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Rory McIlroy has launched a mind-boggling assault on golf officials for planning to revamp the game with new equipment rules.
The Northern Irish golfer spoke following the publication of the Distance Insight Project report by R&A, one of the golf associations, and the USGA (United States Golf Association) was looking for ways to combat the increasing distance in the sport. Golf bodies plan to limit the length of a driver shaft to 46 inches – two inches shorter than the current limit – and optimize how drivers and golf balls are tested at a distance. However, Holywood golfer McIlroy said he believe the report is a « waste of time and money. » « I think the authorities, the R&A and the USGA, are viewing the game through such a small lens, » he told reporters at a press conference in front of the Phoenix Open.
« You are trying to change something that affects 0.1% of the golf community.
» Yet 99.9% of the people who play this game play for fun and entertainment. They don’t need to be told which ball or bat to use.
« The money it costs to produce this report could have been much better distributed to get people into the game, young children into it Introducing the game and introducing minorities into the game. «
McIlroy said he believed the problems related to equipment were » minor and inconsequential « compared to others and called for money to be pumped into the base of the sport Will.
He added that the average golfer shouldn’t be treated like a pro.
PGA Captain Peter Hanna, who is also a pro at Lurgan Golf Club, expressed his condolences to McIlroy but also shared his own concerns about the future of local golf courses.
« You have the extra distance people hit the ball and the bigger drivers. That makes the game more fun for your normal player, » he said.
« I’m 62 now even better off than an 18-year-old and a good player. «
However, Mr. Hanna added that he believed that long driving » ruins many of our short natural golf courses « .
» Take Lurgan ( and) all the small courses across the country that don’t have room to build another tee 50 meters back, « he said.
« When I got through Lurgan I couldn’t even reach this green. Now any man and his dog can drive on it. So many other courses are exactly the same.
» I have (Jon) cream with them Watching Irish Open Ballyliffin play and he made the course a breeze. If it continues like this, where does it end? It’s two different games – the elite amateur and the all-pro level. «
» The game has seen a boom since it was first banned. A lot of new people have come to the club, « he explained.
» They all watch golf on TV and want to hit the ball until Rory McIlroy. They may be able to do that, but they can’t beat him so straight. «
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