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Statement from Acushnet CEO David Maher on USGA and R&A Golf Ball Rollback Announcement FAIRHAVEN, Mass. (Dec. 6, 2023) – At a time when interest in golf is vibrant (2023 will mark the 6th consecutive year in which the number of golfers has grown), golf courses are broadly adding forward tees, back tees are used for less than 5% of rounds, and the average carry distances for female and male golfers are 147 yards and 215 yards, respectively, it is appropriate and necessary that the merits of any proposed equipment rollback are thoroughly evaluated in pursuit of a high degree of consensus and support around meaningful change. As we consider today’s R&A and USGA announcement against recent feedback provided by the World Alliance of PGA’s and the PGA TOUR, we are also concerned that the golf ball rollback overly impacts golfers and does not fully reflect the input of those closest to the game. There have been requests to align on what data is used and how it is used to draw conclusions prior to any equipment changes being made. Many important stakeholders do not see distance as a problem the way the governing bodies do, and therefore come to differing conclusions about how to proceed to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport. We support the position of the PGA TOUR and others that there are many areas of focus at the elite level, including initiatives related to golf course setup and conditioning, and other competitive variables which, if desired, can limit the effects of distance while also providing the opportunity for a diverse skill set to succeed at the highest level. It is also Acushnet’s position that existing golf ball regulations are effective and stand the test of time. Golf balls are already tightly controlled for initial velocity, overall distance, size, weight, and uniformity. As a result of existing initial velocity and overall distance regulation, ball speeds have been moderated as was the intent of the rule. We note that the mean of the fastest 1% of measured clubhead speeds on the PGA TOUR was flat from 2019-2021 and declined in 2022 and 2023. The mean of the fastest 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% of measured clubhead speeds has been flat since 2017. We consider that the average course playing length on the 2023 PGA TOUR is less than 7,200 yards, just as it has been every year since 2004. We also note that U.S. golf courses built during the period 2010-2020 averaged 6,652 yards – 274 yards shorter than those built between 1990-2010, which is at odds with the notion that equipment has forced courses to expand. Not all sports have endured from generation to generation the way golf has endured, and the governing bodies deserve credit for having effectively balanced the forces of tradition and technology. This has helped to preserve golf’s unified appeal and values while encouraging innovation that has helped to make the sport more relevant and enjoyable. We believe that further collaboration and cooperation with the R&A, USGA and other stakeholders is critical prior to moving forward with such a significant equipment regulation change. We continue to advocate for stakeholders to convene to have a meaningful examination of this decision and its consequences, and to discuss alternatives as we look to protect golfers’ enjoyment of the game and the health of golf courses around the world to ensure golf’s promising future.

And their equipment guy admitted the increase they have seen on tour isn’t really from the equipment but the golfer himself. Shows is the golfer putting in work to hone their swing, optimize their ball flight and put time in the gym to get stronger and faster. I trust zero of what comes out of any of their mouths

Excellent response Mr. Maher... most excellent indeed!! If the OEM's and Tours form a unified front on this, the USGA and R&A are going to look pretty bad. If that happens and they choose to stay the course, litigation will almost certainly ensue and could keep this tied up for years. Don't know about all of you, but I really hate seeing what is happening to the sport the past few years. Another example of a few screwing it up for the majority.

And I say that Pagel is full of sh!t.

Right now none. Things I could see happening. PGA tour breaking from the RBs and using their own rules, they could partner with grint to do handicap and form their own association. PGA of America taking over and again forming an alliance with grint or someone else to do handicaps. Maybe some other alliance. the chance of that happening is probably low.

They’re rolling back the fries by 20% and thought you wouldn’t notice. USGA approved.

Pulled the trigger on these. Set of T200s 6-GW w/ Modus3 115g Stiff flex shafts and red MCC Plus 4 std size grips. Will be built 1/2” long and 1° upright, but will have another gapping session after they come in to settle on L/L/L. Looking at 3-4 weeks, which I’m sure will feel like an eternity but couldn’t be more excited!

This is exactly why I disagree with @chisag, both on his statement that no one cares other than "those here who only want to argue/debate" and the idea that this will not affect amatuer players; @chisag, as a 0.2 hcp are you telling me that losing ~10 yards/shot and having to play one-two more clubs depending on the shot and conditions is not going to affect your play/score? As a 5 hcp I know it will affect mine to some degree. While I am matched pretty well in competition, I don't play forward recreationally because I'm typically longer than a lot of the guys I play with, recreationally, and playing White vs. Blue tees would constantly put me in wedge distance giving me not just the regular 2-club advantage, but that advantage as well. For me, and I assume most players in my range losing 10 yards/shot or more means going from driver, hybrid to driver, 3w on a par 5 with a chance for eagle to driver, lay-up, chance for birdie. On long par 4s (450+) ot means going from D, 5i or D, 7i to playing like a short par 5 just to get close to the green in 2. HOW does that not affect amatuers' games? As noted previously there is no intention for ratings etc. to change; which would honestly just offset "roll back" anyway. But if we don't shift tees, again effectively negating the "roll back," then they are effectively lengthening the course which ABSOLUTELY affects an amateur's game. Do guys playing the white tees move up to red and women move to senior tees to offset the impact? Here's a pretty good article on playing the right tees (https://theleftrough.com/what-tees-should-i-play-from/) where it quotes Nickluas asserting that playing from the wrong tees causes scores to go up and enjoyment to go down. The author also notes that "playing the correct tees" directly impacts speed of play. Scores and playing time WILL GO UP because playing what is essentially a limited flight ball, with no adjustment in course (tee) distances is, whether you lkke it or not, the same as moving everyone back a set of tees. You're a 0.2, from what boxes/distance? Regardless let us employ a standard 4 par 3, 4 par 5 course for analysis of how reduced ball flight won't affect your game. Since you are essentially a scratch golfer we will play your round tee-2-green FIR/GIR across the board meaning: 1 shot to green for each par 3 = 4 shots 2 shots to green for each par 4 = 20 shots 3 shots to green for each par 5 = 12 shots That is 36 shots played. We will us a nice, round 10 yard reduction per shot for simplicity sake; 36 shots x 10 yards each = 360 yards making a 6700 yard course now 7060 yards (effectively 1 tee set back). Taking your assertion that amateurs aren't always consistent in making center face shots let's add 10% for not being dead center across the entire course and make it a nice round 400 yards. Even at 360 that is adds the quivalent of a short par 4 hole to the course. Using GHIN to calculate handicap shift that will bump a 0.2 player from1 to 3 shots depending on slope and rating shift, which will occur because landing zones, hazard locations etc. will shift regarless of whether the ruling bodies redo course rating. I'm sure your 0.2 didn't just happen. You worked hard for that. Are you going to move up a set of boxes to keep your handicap there, or are you going to accept being a 2 again? Let's take a 10 hcp player and give then 2-putts per hole average. That means they will still add 10 strokes at distance. Add the fact that a 10 hcp is MOST DEFINITELY NOT playing g the center of the fairway on every hole and you can definitely add that +10% meaning they are looking at 45 shots from distance at 10 yards/shot =450 yards +10% (45) = ~500 yards added to the total course distance for that 10 hcp player. HOW is that NOT going to affect their game??? The one that REALLY killed me was the 28 hcp who said this roll back wasn't going to affect them ummm yeah, okay I play with a bunch of mid-teen handicappers ghat I truly enjoy playing golf with. If one of them tried to tell me that losing 10 yards/shot wasn't going to affect their game, score and pleasure, I'd off to pay for their next round with the followinf stipulations; I get to video the entire round of them playing from 400-500 yards back. We throw a party for all the guys we play with to watch that $h1t-$h0w that he HAS to be there for the whole thing. If he carries <5 strokes over his handicap for the shorter course I pay for it all, if he carries >5 strokes he pays. What are the odds that A. I get taken up on that, or B. he doesn't add at least 5 strokes to his day from the deeper tees? Aside from that ignoring the events in the world around you do not negate the impact. While our discussing, debating, bitching about it may not immediately change it, refusing to address it doesn't make it go away. Ignoring it only makes it a sure thing. Should it come to pass the cost of research to change all of this will be passed on one way or another to the consumer, in this case that IS the Amateur golfer so aside from quality of play impact there WILL BE a financial impact to all of us who continue play whether is is directly passed on in the cost of balls or added to clubs, accessories, etc. that the makers bring to market to spread it out, we WILL be paying for it.

I had to laugh when I read TaylorMade Golf CEO's response in this article... “While appreciative of the opportunity to have a seat at the table and a voice in the debate, we feel like the rollback is simply disconnected from what golfers believe is best for the game” – David Abeles, CEO, TaylorMade Golf The OEM's thought they had a seat at the table, but actually, they were on the menu. Sadly, so are the rest of us.

Having spent many years and thousands of dollars on equipment and lessons so I can hit the ball further, I strongly object to golf bureaucrats screwing me and the other 99.9% of golfers who are not "destroying the integrity of iconic golf courses" with increased distance. Why don't we put speed governors on formula 1 race cars and make NBA centers wear ankle weights. Please stick to generating obscure rules regarding outside agency or undo delay.

It’s 8-11 yards at 115 maybe a little more per the USGA. It’s 5-7 yards for female golfers. If you believe the USGA those are the ranges but even in an interview the USGA admitted that in testing 221 yard drives we’re going 210 yards so they have two stories going on.

You must not play much with older players who already struggle with distance. There will be hazards they cannot clear that they now must lay up or try to swing out of their shoes to compensate and they screw up, shot par 5's that are reachable that wont be in the future. The same for younger players who for whatever reason physically cannot hit the ball for distance. The PGA tour you know the same one that has made a total fool of their selves over LIV golf and the way they lied to the players are now doing this for our "own good" If their leadership was a food it would be a soup sandwich.

Hey guys I added a tsr2 driver with a AV blue shaft set it a1 fade setting n it’s a baby face fairway finder all day also purchased a Scotty Cameron phantom 7.5 short neck putter now my arch stroke on the mark got my game back

Got some more putting practice in after work Monday evening. Love the look and feel of this putter. Results aren’t bad, either. Assuming I get cleared by my ophthalmologist tomorrow I’m going to play Friday. I seemingly can’t miss on short putts. One of the things I truly intend to test, soon is my make percentage from 8 feet. At my fitting Aki told me that he believed a single digit handicapper who regularly plays the same course should have a better make percentage than a touring pro in tournaments. 8 feet is their 50/50 point. Whenever I’ve checked mine has been around 6.5. We shall see

Got the screen up and the net (not shown, was too dark for a picture). Very happy with this and hit a ball into it, works great! next up is the hitting platform

If you have read today’s press release from the USGA, it WILL affect all golfers (all amateur golfers, not just elite players) two years after it is implemented for professional golfers. At that point, it is no longer “bifurcation”, but a complete rollback.

You'll have to pass it before we let you read it. Then you'll have to buy it before you know if you need it. Then you'll have to use it before you know if it will do anything. And then we will let you know that it is going to hurt. Trust us...

If this does actually go into effect, I do think the ball manufacturers will manage to sort it out in time, but I do wonder at what cost? We're talking about a pretty significant change if there's not a ball in the last nearly 30 years that can pass the new test. The R&D and mass development costs of these new conforming balls isn't going to be cheap. Who's footing the bill? The people playing the game or the governing bodies? What happens to the smaller DTC brands that don't have the resources to actually reinvent the golf ball?

Scheduled a fitting with a Titleist fitter that will in the area a tad bit before Christmas. In case the fitting goes real good ( New Irons good ) I will be slightly swamped with issues. The biggest and yet easiest solved is what to tell the wife person. If and we are talking a huge, huge IF new irons are in the offing, I plan a three pronged tactic for the bride.. 1) Remind her that @Josh Parker says that I am old and won’t live forever 2) @BallsLeon got new irons 3) @cksurfdude says we need new stuff for any MGS meet ups. You are correct, I am playing the peer pressure gambit with enhanced, embellished, and completely made up reasons that will be attributed to the fine gentleman above. I believe that there is a slim chance of any T200’s coming to live in my bag. Especially, with the infidel wedges from Edison having recently taken up living space in the bag. The fitting should at the very least be informative in an adult kinda way. As we all know adulting things is still a rather new concept for me.

Putter Testing (Aim and 10' putts) Now that the putters are here it is time to start diving into some testing and seeing how these things perform. We all know manufacturers make claims about their product and Sacks Parente is no exception. From their website: The only putters in golf that naturally improve your stroke Better aim No twisting Square impact They had The Golf Lab to evaluate their putters and based on that test the website states: Sacks Parente putters were empirically proven to make more putts by being naturally easier to align, providing a more consistent stroke / speed control, better club path, and squaring the putter at impact. You can read more about the study here: https://sacksparente.com/golf-lab-study I also found the following video that kind of shows how The Golf Lab setup the test (it can be viewed without a facebook account): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=621875265044674 After reviewing the published information about their testing protocols I attempted to mimic the test to see if I saw the claimed improvements. While I don’t have a Gears system I do have an ExPutt simulator that lets me set green speed (I set it to 9) and putt distance (10’ since I couldn’t set it to 8’ like the study) and will measure ball speed, path, and face angle. To assess aim, I used a Seemore triangulator, fake hole, and a ruler. I setup and aimed the putter at the hole. I had my wife place the triangulator against the face and I pulled the string tight to see where it intersected the yardstick. in putting aim doesn't need to be directly at the hole; Tiger was measured at 2* right of of target line, what is important is consistency. The question many have is that while I may see improvements, what classifies as good? I’ll utilize the following tweet from Sasho Mackenzie to evaluate my putting ability: In this tweet we see that Sasho indicates that what really matters in putting is speed control and face angle; factors like impact location and path are basically irrelevant. Depending on source, face angle controls 85-95% of the putts direction. With the straight 10 foot putt if we were pro level putting we would make 90ish percent of the putts. For more detail on face angle refer to the Quintic Site: https://www.quinticballroll.com/Quintic_Ball_Roll_Face_Angle.html The key piece of information from that page is: A putter face that is 2 degrees open at impact will miss the hole from 5 feet! For a putt to go in at 8 feet the angle of the face needs to less than 1 degree open or closed. Increase the distance to 15 feet and the putter face needs to less than 0.5 of a degree open or closed. Given the above, let’s dig into how I performed with my TaylorMade TM0-180, Sacks Parente MC 3 stripe, and Drac. Aim The following chart shows where I aimed from 8 feet to a hole. Positive numbers are to the right and negative numbers are to the left of the center of the hole. All the putters were aimed within the boundaries of the hole but the edge goes to the Sack Parente MC 3 Stripe. The long lines on the putter definitely helped setup the putter square and setup myself up square with the putter. Performance at 10’ As described in the test I hit 82 putts with my gamer and then hit 82 putts with the Sacks Parente putters. I did this on 3 separate days since hitting a couple hundred putts would be pretty stressful on the back TM-180 Looking at the below chart we can see that my that my speed is pretty consistent and that the face angle for about 84% of my putts was within 1* which should make a 10 foot putt. The below charts show the impact angle and ball speed for every putt in this test. Looking at the details of the impact angle chart we see that my face angle is slightly biased to the left which means the putter face tends to be closed at impact. Drac Looking at the Drac, ball speed is slightly higher with less consistency and my face angle has a higher percentage of 1* or less but can get a little wild and exceed the 2* barrier. MC3 With the improved aim, this putter seemed to do what the Golf Lab test indicated. As stated above, aim was better and based on the chart below, make rate improved by 11% and face angle improve with 3% more putts having a face angle withing 1*. The only downturn was that ball speed was a little less consistent. Early testing has putt the Sacks Parente MC 3 Stripe into the lead. So what’s next? Over the next couple of days I will be capturing random putt distance (5’-50’) on my ExPutt to see how these putters perform compared to my gamer.

First we have to implement the change before we can see if it works... where have I heard something to that affect before? Here's hoping the OEM's and tours form an alliance and send the USGA and R&A a clear and unequivocal message.

I am sure we will be seeing tons of different/conflicting articles put out as this progresses. Some will be biased to protect the justification, and some will be pure conjecture. Until there is an actual ball to play, and is indeed played enough times to quantify the numbers, we won't know for sure.

I have a reputation so you should stay away from me. I used to really have a problem but now I am reformed. Or at least have been for the last year or two.

Love when the data comes out and busts the courses have been getting longer narrative, shows the ball isn’t going further and guys have been swinging the same or slower for the last several years. Yet posts have been questioned when those comments were previously made

Just home from church but look what came for me today, too. Happy St Nicholas Day everyone.

I don't see this affecting me at all, with my slower swing speeds it shouldn't affect me more than a yard or 2, if that. Not to mention if you even miss a little on contact, that has way more effect than the ball. People smarter than me are saying even at 110-115 it isn't much, mainly affects the driver and anything less than a 5 iron won't have any effect. Not sure what all the fuss is, other than for Pro golfers. If the best are only losing less than 15 yards, I can't see how this matters much to most golfers.

Hey guys this golf ball rollback shouldn’t affect amateur golfers much I would say if ur a good ball striker next shot take a longer club n maybe we’ll just ad a lot of long irons n our bag done deal

That’s great news about your brother!

I worked on driver today. I am getting to much arm bend that is causing all sorts of issues so I am working on shortening my backswing and keeping arm straight.

What options do we have in lieu of the USGA's GHIN system... soon to be part of another of theirs and the R&A's braintrust/fart, World Handicap System? If they continue down this road and I have a viable option for keeping my handicap, I'll drop my membership as a form of protest.

Just fiddling around between snow flakes, I'm still getting the same feelings about the test ball, good feel, flight, sound, control and spin. Distance remains the same, cover is finally showing a small amount of roughage. I would still play this ball. BTW, have you noticed that the prices have gone up at McDonalds on the Large fry, but yet the only give you the amount of a medium? They need to give you the amount of fries that you pay for.

Even if we take the ruling bodies at their word for the expected distance loss it does absolutely nothing to solve the problem they claim to be fixing. All the guys that are flying hazards, trees, bunkers now will still be doing it with the new ball. The guys who are keeping distance in the tank will just step it up a bit. These guys will make up that distance lose pretty easily as Sasho explained. This really is nothing more than the ruling bodies flexing their fake muscles to show they are in charge. Its seems like it’s going to be the first step for future rollbacks. Going to be we tried with the current ball and and it didn’t work, we need to do more then we will see them take more action to further reduce distance. Chip away slowly and people don’t notice. Can’t take it all away at once

This is exclusive what’s going to happen. Rory’s own words say it will benefit the longer golfer and that he wants the rollback for selfish purposes. When the ball gets shorter it’s the equivalent of lengthening the course. Broadie published a piece about this and that the longer course(shorter ball) from strokes gained benefits the longer player. So what happens is that distance becomes even more of an advantage so more people work harder at getting longer. The ones that are successful at it will stay on the tour and the ones who don’t will slowly find themselves out of a job. Then you have everyone hitting the same distance and still in the 300+ driving distance that the ruling bodies want to get rid of. As Sasho Mackenzie pointed out the players have speed an distance in the tank and they will be back at their current distances easily. The other thing it doesn’t do is create that one standout golfer who is different than everyone else, longer than everyone else ala Jack and Tiger. It does the opposite because everyone is long and when everyone is long nobody is long This is the ruling bodies dictating how golf should be played in their eyes. It’s another one of their power grabs to show the pros and tours who is in charge

OK don't shoot the messenger. Have read through many pages of this thread including the most recent few, but have not seen a link to the actual announcement by the USGA. ------- DISTANCE INSIGHTS Revised Golf Ball Testing Conditions to Take Effect in 2028 DECEMBER 6, 2023 | LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. By Janeen Driscoll, USGA The revised test conditions that address consistent increases in hitting distance will have little to no impact on the recreational golfer. (USGA) The R&A and USGA will update the testing conditions used for golf ball conformance under the Overall Distance Standard (ODS), which will take effect in January 2028. The decision aims to reduce the impact increased hitting distances have on golf’s long-term sustainability while minimizing the impact on the recreational game. The revised ball testing conditions will be as follows: 125-mph clubhead speed (equivalent to 183 mph ball speed); spin rate of 2200 rpm and launch angle of 11 degrees. The current conditions, which were established 20 years ago, are set at 120 mph (equivalent to 176 mph ball speed), 2520 rpm with a 10-degree launch angle. The revised conditions are based on analysis of data from the worldwide tours and the game over several years and are intended to ensure that the ODS (whose limit will remain unchanged at 317 yards with a 3-yard tolerance) continues to represent the ability of the game’s longest hitters. An analysis of ball speeds among golf’s longest hitters in 2023 shows that the fastest 10 players had an average ball speed of 186 mph, while the average ball speed of the fastest 25 was 183.4 mph (the very fastest averaged 190 mph). The longest hitters are expected to see a reduction of as much as 13-15 yards in drive distance. Average professional tour and elite male players are expected to see a reduction of 9-11 yards, with a 5-7-yard reduction for an average LPGA or Ladies European Tour (LET) player. The change in testing speed is expected to have a minimal distance impact, 5 yards or less, for most recreational golfers. Research shows an average swing speed of 93 mph for male golfers and 72 mph for female players. Existing balls approved for conformance in 2027 may continue to be used by recreational golfers until January 2030 to give golfers, manufacturers and retailers additional time to adjust. These decisions are in line with the commitments made by the governing bodies at the project’s inception. A significant portion of golf ball models that are currently in the market – and more than 30 percent of all golf ball models submitted for conformance across the game – are expected to remain conforming after these changes are applied. “Governance is hard. And while thousands will claim that we did too much, there will be just as many who said we didn’t do enough to protect the game long-term,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “But from the very beginning, we’ve been driven to do what is right for the game, without bias. As we’ve said, doing nothing is not an option – and we would be failing in our responsibility to protect the game’s future if we didn’t take appropriate action now.” Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, said, “We are convinced that this decision is one of the key ways of achieving a sustainable future for golf, protecting the integrity of the game and meeting our environmental responsibilities. The measure we are taking has been carefully considered and calibrated while maintaining the ‘one game’ ethos deemed to be so important to the golf industry. Importantly, it also keeps the impact on recreational golfers to an absolute minimum. We are acting now because we want to ensure that future generations can enjoy the unique challenge of golf as much as we do.” The Notice of Decision follows the most thorough and comprehensive examination of the issue in the game’s history through the Distance Insights project, which was launched in 2018 and gathered data, shared research and solicited feedback from golf course owners, players, and stakeholders across the game. Data provided by the seven major worldwide tours has also been analyzed by the governing bodies, who have published Annual Driving Distance Reports every year since 2015. The reports followed the governing bodies’ joint Conclusions from the Distance Insights Project: Implication of Hitting Distance in Golf, which shared the reasons why addressing the continuing trend of hitting distance increases and subsequent course lengthening is critical to the game’s long-term sustainability. All golf ball and club manufacturers were advised of the decision on Tuesday, Dec. 5, and were given full technical details and an implementation timeline. The notice of decision takes into account the extensive research and feedback received from manufacturers and other industry stakeholders throughout the six-year process and following multiple Areas of Interest and proposals starting in 2021 as part of the Equipment Rulemaking process. The extensive feedback received showed worldwide sentiment that the retention of a single set of playing rules and equipment standards is critically important to the sport and should apply across the game. Feedback from manufacturers resulted in the timeline being extended to 2028 to allow more time for innovation and production of new products for elite and recreational players. In addition to the new ball-testing conditions, the governing bodies will: Expand the testing approach to better detect ‘Driver Creep,’ which can result in drivers exceeding the limits set out in the Equipment Rules. This is a change in the testing methodology for submitted drivers, to identify and proactively address driver models that are within current tolerance levels and have Characteristic Time (CT) values that are more likely to exceed the limit through regular use. Continue to monitor drivers and explore possible additional options related to distance. Specifically, we will research the forgiveness of drivers and how they perform with off-center hits. This is an ongoing review and we will seek input from and continue to work with the industry, including manufacturers, to identify driver design features that can be regulated as a means to reward center impact position hits versus mis-hits. The R&A and the USGA are guided by an overarching principle to continue to preserve the fundamental elements of golf – protecting the integrity of golf courses, including their overall length, and ensuring that a variety of skills are needed to be successful. Longer golf courses require additional resources such as water, the cost of renovating or moving elements like tees and bunkers continues to rise and other long-term impacts have been identified as a result of increased distance. The governing bodies believe that if the sport is to enjoy a sustainable long-term future then these economic and environmental impacts have to be kept under control. The Overall Distance Standard was first introduced in 1976 and has been updated on three previous occasions (1980, 2002 and 2004). This is the first time that test speeds have been updated since 2004, when the current standard was set based on the longest hitters at that time. Details on the study and complete technical data on the Distance Insights project can be found at www.usga.org/distanceinsights. USGA PARTNERS © 2023 United States Golf Association. All Rights Reserved. -- https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2023/12/revised-golf-ball-testing-conditions-to-take-effect-in-2028.html -------

Awesome to see, haven’t received a shipping notice yet but have seen others have as well…can’t wait! Roll ‘em well once you get it!

From Golf magazine: How many yards will golfers lose with the rollback? Don’t believe everything you read online. According to the governing bodies’ research, recreational players should expect to see a decrease of less than five yards in driving distance, based on an average swing speed of 93 mph for male golfers and 72 mph for female players. And when they get into their irons, they’re likely to see no perceptible change in distance. “The way it works, especially if you make the change through aerodynamics [of the ball], it goes actually to the square of the velocity,” John Spitzer, the USGA’s managing director of equipment standards, told GOLF.com. “So we don’t expect to see much distance loss at all — even at the highest levels — once you get to the 5-iron. And when you have low swing players like myself, I’m going to lose my distance almost all on the drive and I won’t see anything in the fairway woods or hybrids. But the rest of the golfers at the highest level, by the time they get to 5-iron [their distances] would be the exact same.”

Ha ain't no one seeing the workout!

Happy to see some actual stats. Unfortunately, like many regulations today, the decision has been made without anyone actually having any input other than the decision makers themselves. We just saw it in the trout regs this past year. (Fishing capt.) The freeze killed off a lot of fish and they took it down from 5 to 3 and changed the size. They asked for feedback but ultimately went with their original opinion. The size they chose were fish that would cause even more death because of mishandled or miss out on reproducing.

We're going to need video of this workout.

Some more evidence to not trust the USGA. In testing with the NP-500 ... participants reported a perceived distance reduction of about 4.9 percent (210 yards compared to a 221-yard self-reported average). This is consistent with expectations based on laboratory testing.” In other words, not quite one to five yards. Still, Thomas Pagel, the USGA's chief governance officer, told Golf Digest everyday golfers should rest easy. "It's five yards at most and likely limited to your driver," Pagel said. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/usga-randa-golf-ball-rollback-for-everyone?utm_medium=email&utm_source=120623&utm_campaign=hitlist&utm_content=DM46868&uuid=b9ad2eaf-d3e6-43d2-aceb-675680c392b4

I never even noticed the off-line numbers. And yes, it's a summary of 5 good shots. I omitted all the 'bad' shots so I'd have solid data to work from and didn't distort data with my swing issues. Needless to say, it took me quite a while to get the 5 good shots with Driver/7-iron/PW from 3 different balls. lol. I don't manually input or adjust any numbers, it's an export from the SkyTrak+ session.

I'm happy to hear your brother is doing better @EasyPutter, I wish nothing but the best for you and your family Derek.

A couple new tees from Fade Golf n Stuff. Pretty much sums up my game.

Whooo - hoo, the Edel SMS 7i arrived today: I'm super impressed with the looks and quality of the iron. This has a next level look for sure and the ferrule looks even better in person: It compares well to my gamer - the TaylorMade SLDR: First impressions: I know this is an unofficial review, but the club felt really good when making some initial swings in the backyard. I really like the shaft I picked for it - KBS Tour Lite. This club looks natural to my eye at address - not too small, not too large: First few swings was slight pushes (this is with hard foam balls, hoping to get some real time with real balls tomorrow (weather contingent)). Decided to tweak the weights a little - moved the 8 gram from middle to the toe and that looked to bring the shot around. Nothing concrete - need some good range / course time to really see. The neat thing is the SLDR 7i is idential in loft, and swing weight, with the lie .5* differnent to the Edel (both at 32*, D2, and 62.5 vs 62 lie) - this ought to be a great head to head test. Looking forward to testing these on the range and the course in the coming days.

Drivers will be next. Already some speculation about that on the ol’ interwebs…

One of your L.A.B. Putters? We should be friends!

Another Update! Last week we had an anomaly in CT with 50 degree weather in December. It seems like my fellow tester and fellow New Englander @billpierce also took advantage of some strange (relatively) warm weather and hit the course. I am lucky to live within a few minutes drive to some courses and hopped out on my local executive this day since I wanted to play 18 but didn't have the most amount of time. This is a putter review anyways so getting on as many greens as possible was the key. I started out on the practice green for some drills and warm up before beginning my round. My biggest putting issue before this test and getting the fitting done was lag putting on longer (25+ft) putts. Too often I would have a 5+ footer remaining and that was adding strokes. Since I have been in my basement mostly for practice it was a hard thing to improve on until this day. I did a couple rounds at distances around 30 feet and 40 feet across the flattest part of the green I could find. The middle picture below is from 30 feet out, the furthest away was my first putt, but as you can see the rest were put well within tap-in range. From 40 feet the dispersion was of course larger, but 4 out of 7 at a makeable distance and the others just outside of a good lag distance. Out on the course though things went very well. Speed was great all day. Only had one second putt that was outside of 3 feet and ended up making that one. Zero 3-putts on the whole round and ended up with a total of 31 putts for the 18 holes. For reference this season I was averaging around 35-36 putts per round, with some lower to 31/32 or up at 37 or 38 depending on difficulty of course and my familiarity. But this round felt different where I was not faced with those 4 and 5 footers nearly as much. I enjoyed playing the short course as well since after not playing outside for a few weeks my irons still felt okay but my driver and 3 wood swings felt like garbage. Even in those rounds you can still end up having some fun, like this: Brutal. But then it can all come down to a par putt on #18 and... What a game...that one will get me back out again. Hoping for some warm weather again soon as I have been enjoying the process and the club a lot lately.

From everything I read when the initial proposal came out, for a MLR that would have been in effect primarily at high-level competitions, pretty much all of the stakeholders disliked the potential for bifurcation. It wouldn't bother me, but I can see lots of potential issues with it. So if we're going to blame someone for OUR rollback, blame the PGA Tour, blame the manufacturers, blame the stakeholders who shot down the initial plan for bifurcation. Amen to the second bit. Sure, I'll miss a sudden loss of distance, but after a short adjustment, it'll be golf as usual. And as you say, other than a few who decide to buy a 10-year supply of "hot" balls, most of us won't have much choice but to play a conforming ball.

Thanks for sharing, I've been wanting to hear from the likes of Dean and his peer group. We're in agreement that there is no excessive distance issue and, as such, no bifurcation or rollback is necessary. All I'm saying is that if the USGA and R&A implement a change, I'd prefer it only be applicable to tour play. Also, I love the argonomy test. The simplest, least disruptive answer has been right in front of everyone's nose since this discussion started. I'm kind of wondering if the USGA isn't using the threat of rollback and bifurcation as a way to get the PGA to committ to course set-up changes? Heck, courses are set-up differently for tour play anyway (faster greens, thicker roughs, etc.)... so it seems we have bifurcation already.

I replaced all of my wedges with Edison's last fall after trying one wedge for a month last summer. I replaced my Vokey's, and noticed mishits were WAY better with the Edison's. I made more great wedge shots with the Edison's in the last two months of the season than I did with my Vokey's in the last 4 years. I love these wedges. The dual-grind sole is the real deal. I had previously had it on some Hogan wedges, also designed by Terry Koehler, but the changed weight balance on the Edison 2.0's makes them more forgiving than the old designs.