As golf's governing bodies continue to determine the appropriate steps for curbing ever-increasing hitting distances, the USGA and R&A provided an update on Wednesday.
After consulting with industry stakeholders, the governing bodies are narrowing their focus on research topics initially presented in a February 2021 release. Specifically, this targets two areas of interest, both of which are explained in-depth in an official notice sent to equipment manufacturers:
- 1. Potential changes to the testing methods for golf balls.
- 2. Model Local Rules for club performance characteristics.
In regards to ball testing, the USGA and R&A plan to investigate the impact of increasing the launch speed when determining conformance to the Overall Distance Standard so that the launch conditions better reflect the clubhead speeds of the game's longest hitters.