There is no telling how much money has been spent the last 10 years lengthening golf courses just to keep up with the increased distances in balls/clubs. If the pros are hitting the same type of ball agreed upon by the USGA & the R&A it should not matter. Let the amateurs hit the rest of the type of golf balls. There has been a LOT of discussion on this. This is just my humble opinion.

I started a thread on the day the report was out and it was approved but later it seemed to have disappeared. I did make some comments that I thought the USGA/ R and A were barking up the wrong tree . I think this whole report deals with .1 % of the golfing world . So let game be as or is

SEMPER FI

In my opinion dialing back the golf ball would greatly affect us amateur golfers(most of the world). I see the idea about the PGA TOUR and the professional golfers(LPGA LATIN AMERICA PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR KORN FERRY EUROPEAN MACKENZIE SYMETRA and ALL THE MANY OTHER WORLDWIDE TOURS) but why have the powers that be take into account what some of the men and women who play for a living suggest? Please look at the golf course(all your event tracks) narrow fairways and grow that rough up! I would try not to penalize the everyday, weekend, social, amateur golfer by dialing back the golf ball. The golf industry needs to continue to grow the game and open it up to attract more golfers to the game. Sorry if it is sounding repetitive but KEEP THE GAME FUN FOR ALL! KEEP THE PROFESSIONAL GAME COMPETITIVE AND WITH A DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY!

I agree with most that they should leave it alone and let everyone just play! All sports improve equipment. Golf is no different in that respect. What is different though is that it is probably one of the only sports where amateurs can play in the exact same venue with the same equipment. It lets us have an imagination about how we compare to the pros. lets not always have some group looking over our shoulders and telling us that they know better. If they think the pros are hitting it to far, then control that with the lawnmowers. Let the rough grow up more and pinch the landing areas for tournaments. Make them hit more irons off the tees and create different approach shots. Look what happens now when they encounter some tricky short par 4's!

Golf seems to be all about length, as it was for me when I was younger. When I first started in 1985, when I was 39, I wanted to hit that little white ball like that big white big white softball. Long........ Then I could over 300, but never was good with accuracy. As I have reached the wonderful age of a super senior, I play the age appropriate tees, leave my testosterone at home and enjoy this wonderful game of golf and manage my game beautifully. I enjoy watching those booming those long drives off the long tees then looking for them in the rough as I hit my next shot from the middle of the fair way. It's not about how you drive, but how your arrive and putt. With respect to all opinions. At 73 still can put it out there 250+ if the fairways are right and enjoy playing in 3.5 hours. A solid 11 hdcp. Golf is good...... =)

How does restricting the ball make any sense. If the golfer that hits it 325yds now can only hit it 275yds later with new restricted ball. Then that goes without saying that the golfer who hits it 280yds now would max out at 230yrds. There is still a length advantage. What they the ruling bodies need to do is narrow fairways, lengthen roughs, and other course adjustments that make accuracy and shot making rewarding...

I wish that the USGA would just leave this alone, lest they end up in court again as they did 25 years ago vs png over square grooves. Equipment companies sell millions of dollars worth of golf balls to amateur golfers and don't want to fool with this and the USGA/PGA Tour will never approve bifurcation. And what about the LPGA players who do not hit the ball anywhere near the distance the men do? Where do they fit in, in this discussion? Just let it go before we'll be back to playing Gutta Percha golf balls.

While the article suggested that two sets of rules are not desired (for rec vs pro), there was mention of local rules. To mean, that's a soft way of saying the pros could have equipment limitations without affecting the rec players. Also, 23 yards longer (on avg) over the past 30 years is just a 9% improvement on distance. I still see the pros hitting 3 wood and driving irons off the tee.

When you look at all the major sports, the allure is that they are playing with the same equipment that we have access to. But they practice 40+ hours a week like a job and become exceptional. The closest sport with separate equipment is baseball where they use wood bats vs. aluminum.

What would be fun though, is too see more variety in tournaments. The Ryder cup and team events are very fun to watch. The Waste Management event was fun because of the noise on the 16th. They should have a persimmon wood only event to see if the pros can handle the old school equipment. That would be fun to watch.

I say leave it alone. Golf is arguably in decline (money.com/.../).

Very interesting everybody. My theory is if it was only about distance wouldn't everybody be better at your home course. I have not noticed the players in our leagues shooting lower and lower scores every year. I am getting older and even with the new equipment I might have lost a few yards over the years. But at the same time my handicap does not very more than 1 stroke either way. I love watching the pros play but that does not translate to the average golfer or the weekend warrior. It would be the same as an average baseball or basketball player trying to play pro ball. They are pro golfers for a reason.

Yeah, I definitely dont think the every day or more so the weekend player should have to take a step back. That just does not make any sense to me

It may be that golf needs one ball for pros and one for everyone else. A lot of sports have two sets of rules.

I agree with most of the comments posted so far. I don't believe that the once a week player should be punished because the top 1% can hit the ball a ton. I feel that if the powers that be want to bring down the distance that the pros hit the ball then make the pros hit a different ball. Let the rest of us 200 yd hitters alone. Believe me that my game has not caused any of the courses around here to have make their holes longer. There was one comment about bifurcation and how the rules people won't allow that to happen. However, it is my belief that there is already bifurcation in the game. Maybe not in the rules, but let me ask how many of you that happen to hit a drive 10 yds into the trees and when you get to where you think your ball may be there is a Marshall and a group of 20 spectators standing around your ball so that you don't have to waste any of the precious 3 min. that you have to find it? How many of you have flown the green and happen to hit the grandstands so that you get a free drop that happens to be 10 yds closer to the hole? I have yet to play a course with grandstands, score boards, or TV towers. The pros already get a bunch of breaks that the rest of us don't. So if they have to hit a ball that doesn't go as far, poor babies.

USGA and R&A please leave my game alone. Pick on the pros not me!!!

Mark F

I dont see the issue with having different "levels" of equipment. the argument that its not economically feasible and would be a huge hit to manufacturers holds no merit imo. Growing up playing baseball that is a huge example. Professionals use wooden bats and juniors/amateurs all over use aluminum. Pros specifically must use "rolled back" balls in professional events. and amateurs can use whatever they want. OEMs already make various tiers of golf balls as is