News

TaylorMade CEO: We firmly oppose ball rollback, bifurcation

Published

8 years ago

Mar 13, 2018

Last Monday, the USGA and R&A’s annual Distance Report pointed to an increase in distance in professional golf since last year and pledged continued study of the “concerning” trend.

Titleist was the first of the OEMs to respond, citing several issues with the USGA’s research and stating the uptick in distance “is not suddenly indicative of a harmful trend.”

We’ve also heard from Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker, and Lucas Glover.

Now, David Abeles, CEO of TaylorMade, has this to say.

“We have meticulously reviewed the USGA and R&A’s 2017 Distance Report and discussed its findings with key stakeholders. Additionally, we have carefully considered the inferred implications that the study may have on the game moving forward. The TaylorMade Golf Company firmly opposes any potential roll back of product performance or bifurcation of the rules in any form as we believe these movements will be detrimental to the game at every level.

“We are optimistic about golf’s future and we believe that the growth initiatives our industry has invested in are beginning to drive participation momentum in our sport. Any separation from the rules or any step backward in performance would be disadvantageous to the growth of the game.

“For millions of golfers of all skill levels, we believe innovation and technology lead to better performance, and better performance brings more joy to the game for all who play it.

“As the discussion around bifurcation and rollback formalizes, we look forward to having a seat at the table to lend our voice. Until then, we will continue to create the best performing products for all golfers.”

What do you think, GolfWRX members?

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Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

9 Comments

Harry

Mar 16, 2018 at 2:15 am

The USGA “could” standardize the ball and decide that all pros in whatever tour would have to play the same ball. Every ball sport does that. MLB uses wooden bats for the same kind of reasons (also to protect the pitchers)- it limits the velocity of the ball off the bats. The players can use whatever wooden bat brand or design, but the same ball for all of them. To have different balls might truly be game changing for that sport. Why not for professional golf?

Reply Report comment
Greg Platupe

Mar 14, 2018 at 1:32 pm

If something doesn’t happen, we will be needing 8000 yard courses to give same challenge as the 6700 course used to . Rounds are getting too long cause the avg Joe can’t play at these new yardages needed to maintain challenge

Reply Report comment
- Chris
  
  Mar 14, 2018 at 2:00 pm
  
  Don’t play from the tips
  
  Reply Report comment
steve

Mar 13, 2018 at 5:27 pm

Here’s the rub…. the tour style balls do not provide the average golfer with more distance or better control. However, duffers will still want to buy the tour type balls in the hopeless hope their game will improve. That’s what TM and others are counting on… scam the gullible recreational golfer with costly golf balls that promise great improvements to their game.

Reply Report comment
Mat

Mar 13, 2018 at 4:29 pm

Don’t bifurcate equipment. If you want to have simplified on-course rules for non-tournament play, great! I’m all in for that. We all kind of do it anyway, and the rules are moving that way. Split or no, whatevs. But absolutely, 100% do not in any way split the equipment rules. It is the one thing that connects us to everyone else. So and so hits it 320? Cool. He’s 40 yards past me. Wow. If you have the conversation “He hits it 280, but he has to use a reduced ball and driver”, that just means that you’re cheating, figuratively, to reach the same results. That’s not fun.

No one plays basketball with a size smaller just because NBA guys have big hands. High school baseball uses the same baseball, and the same CoR bats (albeit aluminum). If the USGA decided to roll back equipment, that’ll be a small bummer, but fine – just don’t split it.

Reply Report comment
- J Zilla
  
  Mar 13, 2018 at 5:06 pm
  
  WRT basketball, there are different rules for different levels. Different 3 point lines, different fouls, International basketball had different lines on their courts, women and men use different size balls etc.
  
  HS baseball typically uses a different ball than the Majors as does college or American Legion.
  
  NCAA football uses a different ball than the NFL which in turn use a different ball than high school.
  
  Really what it comes down to is if the pro golf game remains an exciting product and if distance gains tearing apart old courses or distance gains making the product boring, then they should consider making rules to aid in increasing entertainment value. Pro sports are products and so are constantly tweaking their rules at the pro level to maintain or increase their excitement level. So what if they make rules that affect .001% of all golfers? You can still play your current clubs and the latest ball. It’s not like the vast majority of golfers should be playing pro level equipment anyway.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Rich Douglas
    
    Mar 13, 2018 at 11:56 pm
    
    Yes, but those are all spectator sports for the average fan; they don’t play those games. But they play golf, so using the same equipment (well, equipment conforming to the same standards) and playing by the same rule matters.
    
    Reply Report comment
tlmck

Mar 13, 2018 at 12:42 pm

In defense of bifurcation, that’s sort of already happened. The pros and top amateurs already play a different game from everybody else. On the other side, if you do not maintain a handicap and play in tournaments, you are perfectly free to use non-conforming equipment. The USGA are not law enforcement.

And, if you want to play the same equipment as the pros, you are free to do that as well.

Reply Report comment
Joseph Weiner

Mar 13, 2018 at 12:19 pm

Good for TM. I’ve been tweeting-texting-commenting wherever I can. LEAVE the BALL Alone! and do not bifurcate this game.

Reply Report comment

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Tour Photo Galleries

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News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase