Scottie Scheffler issues warning to PGA Tour over golf ball rollback

Scottie Scheffler says he supports some principles behind the golf ball rollback but warns current proposals could disproportionately impact players differently.

The rollback, first announced by golf's rule makers three years ago, is scheduled to be implemented for professionals in 2028. 

Golf's governing bodies say the move is designed to help protect courses not long enough to cope with today's 350-yard drives. 

Masters champion Rory McIlroy has previously said the rollback will "make no difference whatsoever" to the average golfer when the rollback is introduced to the amateur game in 2030.

Scheffler offered a measured response when asked for his views ahead of attempting a historic three-peat at the Memorial Tournament this week. 

"I think that I agree with some of the principles behind the golf ball rollback," Scheffler said.

"I think when you look at how power and hitting the ball high has become so important in our game — we were actually talking about it today, I was looking at the world rankings and Russell Henley is really the only guy in the top 20 in the world who doesn't hit it pretty far and doesn't hit it very high.

"Outside of that, you pretty much hit the ball high and you hit it far.

"And when you look at the major championships, especially the U.S. Open, Augusta National, the PGA Championship, those are the tournaments where you have to hit the ball high and far.

"I feel like those are the organizations that are also trying to roll the golf ball back.

"I think when you look at the golf ball rollback, when you start moving it back only eight yards, not only does it disproportionately affect certain players — where you have some guys who it won't affect at all and some guys where it will affect 15 to 20 yards — I think that creates some issues within our game when you start changing the rules."

Scheffler said a broader issue is how power has become increasingly rewarded in the modern game.

"You look at certain golf courses that we have that are great tests, like a Colonial or a Harbour Town, and they're not overly long golf courses, but they challenge you in different ways," he said.

"I feel like they're doing it to make the game of golf a little bit more difficult at the elite level, which I understand, but golf is the easiest game in the world to make hard.

"If you just make the area small to have a guy hit the ball into, he's going to learn how to control it. When the corridors are big and greens are big and there’s not many trees in your way, guys are going to learn how to hit the ball far.

"I grew up on a course in Dallas where it was a tight, parkland-style golf course and you had to learn how to hit fairways. The fairways were firm and if you started hitting the ball off line, it would run off into the trees.

"So I learned how to hit the ball straight, I learned how to curve the ball both ways.

"And if I grew up on one of these golf courses that had been restored — I’m not going to name any of those golf courses — but there's certain ones where I'd be like, 'Oh my gosh, I've got to learn how to hit the ball so stinking far.'

"Because the fairways are wide and the penalty for missing them is not severe enough in my opinion.

"So I think when you look at how power is being rewarded in our game, there's a reason why you see so many guys doing speed training, why you see so many guys spending time in the gym trying to increase their speed, because it’s becoming increasingly important in our game when you look at the way golf courses are set up and when you look at golf course design."