Golf Balls � Speed Limit Plea

In the British press a debate has kicked off around whether manufacturers need to curb the speed of golf balls.

Speed limit plea

Professional golfing legend Colin Montgomerie has asked that golf ball manufacturers limit the distances modern-day players are now able to achieve off the tee. "The ball's going further and further,� Monty told Radio Five Live in the UK . Part of the motivation for changing the speed of golf balls is the lack of land available for golf courses who want to expand or make their fairways tougher. �The easy option is to change the golf ball to make it go less far, to put a speed limit on it if you like,� Montgomerie said. �That's what we need to do but obviously the manufacturers haven't got together to make that possible.�

Research into golf balls

It's an on-going debate, and the American regulating society is taking steps to address the issue. The USGA asked manufacturers over a year ago to research new golf balls � one that would reduce a golf balls maximum distance by 15 yards, the other by 25 yards.

Golf pro speaks

Another golfing professional, the two-time Open champion Greg Norman has also expressed his views in a British newspaper on golf balls and speed:

�The distance that pros hit the ball now is affecting the long-term vitality of the game,� Norman wrote in The Guardian. �Not only are classic courses being made obsolete, strategy and skill are being taken out of golf. And lengthening and toughening courses is adding to the expense and time required for the public to play the game.�

Technology and golf balls

Like Montgomerie, his fear is that the advances in the technology of golf balls will take away the challenge of the game. He does believe however that the manufacturers should develop golf balls that can help amateur players, but that different golf balls should be assigned to the pros. Like the game improving golf clubs, more forgiving golf balls can help stimulate growth and interest in the game.

Environmental impact

Norman also felt that the need to increase golf courses to accommodate the increased distance golf balls travel will have a negative impact on the environment, as well as being costly. He believes for the sake of saving classic golf courses throughout the world, and the level playing field, the distance golf balls can travel needs to be addressed.

Golf ball manufacturers

Naturally, the manufacturers of golf balls disagree. They believe lower spinning, high-performance golf balls are just one contributing factor - golf clubs have advanced as well as the golfers themselves � Tiger Woods has introduced a new athleticism to the game. They believe that golf balls have been the most stringently regulated product in the history of the game. And that the golf ball has always advanced throughout history from being made from wood and feathers to what it is today.

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