Colin Montgomerie believes that it is imperative that the golf ball is rolled back in the professional game, and even suggested that he would be in favour of tournaments providing the ball that players use.
The subject of the golf ball rollback has divided many for several years now. There had been plans from the R&A and USGA to introduce new regulations that would kick in from 2028.
That was set to impact the professional game, while amateurs would have another two years to adjust.
Obviously, the steps were taken in an attempt to reduce how far players could actually hit the ball, with many great golf courses no longer viewed as viable options to host tournaments at the highest level.
Colin Montgomerie strongly backs a golf ball rollback
With the PGA Tour yet to provide any concrete assurances that they planned to comply with the changes, there was a lot of uncertainty.
It also did not help when Cameron Young won the Cadillac Championship with a golf ball that would apparently be legal from 2028.
Those plans are currently on ice, and it is not yet clear what the future holds. But some clearly think that the changes simply have to be made.
Speaking on the Old Boys, New Balls podcast, Colin Montgomerie insisted that action needs to be taken.
“It is a problem. We’ve got two Opens coming up, we’ve got St Andrews next year, 2027, and then we’ve got Royal Lytham in 2028. Two courses without the wind, if it’s calm, we could see some really, really low scoring, meaning the distance the guys are hitting it now is bizarre. 350 is becoming on a links course average,” he said.
“Being a course designer in a way, we used to build courses where the dogleg was set at 265 yards. That was the post that we put in, and then we went left or right from there as a dogleg. Well, that’s now 320.
“So where are we going here? Lytham especially, was not designed for someone who hits the ball 350 yards. It wasn’t designed that way. The bunkers are obsolete, they’re out of the way. We can’t keep buying new land because Lytham’s tight anyway. St Andrews is tight, you can’t really make it any bigger.
“So what do we do? The only way is to reduce the ball, reduce the clubs. We can’t reduce the actual human specimen. It just used to be the ball and the club that was the problem. Now, it’s the ball, the club, and the athlete.
“With all respect to him, Woosie was never an athlete. Seve wasn’t really. Lyle was natural. Faldo gave it a bit of a gym thing, but nothing untoward. Langer was never athletic. Look at Palmer; Nicklaus was really not, but now they are. Now they’re six foot five and hitting the balls absolute miles and in the gym every minute of the day.
“We have to roll back the ball, bring it back. But of course, the powers that be don’t want that because what happens is the amateurs suffer because we don’t want to have two different golf balls for amateurs and pros. But I think the time has come now where they say, ‘okay, there’s your professional golf ball, there’s your golf ball for this tournament’.
“We’re the only sport that brings the ball to the game. You don’t bring your own rugby ball to it, you’re given it for the match. The cricket ball. Snooker, the balls are presented. Tennis, the balls are presented. But golf, we bring our own equipment to it, and it’s not quite right. We need to stabilise this and we need to make this as one, and I think it’s about time that we use a professional ball that doesn’t go as far, and brings those great bunkers at Lytham for instance, and St Andrews, back into play.”
Rory McIlroy confirmed he is in favour of bifurcation
Someone who would seemingly agree with Montgomerie’s view is Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy has been a big supporter of the potential rollback for a number of years. And just last month, the Northern Irishman suggested that he would definitely be in favour of amateurs getting to continue using the golf ball they have now.
“It needs to be regulated. It just can’t keep carrying on at the rate it’s going. Not at the elite level,” he said.
“Leave amateurs alone. Bifurcate. I’m all for bifurcation.
“But I think at this level, to keep some of those golf courses relevant that we want to go to and we’re talking about, I think equipment, whether that’s ball, whether that’s club, whatever that means, I think it has to be regulated to a higher degree than it is at the minute.“
It would feel slightly unfair on those who have changed their game to keep up in recent years if distance suddenly became less important.
However, the game is always evolving. The best players will be absolutely fine with a golf ball that does not travel as far.
And if the rest cannot keep up, then perhaps they have to start questioning whether they have enough talent anyway.
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