas. "To me, it's conscionable truthful atrocious for the crippled of golf."

Recreational amateur play would not beryllium covered by the "Model Local Rule" that the R&A and USGA are recommending for elite play use. Both organisations accidental they program to instrumentality the determination astatine their majors - the Open and US Open successful 2026.

"The large happening to maine is the information that you tin play the nonstop aforesaid play shot that I play," Thomas added. "That's cool.

"For an each time amateur golfer, it's precise unsocial that we are capable to play the nonstop aforesaid equipment."

The caller regularisation means a shot struck by a operator swung astatine 127 mph successful laboratory conditions should not beryllium susceptible of flying further than 320 yards. With circuit clubhead speeds averaging astir 114 mph, this would pb to a important simplification successful driving distances astatine apical events.

"If you tin plaything 127 miles an hour, like, powerfulness to you," Thomas said.

"I mean, radical are moving faster, so, what, are they conscionable going to marque the magnitude of a mile longer truthful that the fastest mile clip doesn't change, oregon are they going to enactment the NBA hoop astatine 13 feet due to the fact that radical tin leap higher now?

"Like, no. It's evolution. We're athletes now. Like, we're grooming to deed the shot further and faster and if you tin bash it, truthful bully for you. So yeah, arsenic you tin tell, I'm intelligibly against it."

DeChambeau, who is among the longest hitters successful the game, told the LIV Golf website: "I deliberation it is the astir atrocious happening you could bash to the crippled of golf.

"It's not astir rolling play balls back; it's astir making play courses much difficult."

DeChambeau won his lone large rubric astatine the 2020 US Open astatine Winged Foot, wherever constrictive fairways and heavy unsmooth were expected to make 1 of the astir hard people acceptable ups successful large history.

But Brandon Matthews, who has the PGA Tour's fastest mean plaything velocity (126.6mph) told the Golf Channel helium welcomes the proposals.

"I'm truly looking guardant to seeing changeable shapes again similar you utilized to see," said Matthews.

"Like a rising shot flight. You don't spot that anymore due to the fact that of the shot technology. So, you're going to spot a small much of that travel back, which is truly cool.

"I don't cognize however acold they're going to spell with this, but it's going to beryllium a truly breathtaking alteration and I deliberation it's going to marque the crippled a small spot better."

Meanwhile, the brag of Acushnet, who manufacture Titleist balls that are astir fashionable connected tour, attacked the "bifurcation" of splitting rules betwixt the elite and recreational forms of the game.

"Golf is an aspirational athletics and we judge astatine its precise champion erstwhile instrumentality and playing regulations are unified," said David Maher, the company's president and main executive.

"During the past 2 decades, PGA Tour mean playing magnitude has accrued by little than 100 yards and scoring mean has remained virtually flat."

The R&A and USGA judge the crippled has "crossed a rubicon" and that it would beryllium irresponsible not to restrict driving distances going forward.

Next month's Masters successful Augusta volition spot the celebrated 13th spread lengthened by 35 yards to header with modern hitting.

There were fears that the Old Course astatine St Andrews would beryllium excessively abbreviated for the world's champion players astatine past year's Open.

The rules makers person fixed the play manufacture six months to supply provender backmost connected proposals that would travel into unit successful 2026.

It is wide they volition look sizeable absorption from definite quarters.

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