Aug. 26, 2026, 10:34 a.m. ET
Rory McIlroy now believes the original 2023 proposal to use a distance-reducing ball for elite players only was the correct approach.The USGA and R&A initially proposed a Model Local Rule for tournaments, which would have created two sets of rules for professionals and amateurs.After backlash, the plan was changed to a universal rollback for all players, now scheduled for 2030.McIlroy advocates for bifurcation, stating that equipment needs to be regulated at the elite level to keep historic courses relevant, while leaving amateur rules unchanged.
Rory thinks they got it right the first time.
After years of debate and countless studies, the USGA and R&A’s original proposal back in 2023 to battle distance and the trend of golf courses getting longer because elite players hit the ball farther was to create a Model Local Rule (MLR) that would allow tournaments to force players to use a distance-reducing golf ball. Recreational golfers would not play with the MLR in place, so they could continue using golf balls that conform to today’s testing standards. In other words, we’d have bifurcation, or two sets of rules governing golf.
That proposal, however, didn’t fly with many in the golf world, so the USGA and R&A changed course and announced elite players would start using distance-reducing balls in 2028 and weekend players would make the move in 2030. That, however, was recently changed to 2030. But, before the start of the U.S. Open, it was announced that discussions among the governing bodies, PGA Tour leadership, the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council, DP World Tour leadership and other stakeholders would continue.
On Tuesday at his press conference before the start of the Tour Championship, McIlroy was asked if he is encouraged by the discussions or thinks they are simply a waste of time.
“Yeah, I’d say maybe a year or two ago I was getting a little impatient and I was like, ‘Please, somebody, just do something,'” McIlroy said. “But I think that was to look at it a little bit too simplistically. Surely we can just do something about the golf ball, everyone will go back 10 or 15 yards.”
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Then, as he often does, McIlroy showed that he’s given the issue thought.
“Cameron Young and now Gary Woodland played the golf ball last week, the (Titleist) Pro V1 Double Dot, that would be a conforming golf ball if it were the 2028 or 2030 rules,” he noted. “I just think the manufacturers are so good that the governing bodies can put rules in place, but they’re going to find ways to get around them. I just think there needs to be more thought being put into it. I think what is a good thing is it seems like the governing bodies and the manufacturers and the PGA Tour are being a little bit more collaborative in terms of what they can do.
More: The Golf Ball Rollback: A timeline to understand the ongoing debate
“Yes, it may take a couple extra years to figure out what the need is, but I think everyone agrees that the equipment needs to be regulated. It needs to be regulated. It just can’t keep carrying on at the rate it’s going. Not at the elite level. 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.”
In other words, McIlroy has come around to thinking that the USGA and R&A’s first proposal, made three years ago, was probably the right way to go.
David Dusek is a senior writer at Golfweek covering golf equipment.