Starting in 2028, most golf balls currently used will be in violation of regulations.

The R&A and the United States Golf Association , which oversee world golf rules and golf equipment performance, announced on the 7th (Korean time) that they have finalized new golf ball performance regulations to curb the increase in distance and will take effect from 2008.

The gist of the new regulations is that a ball that travels more than 317 yards when hit with a swing speed of 125 miles per hour (201.17 km), a launch angle of 11 degrees, and a spin of 2,200 rpm is in violation of the regulations.

If this rule is applied, most golf balls currently used by professional players, such as Titleist Pro V1, Callaway Chrome Soft, TaylorMade TP5, Bridgestone Tour B, and Srixon Z Star, will not be able to be used.

In the future, professional players will have to use balls with less repulsion, so exciting long hits are expected to become more difficult to see.

The R&A and the USGA predicted that long-hitters with a ball speed of 183 miles per hour (294.5 km) will see their driver distance decrease by about 13 to 15 yards.

This year, there were 10 players with a ball speed of over 183 miles per hour.

The average ball speed of PGA tour players is 172.85 miles per hour (278.18 km). The average player distance loss is expected to be 9 to 11 yards.

The R&A and the USGA predicted that the driving distance for female professional players will be reduced by 5 to 7 yards, and for ordinary amateur golfers, the distance will be reduced by about 5 yards.

However, the new regulations will apply to professional competitions first, and to general amateur golfers from 2030.

The limitation of ball performance is due to long-standing concerns that the ever-increasing distance is damaging the essence of golf and is not conducive to the development of the golf industry.

As driving distances continue to increase, the overall length of golf courses continues to grow longer, with professional competition courses now approaching 8,000 yards.

On the PGA Tour this year, 98 players exceeded the average driver distance of 300 yards.

Reactions to ball performance limitations were mixed.

Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods (USA), and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) are in favor of limiting ball performance.

They all swept the championship with long shots, but they believe that sophisticated technical shots are more valuable than long shots. It is argued that limiting ball performance will encourage players to focus more on improving technical shots rather than long shots.

Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley (both from the U.S.) are concerned that golf will lose its appeal if long shots disappear. There are concerns that restrictions on ball performance will hurt the success of professional golf. 사설토토

Some point out that it is unreasonable to limit the performance of balls used by ordinary amateur golfers.

In any case, there is no way to disadvantage ordinary amateur golfers who play golf as a hobby even if they do not use balls according to the new regulations.

In fact, in a Golf Digest survey, 64.6% responded that they would not use balls with limited distance.