The biggest golf ball manufacturer in the sport, Titleist, has offered feedback on the regulatory organizations’ golf ball rollback.
Titleist’s parent business, Acushnet, has voiced concerns about the rollback, saying it “overly impacts golfers” and doesn’t reflect the opinions of people who are most involved in the sport.
David Maher, CEO of Acushnet, responded to the USGA and R&A when they revealed their plan for new ball-testing rules that will apply to professional players in 2028 and amateur players in 2030.
“Many important stakeholders do not see distance as a problem the way the governing bodies do,” Maher said, “and therefore come to differing conclusions about how to proceed to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport.”
Manufacturers are required to test new balls at 125 mph clubbed speed, 2200 RPM spin rate, and 11-degree launch angle per the regulatory organizations’ updated testing guidelines. (The current settings are 10 degrees, 2520 revolutions per minute, and 120 miles per hour.) R&A and USGA data indicate that average professionals and very good male players can expect to lose nine to eleven yards off the tee. For LPGA players, it will be five to seven yards, and for most male recreational players with clubhead speeds in the mid-1990s, it will be five yards or less.
Maher contends that independent data reveals that modern courses are often smaller than those built in the past, refuting the idea that advancements in golf equipment, especially different balls, are driving up golf course sizes.
“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,” Maher’s statement read. “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.”
To improve the game’s equity for players who don’t hit the ball far, Titleist thinks more could be done in other areas.
“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,” the statement said.
“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.”
