Recently, the debate has intensified over long hitters, players who can hit long drivers with a distance reaching or exceeding 350 yards. The governing bodies of the game, namely the United States Golf Association ( USGA) and The R&A in Britain, began some time ago to study the issue in what is known as distance insights and move towards recommending some adjustments to the length of the clubs and as well as adding recommendations for local rules to try and curb the spread of this phenomenon, which they fear will affect the game negatively.
The discussions related to long hitters that are able to achieve huge distances with drivers goes back to many years ago, every generation is able to hit the ball further than the previous generation. But the intensity has of the discussion increased dramatically recently after some players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson managed to shoot the ball for a distance of 350 yards or more, this ability is due to the development of golf tools such as clubs and balls and It is also due to the players’ adaptation and the development of the sport.
Therefore, in recent years, a joint committee among the governing bodies sports began to work on finding measures and solutions to reduce the impact of this phenomenon on the game, the results were announced this week with committee’s recommendations to implement two point in the efforts to curb long hitters phenomena:
- The first proposal relates to limiting the clubs length except putters to a maximum shaft of 46 inches, as well as conditions and environment of testing balls by their manufacturers.
- The second proposal relates to providing the ability for local committees organizing tournaments to impose local rules related to the tournament to limit the increase in distances.
These proposals have been sent to the parties involved in the game, including players, organizations, clubs, as well as manufacturers of golf sports equipment for comments, with the aim of reaching a result that may satisfy everyone and not create problems.
Some players have already expressed their views on these suggestions, there are those who say that these changes will not be very useful and the players will find ways to overcome them, and others argue that the best way is to systematically restructure the courses by reducing the fairway areas and placing the bunkers in a more targeted way so that they constitute an obstacle for those trying to hit the ball far.
For his part, Simpson said that he is not in agreement with the implementation of these amendments as they will not bear fruit and the players will find ways to overcome them, and he said that changing the shape and structure of the courses should be considered to make the courses more difficult for those who hit the ball long distances while players who are able to strike the ball accurately benefit from the as well.
For his part, McIlroy stressed that he completely disagree with this project from the beginning and that it is only a waste of resources and money by the governing bodies, as he believes that these resources and funds would have been more appropriate to use to develop the game and attract more young people to play the game. The changes that are discussed only affect 0.01 percent of the total number of golfers who practice golf, and they are professionals, and therefore the sport will not gain any benefit in general, he believes that it is better to use local rules in professional tournaments so that the regulatory bodies create a competitive environment for all professionals.
On the other hand, some believe that golf will lose a lot of its popularity if the ability of some players to hit the ball a farther distance continues, this will affect the competitiveness of most players and thus the competitiveness of the sport and its popularity greatly, and this is what the governing bodies of the game seek to avoid through the proposals of new laws which will be decided in the coming months.
