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Titleist CEO Comes Out Against Distance Control Balls

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It was reported just a few days ago that some golf ball manufacturers were coming out in favor of creating a distance-controlled ball for PGA TOUR professionals. Now, other major golf ball companies are coming out to fight that movement.

Originally brought up last week in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Bridgestone Golf CEO Angel Ilagan and USGA Executive Director Mike Davis voiced their displeasure with how golf balls have become so advanced that they are making old (shorter) courses virtually impossible to play at the PGA TOUR level. This is a popular view that has been expressed by many former and current players that seems to be calling for a universal golf ball to control distance.

This isn’t something that seems to be a problem for Titleist CEO Wally Uihlein, however, as he submitted a letter to the Wall Street Journal in response to their piece with Ilagan and Davis. The crux of Uihlein’s argument is that the golf ball isn’t the reason that players are hitting the ball so far. He believes that the distance problem is being caused by better golf instruction and player fitness. He also believes course designers aren’t being creative enough.

Uihlein really criticizes course developers and architects, stating that they were the only ones upset with the advances in technology the game is undergoing. “The only people that seem to be grappling with advances in technology and physical fitness are the short-sighted golf course developers and the supporting golf course architectural community who built too many golf courses where the notion of a ‘championship golf course’ was brought on line primarily to sell real estate,” he wrote.

Still, there its hard to believe that all of the blame is to be put on designers or playing simply better golf. Today, players are not much bigger than legends of the past and often time, their technique isn’t as perfect as Uihlein makes it seem. But yet, players are hitting the ball over 100 yards further than anyone has in the past. It’s hard to chalk that up to something course design or healthier eating habits.

Regardless of how the PGA decides to deal with their increasingly large distance problem, it is obviously something that they will need to address. And with major parties arguing for both sides, it looks like this could become an ugly fight over the next few months.


Cover Photo via Twitter

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