Scottie Scheffler has offered up a fascinating take on the golf ball rollback which is due to be brought into play in 2028.
Scheffler is by no means the longest hitter on the PGA Tour but he’s still longer than average.
However, the 29-year-old world number one doesn’t have the ability to overpower a golf course like certain players do.
Scottie Scheffler is at his best when he has to plot his way around a golf course during tournaments where strategic thinking is of paramount importance.
The professional game is set to change in 2028, and the same applies for amateur events from 2030 onwards.
The golf ball rollback rule will be coming into play at the start of the 2028 season, and the move is surrounded by controversy.
Many PGA Tour players are pushing back against the incoming rule change, according to recent claims.
Scottie Scheffler says whether he agrees with the golf ball rollback
Scheffler addressed the media on Wednesday at Muirfield Village ahead of the Memorial Tournament.
The world number one was asked about the golf ball rollback which is due to be implemented for professionals in 2028.
And Scheffler provided a fascinating response.
“I think that I agree with some of the principles behind the golf ball rollback,“ he replied.
“I think when you look at how power and hitting the ball high has become so important in our game — we were actually talking about it today, I was looking at the world rankings and Russell Henley is really the only guy in the top 20 in the world who doesn’t hit it pretty far and doesn’t hit it very high.
“Outside of that, you pretty much hit the ball high and you hit it far — and when you look at the major championships, especially the U.S. Open, you look at Augusta National, you look at the PGA Championship, those are the tournaments where you have to hit the ball high and far.
“I feel like those are the organizations that are also trying to roll the golf ball back.“
While Scheffler clearly agrees with the principle that something needs to be done to combat the extraordinary distance that some players are hitting the ball these days, he did allude to the fact that the golf ball rollback is perhaps not the best solution.
Scottie Scheffler’s warning for the PGA Tour
Scheffler suggested that the golf ball rollback could cause a big issue for the PGA Tour.
“I think when you look at the golf ball rollback, when you start moving it back only eight yards, not only does it disproportionately affect certain players, where you have some guys who it won’t affect at all, and some guys where it will affect 15 to 20 yards I think creates some issues within our game when you start changing the rules,“ the world number one said.
“And then, on top of that, I think it’s a greater issue in terms of golf course design where power is becoming too rewarded. You look at certain golf courses that we have that are great tests, like a Colonial or a Harbour Town, and they’re not overly long golf courses, but it challenges you in different ways. I feel like they’re doing it to make the game of golf a little bit more difficult at the elite level, which I understand, but golf is the easiest game in the world to make hard. Like, if you just make the area small to have a guy to hit the ball into, he’s going to try and learn how to control it.
“When the corridors are big and greens are big and there’s not many trees in your way, guys are going to learn how to hit the ball far. I grew up on a course in Dallas where when I was growing up it was a tight, parkland-style golf course, and you had to learn how to hit fairways. The fairways were firm and if you started hitting the ball off line the ball would run off into the trees. So I learned how to hit the ball straight, I learned how to curve the ball both directions. And if I grew up on one of these golf courses that had been restored, I’m not going to name any of those golf courses, but there’s certain ones where if I grew up on that golf course, I would be like, Oh, my gosh, I got to learn how to hit the ball so stinking far.
“Because the fairways are wide and the penalty for missing them is not as severe enough in my opinion. So I think when you look at how power is being rewarded in our game there’s a reason why you see so many guys doing speed training, why you see so many guys spending time in the gym, trying to increase their speed because it’s becoming increasingly important in our game, when you look at the way golf courses are set up and when you look at golf course design.“
