Welcome to Issue #33
"I love the USGA's philosophy of trying to get every club in the bag dirty”
Kevin Kisner
What’s on my mind this week
The rollback rolled back to 2030, Luke Donald gets an OBE after back-to-back Ryder Cup wins, Scottie aiming to join an elite club this weekend, Rick Shiels reaches 1 billion views (yes, 1 billion), never thought I'd want a chunky cardigan with a golf ball stitched on it but here we are, LIV hitting up PIF for loans to see out the year, Bryson finding 427 yards off the tee thanks to the wind and a road (still counts).
In the news
The USGA backs down. The golf ball rollback is delayed to 2030, and bifurcation is back on the table
Why it matters: The USGA, R&A, PGA Tour and DP World Tour announced jointly on 17 June at Shinnecock Hills that the planned 2028 golf ball rollback is shelved in favour of a 2030 universal implementation date, with a fundamental rethink of the approach.
Our Take: The USGA had a choice between winning the argument and saving the sport, they chose the second. The original plan was heading into 18 months of equipment manufacturer litigation, PGA Tour rule-making secession threats, and an opening for LIV to market itself as the tour that plays the ball the governing bodies don't want you to play. The retreat avoids all three. The more substantive shift is in what comes next. Mike Whan publicly acknowledged the proposed standard probably wasn't strong enough to make a meaningful difference at the elite level, a position crystallised when Cameron Young hit a 375-yard drive at The Players using a Titleist prototype that already conformed to the proposed standard. Whan's willingness to explore narrower solutions reopens the bifurcation conversation the governing bodies closed in 2023. For equipment OEMs, the implications are immediate. Recreational distance is now protected. Premium ball and driver R&D continues uninterrupted. The manufacturers have won the timing battle. Whether they have also won the structural battle will depend on what replaces the abandoned framework.