Report dated yesterday:
http://www.usga.org/news/2006/february/es.htmlSome quotes:
Last April, we asked the ball manufacturers to participate in the project by developing and submitting to us reduced distance golf balls that would comply with an ODS of either 15 yards or 25 yards shorter than the current standard. All the major manufacturers agreed to participate. Currently, we have received two sets of such balls. We expect to receive at least seven more sets of balls within the next two months. We understand that creating new balls with playing characteristics that will be acceptable to today’s golfers takes time and we appreciate the thorough job ball manufacturers are doing in support of our research.
We will test all these balls in the Test Center. Just as importantly, we will then evaluate the balls with real golfers of many different skill levels, from elite players to those with much slower swing speeds. We want to determine the effects that such balls would have on how the game is played by golfers of all different skill levels.
. . .
Indeed, while distance certainly remains an issue, it is part of a broader change in the way the game is being played, what some are describing as the “de-skilling” of the game at the elite level. While discussion of this controversial topic has focused on the golf ball, it actually involves the interaction of all the other factors that are involved in hitting the ball:
. . .
We also are mindful of something else in the Statement of Principles: that increased distance has other negative ramifications that we seek to avoid -- the lengthening and toughening of courses in response to increases in distance is costly and in many cases impossible. It also has negative effects on environmental and ecological issues, on the costs of maintaining courses and on the pace of play as well.