Golf is in desperate need of the golf ball rollback, which is set to come into effect in 2028.
Technology’s rapid advances in the sport have seen some of the world’s greatest and most historic courses become nearly obsolete in recent years. The Home of Golf, St Andrews, is undergoing renovations in a desperate attempt to keep up with the ridiculous distances of the average professional golfer.
In 2025, the average driving distance on the PGA Tour was 302.8 yards. Hitting the ball over 300 yards used to be an achievement, but now it’s expected, and what used to be obstacles on the course can now easily be bypassed. Rory McIlroy criticized Royal Melbourne for exactly that reason.
We hoped that help would be on the way, as the golf ball rollback implemented by the sport’s governing bodies, the USGA and the R&A, plans to curb the ever-increasing hitting distances in the sport. The testing conditions used to determine if a golf ball is legal are set to become harder to pass in 2028.
But McIlroy, among other prominent PGA Tour players, has already noticed a significant problem with the new golf balls, which could make the entire rollback pointless.
Why Rory McIlroy is ‘frustrated’ with the rollback golf ball
Golf ball manufacturers have been given until 2028 to meet the new criteria, and McIlroy thinks this head start means that by the time the new rule comes into play, they will have found a way to make it meaningless.
In fact, he said that Shane Lowry notices no difference between the balls already, which is a worrying sign, since professionals can typically notice even the smallest of changes of how the ball comes off the club face.
McIlroy, speaking to Fried Egg Golf, explained: “If you talk to the players who have played or tried the rollback ball, it is usually people from one manufacturer. If you talk to others, I have a very good friend in Shane Lowry, who plays a certain brand of golf ball and he noticed no difference at all.
“I think we’re frustrated as an industry as well, because I think the lead time that these equipment companies have been given to figure it out, by the time we have played this ball in 2028, there is not going to be a difference or the difference is going to be so marginal it’s not going to make a difference.
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“That is the hard thing. It’s very hard for the governing bodies and equipment regulators to stay ahead of the equipment manufacturers. Because the equipment manufacturers have more money to do R&D and test and stay ahead of the regulations.
“So that has then got to start looking at, do you limit the size of the club head? I think by just approaching it one way with the golf ball is one thing and I think it’s a big part of it, but I think you have to approach it from all angles, not just the ball.
“The ball is a good start but these equipment manufacturers are so good and have so many resources that by the time we play this thing in 2028, there is not going to be a difference between what we have now and what we might have in three years’ time.”
According to McIlroy, it’s a real problem that manufacturers have far better infrastructure and funding than the governing bodies themselves, so far stricter rules are needed to prevent technology from getting out of hand.
Bryson DeChambeau called golf ball rollback ‘atrocious’
It’s unsurprising that McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau are on opposite sides of this debate. While he disagrees with how it’s being implemented, McIlroy is all for the change. Meanwhile, LIV Golf’s DeChambeau called it “atrocious”.
He argued that golf fans want to see him hit the ball farther and farther, and DeChambeau is even designing a new golf ball to cope with his hard-hitting.
The American said in 2023, “It’s a great handicap for us guys that have worked really hard to learn how to hit it farther. Look, if they do it in a way where it only affects the top end, I see the rationale.
“But I think it’s the most atrocious thing that you could possibly do to the game of golf. It’s not about rolling golf balls back; it’s about making golf courses more difficult.
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“I think it’s the most unimaginative, uninspiring, game-cutting thing you could do. Everybody wants to see people hit it farther. That’s part of the reason why a lot of people like what I do. It’s part of the reason a lot of people don’t like what I do.”
It’s a pretty short-sighted view. Yes, people like to see DeChambeau drive the green with incredible distance. But that’s because it’s hard to do. The easier it is for him to hit long drives, the less interesting it becomes.
No one wants to see par fours become par threes, and par threes become pitch and putts. And if anything, the new ball would give him more of an advantage. He’d still be longer off the tee than anyone else, so he’d have a shorter club into the green, rather than everyone having wedges on approach.
Yes, there are likely better ways to slow the rapid advancement of technology, but if he wants to retain his advantage with his driver, then DeChambeau should want distance to be reduced overall.
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