Kevin Kisner has issued a strong verdict on the planned golf ball rollback, insisting that one aspect could represent the dumbest decision possible.
With everything going on with LIV Golf right now, you would be forgiven for forgetting that the game is edging closer and closer to a significant change from 2028.
That is the year when the USGA and The R&A plan to outlaw the current golf ball in the professional game. Meanwhile, similar rules are set to come into the amateur game from 2030.
Kevin Kisner issues his verdict on the golf ball rollback
The new golf ball is set to not travel quite as far. It appears to be a move to combat how professional players are seemingly hitting the ball further and further.
There is definitely a case to be made for making the changes. It is obviously better for the environment if golf courses take up less land.
Meanwhile, it does appear that the longer golf courses on the PGA Tour are often the least interesting. It is not exciting for the viewer when distance is the main defence.
However, not everyone is a fan of the changes. Speaking on the We Need A Fourth podcast, Kevin Kisner claimed that he cannot understand the move.
“I hope it doesn’t happen. I think it’s one of the dumbest things ever,” he said.
“The coolest part about golf is I can go play with you three and we can walk in the pro shop and use the exact same driver and the exact same golf ball, and you three will go ‘wow’ when I hit it compared to when you hit it. I’m not even one of the long ones. What’s going to be cool about me coming to play with you three and you three hit it the same distance as me or even past me because I’m having to play a different golf ball than you?
“We don’t do it in any other sport. If I want to go play football, I can play the same football that Arch Manning throws. If I go play basketball, I can go play the same basketball at the same height that LeBron James throws. Every sport has gotten better, athletically, physically, so has golf.
“We’re having to change a golf ball because people are scared to move a tee back 10 yards. It’s just not worth it in my opinion. Plus the millions and millions and millions of dollars it’s going to cost the industry from all these manufacturers having to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out how to make the best golf ball possible with new restrictions on it just for pros. No amateur is going to want to play anymore. Why would you suck more on purpose? I don’t know anybody that would.”
The focus should be on the golf courses being built rather than the ball
Any change that encourages golf course designers to think outside the box is a good thing. It gets very tedious watching the majority of PGA Tour players make a relatively comfortable four on a 500-yard par four several times a week.
Doral failed to capture the imagination this past week at the Cadillac Championship. The golf course was longer than it was when it was last on the PGA Tour calendar back in 2016. And yet, Cameron Young was able to reach 19 under par.
Extending golf courses is clearly not the answer.
But reducing how far the golf ball travels is surely not the solution either. As Kisner notes, amateur golfers are unlikely to benefit in any way.
Instead, the focus should surely be on building golf courses that ask an even greater variety of questions of players and do not just rely on their distance.
