“Tell the USGA and R&A to shove off” - Golf fans react to PGA Tour’s latest rollback ruling for professional and amateur golfers

The golf world, including the PGA Tour, on Wednesday, December 6 received news of the officialization of the golf rollback rule. The announcement did not unleash less controversy just because it was expected.

After the announcement by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the R&A, the PGA Tour made a statement on its social media profiles. The entity's statement included some disagreements with what was indicated by the governing bodies.

The PGA Tour's post went viral in no time among golf fans, reaching more than 168,000 views in just one hour (considering only X).

Let's take a look at some of the reactions on X (formerly Twitter):

"Tell the USGA and R&A to shove off. Make your own standards. What makes them the gatekeepers of golf? Let’s see the PGA Tour step up and take the lead, work with the manufacturers to keep producing quality equipments for ALL golfers, and make the USGA irrelevant."

"Time to come up with your own set of rules and get rid of the USGA."

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What was the PGA Tour's statement on the ball rollback rule?

The PGA Tour issued a brief statement in which it expressed its disagreement with the clubhead speed that the ball rollback rule establishes to determine the eligible balls. However, it did not deny its application in its tournaments.

This is what the circuit stated:

"Throughout the process, we have provided feedback to the USGA and the R&A and are pleased to see a number of our recommendations reflected in this most recent announcement. However, we believe the proposed increase in test clubhead speed to 125 mph is disproportional to the rate of increase we see when analyzing PGA Tour radar data.

In conjunction with guidance from the player advisory council, player directors and policy board, we will continue to share our feedback with the USGA and the R&A."

The USGA and The R&A announced on Wednesday the implementation of the much-heralded ball rollback rule. The measure will apply to all categories of golf (including recreational) but will be phased over a period beginning in 2028 and running through 2030.

Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA, issued a statement to announce the new rule. Here is part of what he said (via NBC Sports):

"Governance is hard. And while thousands will claim that we did too much, there will be just as many who said we didn’t do enough to protect the game long-term. But from the very beginning, we’ve been driven to do what is right for the game, without bias. As we’ve said, doing nothing is not an option..."

Specifically at the level of the world's premier circuit, the rule is expected to come into effect in 2028 and it is estimated that elite players will see their long shots reduced by about 15 yards. For other categories of players, the estimated reductions are much smaller.