Bryson DeChambeau, Brandel Chamblee Among Critics of USGA and R&A’s Modified Golf Ball Plan

Stop the presses—we’ve found something that members of LIV Golf and Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee have agreed on!

That’s the plan put forth by the United States Golf Association and the R&A—golf’s governing body in the United Kingdom—that would allow tours and tournaments the option to force elite men’s players to use a new golf ball that wouldn’t travel as far as ones used today.

The change, which would result in the ball going around 15 fewer yards on a big hit, wouldn’t go into effect until 2026, and the USGA and R&A will take feedback from golfers and manufacturers until mid-August.

But the early feedback isn’t in favor of the plan.

DeChambeau, one of the biggest hitters in golf, is unsurprisingly against the idea, even though it wouldn’t likely affect LIV Golf.

Brysons troll game 📈 pic.twitter.com/CYkinJhooc

— DrunkByTheTurn (@DrunkByTheTurn_) March 14, 2023

Bryson said to LIV Golf’s Mike McAllister:

“It’s a great handicap for us guys that have worked really hard to learn how to hit it farther. Look, if they do it in a way where it only affects the top end, I see the rationale. But I think it’s the most atrocious thing that you could possibly do to the game of golf. It’s not about rolling golf balls back; it’s about making golf courses more difficult.

“Everybody wants to see people hit it farther. That’s part of the reason why a lot of people like what I do. …I’m all about equality, [but] I’m not about equality on this front.”

Chamblee, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of LIV Golf, took the USGA and R&A to task over the recommendations on Twitter.

holes, namely a few at The Old Course and Augusta National and perhaps the 10th at Riviera and they are willing to disrupt the entire golf world for their interpretation of how the game is broken and how it should be fixed, with no convincing evidence for their position.

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) March 15, 2023

Titleist and Bridgestone—two of the six major golf ball brands used on the PGA Tour—have commented, and both are against the recommendation. Titleist called the proposal “a solution in search of a problem.”

If it were to be put in place, the rule would be used at the U.S. Open and the Open Championship. There’s no word on whether the Masters, the PGA Championship, or the PGA Tour or DP World Tour would adopt the rule as well.

Cover Image Via Bunkered