Should We Limit The Pro Golf Ball? I Golf Monthly

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Do professional golfers hit the ball too far? Do the game's guardians need to do something to the golf ball to control ever-increasing distances off the tee? In this video, Dan Parker, Neil Tappin and Joel Tadman debate whether the potential introduction of the model local rule affecting golf balls is a good thing for the game and also come up with some alternate solutions to how the game's governing bodies can control distance.
Transcript
00:00 Of all the different levers you can pull to help this particular problem, he thought that
00:05 was absolutely immense.
00:07 A silly one I would bring in is limit gym time.
00:09 So max two hours of gym per week for Rory McIlroy.
00:13 It's like bifurcation kind of really already exists.
00:16 Okay, right, let's chat about one of the hottest topics in golf at the minute from an equipment
00:21 perspective anyway, specifically the golf ball and this model local rule that the RNA
00:26 and the USGA are proposing for the start of January 2026, which will see professional
00:31 golfers in elite level tournaments using a different golf ball and sort of limited performance
00:38 golf ball in these events.
00:40 Now Neil, could you clarify what the sort of parameters are here, what their testing
00:44 has been and what they might be limiting specifically?
00:47 Yeah, they're effectively what they're doing is when they're testing the golf balls, they're
00:51 going to up the swing speed, they're upping it for this purpose to 127 miles per hour
00:58 and setting it so that it has a launch characteristics of I think it's 11 degrees and 2200 RPM.
01:04 And when it's set to those with those parameters, the ball cannot go further than 317 yards.
01:12 So what they're saying is that it will be a reduction for the longest hitters of around
01:19 about 14 or 15 yards.
01:21 So that's what you're looking at.
01:22 You're looking at the likes of Rory McIlroy being reined in by 14 or 15 yards for other
01:27 golfers who are less fast.
01:29 It will be, I guess, incrementally less than that, the difference.
01:34 Thank you.
01:35 Good clarification on that because that's something we have to understand before we
01:37 get into this debate.
01:38 And now one of the biggest problems is what this would do is bring bifurcation into golf,
01:42 i.e. professional golfers using different equipment to amateurs and what we would use,
01:47 which very few professional sports do.
01:49 I think a lot of people aren't particularly keen on.
01:53 So I don't know where to start this debate, really, because it's the distance debate,
01:56 isn't it?
01:57 And it's do we have a problem with professional golfers hitting the ball very far, which they
02:00 are doing?
02:03 I hate very few things in life.
02:05 Aston Villa, kidney beans in Chile don't like those things.
02:08 Would say I hate them, but it's a very strong word.
02:11 However, I hate this proposal.
02:12 I really, really think it is just sort of backward.
02:16 There are hundreds of things that golf that needs to be fixed in golf at the minute.
02:20 This is outside of those 100 things.
02:23 Golf's in a good spot at the minute.
02:24 I don't know why we're toying with this specific part, but Joel, let's talk about distance.
02:32 Do you think it's a problem in the game?
02:33 Cause I don't even think this is if Roy McIlroy, as he just has done at the match by Austin
02:39 hit a 359 yard drive to 10 feet.
02:42 That's brilliant.
02:43 He's watched that and he's earned the right to do that by having such a good golf swing
02:47 and spending time in the gym.
02:49 So do you think this is an issue?
02:50 Basically the distance debate before we come onto the ball bit specifically, it distance
02:53 a problem in the game.
02:55 I think if distances continue as they are, it could get to a point where it gets a bit
03:03 ridiculous.
03:04 I take your point about Rory.
03:05 Yeah.
03:06 We saw Bryson as well at Bay Hill hitting that shot over the lake, you know, and these rules,
03:10 you know, from 2026 onwards essentially mean we're not going to see something like that,
03:14 which I think is a massive, you know, negative for the viewing experience.
03:19 We're often talking about the product that people are watching and how it's kind of not
03:22 as good as it used to be.
03:24 And with these moments not happening, I think the product is therefore kind of diluted and
03:29 it's definitely not as exciting.
03:31 I kind of, I am a bit on the fence in preparation for this podcast.
03:35 I wrote down a list of pros and cons for this rule.
03:39 I have to say the cons were a lot longer than the pros.
03:43 Like I get, I get the concept of not affecting the recreational game.
03:48 That's really important.
03:49 Like amateur golf is in a really good position.
03:53 This implementation, the idea they've come up with is probably the easiest to implement
03:57 at local level.
03:58 It, you know, they obviously had some problems when they went down looking at the golf club
04:02 route.
04:03 They had to, if they wanted to reduce the sweet spot, they would go into three wood
04:07 territory and then that would actually three woods would then be longer than drivers.
04:10 So this is, this is obviously the best solution on table in their opinion.
04:14 I actually got a different solution, which I think would be better and easier and cheaper
04:18 for everybody.
04:19 We can go on to that at the end of the brainwave job.
04:24 I haven't thought of it, but you know, it's, it's, it, yeah, there's a lot of reasons why
04:33 the box, the golf ball is going, but people are hitting it further.
04:36 It's not just the golf ball, the technology and golf club.
04:38 It's, you know, players generally on tour.
04:41 They're a lot taller, they're younger, they're fitter.
04:44 Fairways are faster, rush shorter.
04:47 Launch monitors are becoming more prevalent.
04:48 People are understanding how they hit it further.
04:51 And this, this rule kind of covers all those areas.
04:54 I just think when you look at the data, like the prevalence or the emphasis on distance
05:01 when it comes to people winning golf tournaments is actually not as high as it, as people probably
05:07 think it is.
05:08 So that if you've seen Mark Brody published a report, obviously Mark Brody being the pioneer
05:13 of strokes gained.
05:15 And there's some interesting findings within that that suggests that actually distance
05:19 isn't as important at winning golf tournaments on the PJ tour as people probably think it
05:24 is.
05:25 So let me reel off a couple of facts that, that might, you know,
05:29 It's interesting.
05:33 So for example, driving's contribution to winning tournaments has changed by less than
05:38 2% since 2004 and winners in the week they win gain 18% of their scoring advantage from
05:48 driving, which has changed by less than 2%, which they, which Mark Brody deems as statistically
05:54 insignificant.
05:56 So the final point I would make is that Martin slumbers during that press conference, which
06:03 was a great press conference.
06:04 I don't know if you sat in on that with the USGA and the RNA.
06:08 He said something along the lines of the balance between skill and technology has got out of
06:13 kilter.
06:14 And I don't, I don't agree with that.
06:16 I think being able to hit the ball a long way is a skill.
06:20 And the good thing about this model like a rule is the longer hitters will still be the
06:24 longer hitters.
06:25 So they still have their advantage.
06:28 But what he says, I think he, what he's essentially saying is that golf has become a bit of a
06:32 driver wedge game and that the skill of hitting a long iron is becoming less important.
06:40 Actually, when you look at the data, one final step for you is that the number of approach
06:46 shots on the PGA tour hit between 50, 150 yards has actually reduced since 2004.
06:54 So I think that's there, Joel backing up my hatred of this.
06:57 Thank you.
06:58 Yeah.
06:59 I think on the face of it, you look at some of the hitting distances, like average ball
07:03 speed, average distance.
07:04 Yes, it is increasing and scoring average is reducing slightly.
07:08 But when you look at the effects of driving on winning tournaments, it's not as prevalent
07:14 as it, as it probably people think is a great case there, Joel.
07:19 Now, Neil, I know you are golf monthies voice of reason, or perhaps just, I think you're
07:24 going to be able to sort of give us some balance to this because this is a debate.
07:28 Before I let you come in here, I'm going to read out some of Taylor made's response to
07:33 this.
07:34 So title list and Bridgestone also released a statement on this.
07:37 Obviously they have a slight vested interest, but Taylor made said, and the key part of
07:41 their statement for me was we believe a large part of golf's appeal is the underlying sense
07:45 of I can do that too.
07:47 And having the professionals using the same stuff that you can, it's actually quite fun
07:51 and an appealing part of it.
07:53 So taking that on board and what Joel said, what are your opinions on this model local
07:58 rule potentially coming into play in 2026?
08:01 Yeah, I take, would take what everything that Joel has said there, and I wouldn't disagree
08:06 with any of it, much of it.
08:09 I, and I, I totally get all of the points and particularly the point for me, I think
08:14 around probably the amount of money that would be required to bring this sort of thing in
08:19 to get all of the manufacturers to, to design it effectively a new golf ball for a very
08:25 few number of golfers is going to cost quite a bit of money.
08:29 And then what happens then to the price of the equipment that people have to purchase
08:36 in order to play the game that could potentially have a negative impact.
08:41 But then I also look at it from the perspective of if, as Joel said, right in the beginning
08:47 of his bit, if they don't do something now, where are we going to be in 20 years time?
08:54 You know, it, I don't know whether there is an answer to this question or it's an easy
08:59 answer and I'm not sure that the golf ball is the, that restricting the golf ball is
09:04 the way to do it.
09:06 But one of my frustrations, I think with professional golf is when you get to a big tournament and
09:13 you're invested and you're right at the end of it and you're like, Oh, he, this person
09:17 has got one shot lead and they've got that 480 yards 18th hole to play, which is an absolute
09:22 beast.
09:23 This is going to be a real test.
09:25 They are now so good at hitting the ball a long way and be at handling the pressure that
09:31 they just obliterate that final hole and it's the amount of times where the brutal final
09:36 hole, a big, big tournament has been reduced to a driver and a wedge.
09:40 Now I'm not sure that's the fault of the golf ball.
09:43 I'm not sure it's the fault of the driver.
09:45 I think that it's so many contributing factors that these players are so good under pressure
09:50 and you are watching the best players in that tournament at the very end of the tournament
09:55 who are, their confidence is high because they're playing really well.
09:58 They're hitting it miles and they've reduced a really difficult hole to a driver and a
10:03 middle short iron and made it look dead easy.
10:07 And then the other parts of the proposal that kind of, I raised an eyebrow at was the relatively
10:13 small amount that they were looking to roll the golf ball back.
10:17 Just restricting, for instance, let's say Rory, whoever it might be by 15 yards just
10:22 didn't seem like an awful lot to me.
10:25 But having said all of that, that I said, I sort of do understand and I do get that
10:31 what the ruling bodies are saying about protecting the game and trying to ensure that they have
10:37 a really watchable tour product for people because that has a role to play in growing
10:41 the game and ensuring that the balance of skill is right, that you've got players hitting
10:46 all different shots.
10:47 So if we could get to a point where the players are not hitting, and again, this is another
10:51 one, sorry, this is a, this is Tony, but one of my bug beds with professional golf is that
10:55 so many of them hit a baby fade off the tee because that's the safest shot.
10:59 I'd love to see a bit more.
11:01 I would love to see a bit more creativity.
11:03 Now I don't know how you go about getting that.
11:06 It's really difficult, but someone like Rory or Justin Thomas or Jordan Spieth, John Robb,
11:11 whoever it might be, that's got all the shots in their locker.
11:15 How often do you see them hit all the shots?
11:17 Is that the fault of the equipment?
11:20 Is it the fault of the horses they play?
11:22 Is it the conditions that they're playing in?
11:24 Because they're always playing somewhere sunny and nice and warm.
11:27 And is it, is that even a problem?
11:28 I don't know.
11:29 That's my issue with this whole conversation.
11:31 And you both made really good points on either side of the argument, I think, but I don't,
11:36 and there might be people watching and listening, let us know.
11:38 I don't have a problem with the distance.
11:40 Good for them.
11:41 You know, Pudos, maybe the solution, if we don't want to see tournaments won at 25 under
11:47 par, I mean, is that a problem?
11:48 I don't really mind about that either.
11:49 Good for you.
11:50 69 instead of 72.
11:51 There you go.
11:52 Something like that.
11:53 Let's grow the rough up.
11:54 I don't know.
11:55 We've seen obviously Augusta's move the 13th tee back a good chunk.
11:59 I can't remember off the top of my head, what, 40, 50 yards to make that par five a bit tougher.
12:03 Is that the answer?
12:04 Is there a problem at all with distance?
12:07 I really don't mind it too much.
12:09 Joel, I do now, you've, you've, you've piqued my interest when you said you've got some
12:13 sort of solution for all of us.
12:15 And if anyone's in the US, you're on RNA are watching.
12:18 You're welcome.
12:19 But what's about to come?
12:20 Come on, Joel, help us out here with some common sense thinking.
12:23 I mean, I'm sure they, I'm sure they considered this, but I don't, I struggled to see a negative
12:30 of this.
12:31 So my, my solution would be to reduce tee height.
12:34 Yeah, you had mentioned this before to me.
12:39 Yeah.
12:40 Whether it's an inch or whatever it might be, because I think the reason, one of the
12:45 main reasons why golfers are hitting the ball further is because they're able to spin it
12:50 less.
12:51 And the reason they're able to spin it less is because they can hit up on the ball a lot
12:54 more.
12:55 And it's been proven by launch monitors that that is one of the key ingredients to hitting
12:58 the ball further.
12:59 If you lower the tee height to whatever it might be, obviously they need to do some testing,
13:04 et cetera.
13:06 Immediately reduce the ability of players to either their attack angle could become
13:11 a bit more level, maybe not up or maybe not down, but there'd be more level spin would
13:16 increase the distance potential would come down.
13:19 So I mean, they would need to be possibly quite dramatic to have an impact, but that
13:24 reduction in spin, and maybe, maybe that wouldn't have a big enough impact on distance, but
13:29 it would certainly be a really easy thing to implement in the short term that would
13:35 knock off a few yards and it could be investigated further.
13:38 Okay.
13:39 Playing devil's advocate.
13:40 How do you please that?
13:43 I think you have to have a person on every tee box at a tournament with a small measuring
13:47 tape and they just gently come up as they're teeing up and they go, yeah, you're in, you're
13:51 in the margins of that.
13:52 You just have a maximum tee length that you're allowed to use.
13:54 And that's, that's what goes in the bag.
13:56 Yeah.
13:57 Yeah.
13:58 I mean, that is very interesting idea.
13:59 Yeah.
14:00 I like it.
14:01 I like Neil's point earlier about even what this model local rule is, is suggesting now
14:07 is that it's only, it's only taking what 15 yards off 10 yards off.
14:10 And you said there's your, it might not take that much off really.
14:13 So why, why are we bothering?
14:15 And now I've circled back to the, why do we care about how far golfers hit it at the minute?
14:20 Do you actually think it's bad for the game either?
14:22 The golfers are hitting it really far.
14:24 That's that's why I see your point earlier, Neil, of everything becomes driver wedge.
14:28 Right now.
14:29 I don't, I love it.
14:30 I was watching the, you referenced the world match play.
14:33 They play that par four over water that they, a lot of them can hit.
14:38 And the shots that they hit on that hole are, were ridiculous.
14:42 Like the amount of people that are hitting shots that are coming in softly and landing
14:46 and stopping quite close to the flag.
14:48 That's amazing to watch.
14:49 It's fantastic to watch.
14:51 And if anything, that's the sort of stuff that's, that's going to engage viewers, isn't
14:57 it?
14:58 It's a nice clip on Instagram.
14:59 It's a nice vertical video.
15:00 We're recording this the day after the Thursday of the match play.
15:07 And I didn't see Rory shot live, but I woke up this morning on Twitter, 1.5 million views
15:12 already of that shot.
15:13 He hit into the 18th today that moves the needle for the PGA tour that gets people interested
15:18 in golf.
15:19 Um, Justin Thomas said, we don't make the net smaller for basketball players.
15:22 We didn't make Usain Bolt run in treacle.
15:25 This is the beauty of sport is that people are sort of chasing the next level being the
15:29 top 0.1% of what they do.
15:31 And if we take that away from golf, I'm worried it might damage the sport as a whole.
15:35 I would just add that I don't envy the RNA and USGA on this.
15:41 And I think that that is a really difficult topic to figure out a solution for.
15:46 And it is incumbent on them to make sure that they're up with, you know, upholding all of
15:51 the, um, the sort of traditional values of the sport.
15:55 Um, so I, I, I, I sort of don't want to criticize them too much.
15:59 No, it's fair.
16:00 I understand where it feels like I did, but do they have to do something?
16:06 I think that in 20 years time, when you look down the road, you might well look back to
16:10 this point and think to yourself, why didn't they act?
16:13 Well now I can, I can sort of understand it.
16:16 I'm not sure of all the different levers you can pull to help this particular problem.
16:22 I just don't know.
16:23 It's it's, it's, I'm not as strident on this as so many people are on social people like
16:28 you, Danny, come out and go, I hate it.
16:30 I hate it.
16:31 I'm not, I don't maybe fit into that box, but at the same time, I'm not a hundred percent
16:34 sure it is right.
16:37 But then I look at the alternatives that what Joel's just said is interesting.
16:40 I quite like, I like that.
16:42 I also like the idea of reducing maybe the number of clubs they have in the bag.
16:46 Just take a couple of clubs out.
16:47 Yeah.
16:48 Don't mind that.
16:49 It's a lot, isn't it on your lever pulling analogy there of what they can pull to help
16:53 this situation.
16:54 I would pull the lever that grows the rough up a bit that makes courses a bit tougher.
16:57 I don't see why that's.
16:58 So if you do miss a fairway, you stuffed.
17:02 But yeah, it's, it's perhaps it's debate Joel coming from the fact that we are worried about
17:06 what might happen in 20.
17:07 We're worried about the thing that hasn't happened yet.
17:09 And then all of a sudden a 400 yard carry becomes, um, right.
17:14 Is that where this is coming from is our sort of anxiety about the future.
17:17 Yeah.
17:18 Like definitely.
17:19 I think if we keep going as we are, the distances that people are hitting it will be unsustainable
17:26 on, on the golf courses that they're playing.
17:28 Like say for example, um, drive a distance on holes where players would use a driver
17:32 has increased by 8.2 yards per decade.
17:35 So clearly there is a, you know, if we continue that, that's not going to be sustainable.
17:39 Something needs to be done.
17:40 I agree with you.
17:41 I do think distant gains could be better mitigated through core setup.
17:45 And there's so many ways they could do that.
17:48 Whether it's, um, growing the rough up, making the fairways narrower, the green, smaller
17:52 plaking, placing more of a premium on hitting the fairways.
17:56 Ultimately we need to stop making the golf courses longer because make longer golf courses
18:01 rewards longer hitters and increased emphasis on driving distance.
18:07 So like, that's a bit counterintuitive actually, isn't it?
18:09 Popping that back on Augusta, for example, it does feel like these changes are kind of
18:14 attacking the ways that the best players in the world are playing some of the most iconic
18:19 holes in golf.
18:20 And you know, the powers that be are thinking, oh, they, they shouldn't be knocking the ball
18:24 on the green on the 18th.
18:25 That's in Andrews or the 10th of Riviera.
18:29 But actually that's just the evolution.
18:30 That's just changed.
18:31 That's what happens.
18:32 And a lot of that is down to other things like the wind or the firmness of the fairways
18:37 and things like that.
18:39 Um, so it really only kind of applies to a very small percentage of golf courses that
18:44 have ambitions to host elite or high level professional tournament, a small number of
18:49 golfers as well.
18:50 Yeah.
18:51 And that's it.
18:52 Yeah.
18:53 And if you think about it, like rolling the back of the ball, it doesn't really open it
18:57 up to more courses being able to host these events because they don't really have the
19:00 money or the space or the infrastructure around it to host events anyway.
19:05 So again, that's another reason to think, why are we doing this?
19:09 It feels like a storm in a teacup of the 1% of all of golf's existence, i.e. the elite
19:14 courses and the elite golfers.
19:15 And we're chatting about this now, whereas I feel like, uh, perhaps a new fan to the
19:20 game who watched full swing, um, documentary on Netflix over February is now sat watching
19:25 the match play and just loving what they're seeing and not worrying about this and just
19:27 enjoying the sport and the innovation that's coming from it.
19:30 Yeah.
19:31 When I showed, when I, when I showed my son that shot that Bryson hit that you talked
19:35 about before, when he cleared the lake on the half pipe.
19:37 He's given it the old big double point.
19:39 Yeah.
19:40 He thought that was absolutely immense.
19:42 And that's great.
19:43 And it's hard to disagree.
19:44 And then there was also one of the right cut where he just hit the ball on a totally different
19:47 line to anybody else.
19:48 And it's just like, well, that's just gone straight into the deep cabbage.
19:51 And it just appeared from nowhere on the middle of the fairway.
19:54 I think at that same tournament, he topped a hybrid off the tee in the final round,
19:58 you know?
19:59 And it's great to see he was still fallible, you know, and that's the beauty of the sport.
20:02 Can I just add one, one small point, something that came in yesterday from our cost was looking
20:07 at how amateur distances have changed or haven't changed over the last five years.
20:12 And that was, they've got pretty, pretty big data set.
20:15 Yeah.
20:16 I think they looked at, I think it was 20 million drives hit between 2018 and 2022.
20:22 And for men driving distance, um, basically for men and for women driving distances gone
20:28 down, but only fractionally.
20:29 So it's gone down over that period of time, but it's very, very similar to what it was.
20:34 Interesting.
20:35 So it is, it is really interesting.
20:38 And part of the excitement of golf is hitting the ball a long way.
20:42 And part of the skill in golf is hitting the long ball away whilst keeping it on the golf
20:47 course.
20:48 Um, but then, you know, it's fascinating.
20:52 I think what we have done here in this chat, which opened my eyes a little bit, and maybe
20:56 I'm off the hate fence and onto the dislike fence for now, but it is, there's still the
21:02 RNA and the USG have to look after the game and it has to still be this limit between
21:05 skill and technology.
21:06 Doesn't that, that we have to acknowledge it and not poo poo this too much as perhaps
21:10 I am and dismiss it.
21:12 Cause it is a problem.
21:13 It's about how we go about it.
21:14 I, a silly one I would bring in is limit gym time.
21:18 So max two hours of gym per week for Roy McIlroy.
21:20 Cause if everyone looked like me sort of five 11 and not that heavy, wet through, you're
21:26 not hitting the ball much further.
21:27 Are you?
21:28 So let's, let's limit the gym time.
21:29 So I'm going to go for one final point.
21:32 Go on, Joel.
21:33 Wrap us up.
21:34 Is that I don't agree with the whole, Oh, bifurcation is bad.
21:38 Like unification is good for the game because you know, if you look at the equipment, a
21:42 lot of the players are using a lot of it is stuff that you people can't buy at retail.
21:47 The amount of tour only clubs out there, it looks like bifurcation kind of really already
21:52 exists the amount, you know, you look at pro everyone, pro everyone X, I think there's
21:56 20 different versions on the USDA conforming list, whether it's left dot left dash, all
22:00 the different versions.
22:01 I know left dash has recently been put into retail, but I think there's a lot more tour
22:07 only stuff that's used by the world's best players that people probably know about and
22:13 that bifurcation does to a degree already exist.
22:16 So I don't really kind of accept that argument that the ball manufacturer is making.
22:20 That's an interesting point.
22:21 I hadn't thought of actually Joel.
22:23 And also just to back, just to sort of add to that point, Joel, if the longest players
22:27 in the world started to hit the ball a bit shorter, then would we all feel like we were
22:32 playing the game more than in a more similar way than we do currently.
22:38 So the average driving distance for men is two to 5.9 and for women is one seven seven.
22:44 So that's a massive difference between those numbers and the sort of numbers we're talking
22:48 about on tour.
22:50 So they are, I mean, yes, we're playing the same game, but they are playing a totally
22:54 different game in terms of how far they hit the ball.
22:57 So I, so should we get caught up in the whole thing of we're all playing the same sport
23:03 because it's like, well, they're so much better than we are.
23:06 They hit the ball so much further than we do.
23:08 I don't know.
23:09 I'm going, I clearly I'm going around in circles on this.
23:11 And I think this, this actually encourages further bifurcation because I think was if,
23:16 if this model local rule is adopted, we'll see manufacturers bringing out lower spinning
23:21 drivers to try and get the ball going a bit further.
23:25 So even when they will always find a way players on tour, they have the speed to be at and
23:33 the attack angle to be able to deliver low spin.
23:35 And therefore they can opt for more forgiving heads that gives them a bit more playability.
23:38 But with this ball going shorter, they're going to put the touch, you know, give, give
23:43 up some of the accuracy in search of getting more distance and a bit more risk.
23:48 And they will be using lower spin drivers.
23:50 They'll have to do a lot more practice of striking the middle of the face.
23:52 They'll really work on their driving.
23:54 As you say, they will adapt.
23:55 We're humans.
23:56 We adapt.
23:57 We say that we're innovative creatures, aren't we?
23:59 We want to be better.
24:00 So maybe the distance for that innovation either, do you, you don't feel like me when
24:07 I play my PGA 2k 23 game on the PlayStation and my little career man who I made, you know,
24:13 he hit it to 96 cause that's just the way the game is programmed at the minute for me.
24:17 And I just feel if all of a sudden every driver's going three 17 or whatever, I know it will
24:20 be different in conditions, but it would just feel unnatural, slightly manufactured, slightly
24:26 unreal.
24:27 I don't know.
24:28 We could talk about this for hours.
24:29 I think chaps.
24:30 And I think there's a lot like a lot of things people need to ask themselves really, who
24:32 are watching, do you care about how far the pros hit it?
24:35 Do you want to feel like you can do the same thing that pros can do if, you know, if the
24:40 equipment is there for you, do you want to see harder golf courses?
24:44 Do you mind if someone wins a 25 under par?
24:46 Do you want to see Roy McIlroy hit green for 350 yards out?
24:48 These are the things we have to ask before we worry about this distance thing.
24:51 Uh, there is a problem.
24:52 And I think we've acknowledged that as well.
24:54 Um, what we'd love to hear what you think, because we've been chatting away for a while
24:57 about this now.
24:58 Um, do you care, do you want to see this?
25:00 Have you got any other good ideas?
25:01 Like perhaps my gym time idea or Joel's perhaps more sensible, uh, shorting of the T, which
25:06 I very much liked.
25:07 Um, let us know what you think about that and this debate in general, because I think
25:10 it's got a lot of people talking.
25:12 Uh, but I think I'd about wrap it up this episode of the gear of the week show.
25:16 Joel, thank you very much for your insights as always.
25:18 Very enjoyable.
25:19 Always a pleasure.
25:20 Neil, thank you very much.
25:22 Great debating with you this morning.
25:24 Thank you, Dan.
25:25 Cheers.
25:26 And thank you everyone for watching.
25:27 We'll see you next time.
25:28 Bye.
25:28 Bye.
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