Former LPGA Player Britany Lincicome has labelled the decision to roll back the ball for female golfers as "silly", while several current players have admitted their surprise at being affected by the governing bodies' recent announcement.
After years of research and consultation, this week the R&A and USGA finally confirmed plans to roll back the golf ball for both recreational players and professionals alike. The governing bodies have argued that protecting golf course sustainability and curbing the ever-increasing driving distances of pros are key reasons behind the decisions.
A bifurcation of the golf ball had been initially proposed back in March, which would have seen only male professionals affected by the changes, but after widescale criticism from tour pros and manufacturers, the governing bodies opted for a universal rollback.
This, however, has not gone down well with some female pros, with two-time Major champion Lincicome one of those who is disappointed by the decision.
“We aren’t asking football players to run slower or tennis players to not hit the ball so hard,” Lincicome said, speaking to NBC Sports. “It Just seems silly.
“I haven’t talked to one person who thinks it’s a good idea."
The 38-year-old earned the nickname "Bam-Bam" during her early professional days for her impressive length off the tee. In 2006, her second season on Tour, she led the LPGA in driving distance with an average of 278.6 yards. 17 years on, the leading average is Germany's Polly Mack with 281.7 yards - an increase of just over four yards.
Such data would seem to suggest only a gradual increase in driving distance in the women's professional game, hence the surprise from many leading pros that they were included in this week's rollback.
"I was a little surprised because I don’t think that golf courses for us play pretty short, in my opinion,” World No. 1 Lilia Vu said. “You can see from the majors they’re pretty difficult and in my opinion some of our regular-season events, too, so I wasn’t entirely ready.”
"I'm sure the USGA are going to do what they think is in the best interest of the game but there was definitely a bit of surprise," fellow American Megan Khang added on the topic, echoing Vu's thoughts.
The LPGA, however, has supported the universal nature of the rollback but also acknowledged they don't believe distance to be a problem in the women's game.
"We support the USGA and R&A’s decision to eliminate their previous proposal for the implementation of a Model Local Rule related to the golf ball as we believe a unified approach to the game is important for the continued growth of women’s golf,” they said in their statement.
The average LPGA and LET pro will lose 5-7 yards according to the R&A and USGA's announcement, although it didn't mention how many yards the longest female hitters would lose.
One of those is Major champion and Olympic gold medallist Nelly Korda, who averaged 269 yards off the tee this season. The American plays in this week's Grant Thornton Invitational, where she said she didn't know enough to comment but said the best players will still be the best players.
"You're just going to have to adapt. It's all just about adapting. Technology constantly changes, and the best players are still going to be the best players. It's just about who's going to adapt the quickest and the easiest," she said.
