[ad_1]
The four-time big winner, Rory McIllroy, lambasted top golf officials, saying they spent “millions of dollars” to change something that should have been left alone.
The Royal and Ancient (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) have joined forces to prevent the game from being dominated by golfers capable of hitting the ball over extraordinary distances.
American Bryson DeChambeau, a 109 kilogram beast, leads the big hitter pack. The 2020 US Open champion averages 330 yards from the tee and even smoked a 428-yard drive at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut in June of last year.
Among three rules recently proposed by golf lawmakers reduced the maximum shaft length from 48 inches to 46, a rule that could be implemented by the Masters in April.
McIlroy remained furious, saying lawmakers “reeked of their own importance” and should instead engage in grassroots golf.
“It certainly doesn’t need to happen,” McIlroy said of the Distance Insights project.
“This pandemic has been so good for golf and the fact is they are not looking at the right thing.
“They spent millions of dollars to complete this Distance Insights report, which is not going to be a game-changer at all.
“There might be new regulations on manufacturers, but manufacturers are going to find a way around them, that’s how good they are.
“So those millions of dollars should have been put back into the game.”
Other proposals from the governing bodies were to use local rules that limited the specifications of balls and pilots.
The Distance Insights Project has shown a continuous increase in distance over the past 100 years, with average gains of around 30 yards by PGA Tour players over the past 25 years.
“Yeah, they’re the stewards of the game and their job is, yeah, to make sure the game thrives 100 years from now – and that’s not the way to do it,” McIlroy said.
“The way to do that is to get more people involved in the game by making golf more accessible, and if you just stack rules on people all the time, that doesn’t make it appropriate.”
For a daily dose of the best of the latest news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter in Click here!
[ad_2]
