Fire in the hole

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA | In another time, in another place and in different circumstances, golf’s bonfire would be burning around the proposed regulation that would dial back the golf ball used by the game’s elite players.
The model local rule – in more general terms, it’s a rollback – could be adopted in the coming months and put into effect in 2026. If grillroom discussions these days aren’t centered on the PGA Tour/LIV situation, they often land on the pending legislation by golf’s governing bodies, even though the rule would touch only the best of the best players.
It does, however, touch the soul of many more.
It speaks to the fury incited by the PGA Tour’s agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund that the USGA’s reiteration this week at the U.S. Open of its intention to move forward with the rule change felt more like a slow boil than a three-alarm fire.
Don’t think the legislation isn’t coming, though.
“I think if your question is, Do you think the right long-term solution is (doing) nothing? highly unlikely,” USGA...