Tour Confidential: Pro golf's next battle is already here

In the world of professional golf, a new conflict is brewing, and its epicenter is the golf ball and potential rule changes that could drastically alter the game. While professionals compete in tournaments, a real drama is unfolding behind the scenes related to the so-called "rollback" – an initiative to limit the distance the ball travels.

A New Front in the "Distance Wars"

Last week, after the conclusion of the PGA Championship, the fact that player Cameron Young was playing with a ball that reportedly already conforms to new rules set to take effect in 2028 drew attention. This sparked a lively discussion among GOLF.com experts, as many expected the new ball to lead to a significant loss of distance. However, judging by Young's play, this is not entirely the case.

Jessica Marksbury, a senior editor at GOLF.com, notes that the situation is "really interesting." "The fact that this ball would reportedly be conforming, is currently in-play by one of the game’s biggest stars and can still be absolutely crushed by said star is… really interesting! I think many of us felt that the rollback would equal significant distance loss. So who knows? I guess it’s still early days," she says. Marksbury also questions the possibility of a scenario where the PGA Tour rejects the new rules, and the majors and USGA championships are played with "rolled-back" balls, while other tournaments remain the same. "Is that even a possibility? Time will tell," she concludes.

Josh Sens, a senior writer at GOLF.com, believes the news has given pause to both sides of the debate. "For those opposed to a rollback, it seemed like evidence that any hand-wringing was much ado about nothing — because Young, after all, is still murdering the ball and seeing plenty of success. For those in favor of a rollback, it seemed to suggest that the proposed changes probably aren’t going far enough — because Young, after all, is still murdering the ball and seeing plenty of success," Sens explains. In his opinion, profits are more at stake than competitive results.

Josh Schrock, an associate news editor at GOLF.com, agrees with Sens: "The news about Young’s ball made waves because he has been hitting the ball a mile and racking up wins. So, if the ball Young is using would conform to the rollback standards, it’s clearly not doing enough for those who want rollback and shows those opposed to the idea that this whole endeavor is kind of farcical. It’s not a secret that the ball needs to be rolled back, and probably in a bigger way than is already being proposed. But will the five families (likely referring to influential golf organizations) find a way to get to the place the game needs to be?"

Player Survey: Do They Have a Voice?

A week after the story about Young broke, GOLF.com reported that the PGA Tour sent a 13-question survey to PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour members regarding the issue of distance in golf and the necessity of the proposed USGA and R&A rollback. GOLF.com experts discussed how much influence players might have on this issue and whether their influence is enough to shape the future of the game.

"I don’t know. On the surface, it seems like they have a lot of power, but if they want to compete, they will ultimately be subject to whatever the governing bodies decide to do," believes Jessica Marksbury.

Josh Sens suggests that players have some influence, but far less than the equipment manufacturers. "And then there’s Augusta National, which will do whatever it wishes and possibly sooner than the rest of the game," he adds.

Josh Schrock notes that players have influence over how rules are enacted on their tour, but their say is minimal when it comes to the USGA, R&A, and Augusta National. "As Sens pointed out, I expect Fred Ridley, especially after his presser ahead of this year’s Masters, to set the pace," says Schrock.

The Garrick Higgo Caddie Incident

A week after the Young story, Garrick Higgo was late for his PGA Championship tee time, received a two-stroke penalty, and missed the cut. Shortly thereafter, Higgo and his caddie Austin Gaugert parted ways. Gaugert posted on social media: "as a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition and I fell short of that." While all the details of the incident are not known, experts discussed who is typically to blame for such mistakes: the caddie or the player.

"This is kind of tough. On one hand, a Tour caddie’s sole purpose is to support his player to the best of his abilities. On the other, showing up on time at the 1st tee is the most basic thing the game asks of you. So, without knowing the general dynamic between these two, I say it’s 70 percent Higgo’s fault, 30 percent Gaugert’s. I mean, Gaugert was on the tee at the right time. Higgo wasn’t," says Marksbury.

Sens wryly commented: "If Gaugert had taken Higgo hostage and prevented him from getting to the 1st tee, I might be inclined to hold him responsible. Otherwise, I’d say this one is on the player."

Schrock added succinctly: "It’s a major. Be on the tee early."

PGA of America Presidential Change

A week after hosting its biggest annual event, the PGA of America announced that President Don Rea had been replaced by Nathan Charnes, who will serve as acting president. A statement from the PGA of America said the move "followed a series of issues over time that, taken together, were determined to be detrimental to the Association." Rea had made headlines for comments made during the 2025 Ryder Cup. Experts discussed whether they were surprised by the departure or by how long the PGA waited.

"I’m not surprised on either front. I’m sure there were protocols and investigations to get through, so the PGA opted to take its time in ultimately making the call," said Marksbury.

"My guess is that this was decided some time ago but acted on slowly partly for HR reasons and partly for optics — to avoid the appearance of acting rashly in response to public outcry," suggested Sens.

"Not surprised. His press conference at last year’s PGA was a disaster. Then came the Ryder Cup. They pushed him to the background and made the announcement the week after the PGA so they didn’t have to answer questions about it at the press conference," added Schrock.

Scottie Scheffler: Between Missed Opportunities and Consistent Play

Wyndham Clark won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday, and Scottie Scheffler, who started the day two off the lead, finished third. Despite winning his first start of the season and compiling six top 10s since, he still hasn't won a second time this year. How do we differentiate between a string of missed opportunities versus simply playing good-but-not-winning golf?

"It’s so hard to win, and certainly even harder to win consistently over the course of several years, as Scottie has done. I think we’re seeing a bit of the Tiger effect with him — our expectations are so high, we’re surprised every time he gets within striking distance and doesn’t collect a W. So, am I worried about Scottie? No. I can only imagine that every finish that falls short is fuel to his fire for the next one," reasons Marksbury.

Sens recalled that both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had winless droughts of more than two years in their primes. "Scheffler is going to be just fine. But it would definitely help his cause if his putter heated up," he believes.

Schrock added: "He won a ton in 2023 and then cooled off in 2024 while still playing great golf. He racked up a ton of wins last year, and this year his putter has been a little cooler and his iron game not as precise. He’s still a poor Friday at Augusta from probably winning the Masters, and I think he should’ve won the PGA Championship if his putter had been neutral. The game ebbs and flows, and he’s still the best player in the world. He’ll probably win Memorial in two weeks."