“It’s Going to Help Me” | Rory McIlroy on the Recent Golf Ball Rollback

So, apparently Rory’s into the whole golf ball rollback announcement.  But let’s circle back on Rors for a second.

First this week the media asked Jon Rahm what his thoughts were.

“[The USGA and R&A] are hyper-focused on making professional golf a little bit more difficult than it already is. I don’t know why,” Jon Rahm said Tuesday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. “My biggest question for [the USGA and R&A], we’re in a golden era of golf where it’s exploded since COVID, a lot of people are watching, you have a completely different Tour, all these things are happening for the game and it’s growing. Why change what’s working?”

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Rahm’s take is the same as a lot of his peers because at the end of the day, this rule could likely reduce driving distance by roughly 20 yards — as they say. 

“Why change what’s working?”

Jon Rahm’s full response to the proposed golf ball rollback. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/3JioIlcgFu

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 21, 2023

But Rory doesn’t share the same opinion of his peers, and he chose to explain it on a recent No Laying Up podcast episode. 

“I think my opinion differs from my peers, and probably the PGA Tour as a whole,” Rory McIlroy said in his interview.

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“This is just my opinion and I’m only one voice. But honestly, if I’m taking my PGA Tour hat off here, the major championships are already such a big deal in the game of golf, and if the major championships somehow adopt this ball change, and the PGA Tour doesn’t, I think it widens that gap between PGA Tour golf and major championship golf. Which, if anything, the PGA Tour is trying to make up some sort of market share, or trying to get a little closer to the major championships in terms of the interest that we create within our tournaments.” 

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I’m sure more Tour pros will continue to weigh in throughout the next few weeks on the issue; but I’m curious, how does this change your thoughts on the game?