New balls please?

A Model Local Rule could become available in 2026 allowing tournaments to require that entrants use a restricted golf ball. Fergus Bisset analyses what this could mean for golf…

- Fergus Bisset

Bryson driving it 375 yards, 650-yard par 5s reachable in two, classic courses becoming obsolete; the issue of increasing distance within elite golf has been a point of discussion for more than 20 years.

The governing bodies (The R&A and USGA) have observed and monitored increasing hitting distances in elite golf over the last two decades and have stated repeatedly that they feel the proven increases are detrimental to the game – that they reduce the

What’s been announced?

In March this year, The R&A and USGA proposed a new Model Local Rule (MLR) to be available from January 2026, which competition organisers could enforce to ensure competitors would have to play golf balls that don’t go as far as the currently legal balls that are universally used. It’s effectively a Local Rule that would lead to a bifurcation – a split or division within golf – with professionals and elite amateurs using one type of new, altered ball and regular amateurs continuing to use balls of the current specification.

The specification on the limits of the new ‘elite’ ball conforming to the MLR would be determined through a change in ball testing procedure, using a driver and robot tester as follows: golf balls that conform to the MLR would not be allowed to exceed the current Overall Distance Standard (ODS) limit of 317 yards (plus three yards tolerance) at modified Actual Launch Conditions (ALC) – a clubhead speed of 127mph based on a calibration set-up for 11 degrees and 37 revolutions per second (2,220rpm).