‘It’s a tragedy:’ Gary Player calls for extreme ball rollback at the Masters

On Wednesday, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley left no doubt about where he and the Masters sits on the idea of rolling back the golf ball, re-emphasizing the club’s position supporting the USGA and R&A’s proposed golf ball rollback, which was originally slated for 2028 at the professional level but is close to being pushed to 2030.

“I also want to be clear that our position is grounded on much more than protecting the Augusta National golf course,” Ridley said on Wednesday in his pre-Masters press conference. “We will continue to make modifications as are necessary to react to driving distances that in some cases exceed 350 yards. Unfortunately, many courses, including some iconic venues, do not have that option. Until recent years, golf has been a game of imagination, creativity, and variety. The game has become much more one-dimensional. As players drive the ball prodigious distances and routinely hit short irons into par-4s and even some par-5s, this issue goes beyond competitive impacts. Increased course lengths results in more time, more cost, and more environmental concerns.

“My feeling on this subject is failure’s not an option. I think we need to continue to work together to come to some agreement.”

Ridley and the Masters are not alone in their desire to see the golf ball rolled back at the professional level. Some don’t think the USGA and R&A’s current proposal is enough.

Count Gary Player among them.

On Thursday, after Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson hit the ceremonial tee shots to start the 90th Masters, all three were asked for their positions on the idea of rollback. The 90-year-old Player wants the ball rolled back “60 yards” for professionals but left alone for recreational golfers, whom he calls the “heart” of the game.

“With regard to professional golf, cut the ball back 60 yards. It’s a tragedy,” Player said. “We got away from the concept of golf when it started originally, a par-5, a par-4, and a par-3. There is no such thing as a par-5 in the world today. We saw Rory with a 7-iron last year when he won the Masters. They’re hitting 8-irons and 7-irons to par-5s.”

Player noted that holes like No. 3 at Augusta National now see players drive the ball up near the front of the green, when it used to be driver and a full wedge for long players like Jack Nicklaus. But Player’s concerns about the current distance of the modern game extend beyond the Masters. He’s worried about how far the ball will travel in 10, 20 and 50 years as players become bigger, stronger and more athletic, while benefiting from advances in technology. But the environmental impact of continuing to extend golf courses, and the money it takes to chase the length needed to test modern pros, is what really worries Player. It’s why he wants the ball cut back dramatically.

“Here’s the crucial thing. The amount of money that we’re spending around the world probably rates to $100 million,” Player said. “Whatever the figure is, it’s exorbitant. They’re putting that money into making golf courses longer. We’re running out of water in the world, fertilization, machinery is so expensive, labor, oil, whatever cost you want to put in there. Where are we going? That money is being wasted, or if they cut the ball back, we don’t have to make these changes.

“We’re just wasting the money. That’s the crucial thing for me. I don’t know where we go. What’s going to happen in 30 years’ time is going to be beyond one’s imagination.”

Sitting alongside Player, Nicklaus and Watson agreed that pro golf needs to roll the ball back. The only question is: How much? The answer is probably not far enough.

“The golf ball needs to be reined in,” Nicklaus said. “What they’re doing right now is throwing a deck chair off the Titanic, and it’s not getting enough done. It needs to really come back. I know a lot of people don’t like that, but I think Gary is absolutely right. It’s land costs, water, fertilization, the cost to play the game of golf, the time it takes to play — all those things are factors in why the golf ball needs to come back.

“Now, the program that they have, as I understand it, will amount to about 12 yards for maybe a Rory McIlroy. It will amount to you all out there less than a yard. It really isn’t going to affect you very much, but it will affect the pros a little bit. … My feeling is that they’re never going to bring it back to the level they need to bring it back to.”

A few years ago, Ridley said the Masters should never be played at an Augusta National that is 8,000 yards. On Wednesday, Ridley reiterated that Augusta National will continue to make the changes necessary to combat the distance gains of the modern pros, but not every course can do that, and some “iconic” venues are running out of room. Ridley even noted that they can’t lengthen No. 1 at Augusta National much more unless the club wanted to remove the Eisenhower Cabin, which is a non-starter.

“We’ll make changes when we can, but I think it’s time to really address this issue,” Ridley said. “It’s been talked about for a long time.”

On Thursday, Masters legends echoed the club’s sentiment. The ball needs to come back. There’s no reason, in their eyes, that it shouldn’t.

 “It needs to come back just for the sake of the game and preservation,” Nicklaus said. “Augusta’s had the ability to be able to go buy part of another golf course to lengthen the 13th hole. Who could afford that? If there’s anyplace else that could afford that, and it’s not necessary.”