No one was surprised. On Tuesday morning, the USGA and R&A announced a new equipment rule – or more accurately, a Model Local Rule – that they’ve named and numbered MLR G-10, which sounds more like an Acura sports car than a rule of golf. The reason it’s forgettable is it only applies to a miniscule number of players: those who try to squeeze out an extra 4 or 5 yards by hitting an extra-long driver.
Under the new Model Local Rule, according to a release by the governing bodies, “beginning on January 1, 2022 … those running professional or elite amateur golf competitions (have) the option of limiting the maximum length of a golf club (excluding putters) to 46 inches.â€
So, no more Bryson DeChambeau hitting 48-inch drivers in the Masters. No more Phil Mickelson “hitting bombs†with a 48-incher in this or that event where the fairways are wide and the rough is less than penal. Chi Chi Rodriguez, in his final days on the PGA Tour Champions, had a broomstick of a driver that was between 48- and 50-inches long. And while Cheech swore that he got an extra 15 out of it, center-of-the-clubface contact was always in question.
Beyond those rare examples, this was, what we call in the trade, low-hanging fruit, a way for the governing bodies to signal a move in the direction of distance control without igniting a firestorm.
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