Lucas Glover Slams Golf Ball Rollback Plan as Stupid & Reactive

Pro golfer Lucas Glover isn’t happy about plans to make golf balls travel shorter distances – and he’s not holding back on what he thinks about it.

“It’s stupid and reactive like everything else,” the 2009 US Open champ told Golfweek in a candid interview.

The controversy stems from a major announcement made last December. Golf’s big rule makers – the USGA and R&A – decided they’re going to change how far golf balls can fly. They say it’s about making the sport more sustainable long-term.

Here’s the deal: Pros will have to use the new, shorter-flying balls starting in 2028. Regular golfers get a couple more years, with the change coming in 2030.

But Glover thinks the whole thing makes no sense.

“It’s not a way to grow the game to have people hit it shorter,” he said. He pointed out that other sports don’t change their fundamental rules just because athletes get better.

“They are breaking world records in the 100 meter, they don’t make it 110. Guys are shooting three-pointers better, they don’t move the line back,” Glover explained.

The changes are pretty significant. The best players might hit the ball 13-15 yards shorter. Weekend golfers would lose about 5 yards or less.

Some testing of the new balls is already happening. A group of PGA Tour players, including Keith Mitchell, Patton Kizzire and Davis Thompson, recently tried out prototype versions at a Georgia golf course.

The whole thing started because courses keep having to get longer to keep up with how far players can hit the ball these days. The R&A’s former CEO Martin Slumbers called it crucial for golf’s “sustainable future.”

But not everyone’s buying that argument.

PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague raised a practical concern: “I don’t know one recreational golfer that wants to hit it shorter.” He’s worried about making 30-40 million regular golfers buy new equipment.

This wasn’t golf’s first attempt to address the distance issue. An earlier plan to have pros and regular players use different equipment got shot down after pushback from the PGA Tour and golf manufacturers.

For now, it looks like shorter shots are coming to golf – whether players like Glover like it or not.