Solution To Golf’s Distance Problem Is Elusive

Now that the USGA and the R&A have acknowledged with an abundance of detailed data what everyone already knew – distance continues to transform golf as it has for more than a century – the bigger question is what to do about it.

And that may be golf’s unsolvable problem.

While no one denies what has happened in terms of distance, particularly over the past decade or so, there is no easy answer to curbing the steady increase in how far the best players in the game hit the ball.

At the heart of the matter is how many constituencies think distance is threatening enough that it needs to be addressed with what some will see as draconian measures (either a rollback of the golf ball or bifurcation of the rules governing equipment).

Some do. Some don’t.

Certainly, the USGA and the R&A are seriously concerned about how power and distance have changed the game, as the conclusions of their joint Distance Insights Project released Tuesday make clear, and they are rightfully concerned. It’s a different game than it was 20 ye...