Based on reports coming out of Player Advisory Council meetings before the Memorial Tournament, the PGA Tour may be willing to go its own way if the USGA and the R&A enact a model local rule essentially rolling back the ball used by high-level players in the future.
It’s possible, perhaps likely, that the PGA Tour would decide to operate under its own modified rules should the proposed rollback be put into effect in 2026.
That would mean PGA Tour events could be played with balls that would not be allowed in the U.S. Open, the Open Championship and perhaps the Masters as well as other top-tier events operated by those organizations – the USGA, R&A and Augusta National Golf Club, respectively.
Those major championships – and perhaps the PGA Championship – would require players to use a ball that the USGA and R&A claim will travel 10-15 yards shorter for the longest hitters in an attempt to curtail the impact of increased distance on the game.
Global Golf Post detailed the proposal in its March 20 issue “Whole New Ball Game.”
Adam Scott, chairman of the PAC, told Golf Channel that it “would be surprising” if the tour were to adopt the model local rule considering the amount of pushback by players thus far.
Members of the PGA Tour’s PAC listened to USGA CEO Mike Whan and R&A CEO Martin Slumbers present their case for the ball rollback last week at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The players also heard from representatives of Titleist, Callaway and Bridgestone regarding the proposed rules modification.
A comment period regarding the proposed change is open through Aug. 14, but the prevailing feeling is that the USGA and R&A are determined to implement the rules change, which would not affect recreational golfers, only those playing in elite male professional and amateur competitions.
Rory McIlroy, a member of the tour’s Policy Board which would vote on the issue, has spoken out in favor of the rollback, but more players have voiced skepticism about the proposal.
Asked at the Wells Fargo Championship last month about the tour’s position on the proposed rollback, tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: “There's a process that we go through. I’m not going to talk about my position on this until we’ve gone through that process, but this is how we typically handle things. It’s how we handled it the first go‑round when they sent out the two areas of interest, and that’s how we’re handling it right now.”
Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America, said last month that it is too soon to determine how his organization might react to the proposed change in terms of the PGA Championship.
“I would just say it’s not an us-against-them sort of thing. This is very interactive, and the ruling bodies have been great about reaching out and having conversations and listening,” Waugh said.
After the public comment period ends in August, it is uncertain when the USGA and the R&A might make a formal announcement about the potential adoption of the model local rule.
Ron Green Jr.