Since the beginning of 2025, Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour, and the USGA have constantly been discussing the possibility of implementing a ball rollback rule. There have been many debates among the leaders, experts, and golf bodies regarding this issue. Outgoing USGA President Fred Perpall also suggested that the rule will eventually be implemented, even if he’s not the one to administer it. However, LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam believes that they can still delay its execution.
She joined The Loop for an interview before the 2025 Ryder Cup to discuss various aspects of the sport. During one of the segments, she was asked about her thoughts on the ball rollback rule. Sorenstam told the reporter, “I feel like what we have today is fine. But the way it’s going, you need to be aware, you need to pay attention to what the future could be like. We’re proud at the moment that we’re one of the few sports where every golfer has the same rule, right? We all play the same.”
There will certainly be a time when the golf governing bodies will implement the rule. But until then, she believes the sport is at the right place where it still doesn’t need to be implemented. The equipment is still not so advanced that the clubs give the players too much of an advantage. Interestingly, Justin Thomas also held the same views as he stated his opinion during the 2023 Valspar Championship. He also received support from President Donald Trump for it.
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Coming back to Sorenstam, she did mention that women’s golf certainly doesn’t need the rule anytime in the near future. They don’t hit it nearly as long as the men or some of the college golfers. However, even when it came to men’s golf, she had an alternate strategy to implement instead of introducing the ball rollback rule: “Let’s not go that extreme yet. Let’s start tightening the courses a little bit, get the thicker roughs.”
According to her, making the course narrower and more challenging will become a huge obstacle for long drivers. Hence, pros like Bryson DeChambeau & Rory McIlroy won’t be able to take advantage of every course they play on just because they can hit the ball 20 yards further than their peers. But it’s not like Annika was completely against the introduction of the ball rollback rule. She believes there will come a time when modifying the course won’t be enough to stop the players.
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“When in that part of the game, you can’t do any more, then you might want to look into it. If we’re running out of land, we’re running out of space. But I also feel like hitting it long is a part of the game. Don’t penalize people for hitting it far. Just tighten it up a little bit. Because if you’re going to hit it long and straight… That’s why you spend hours on the range and in the gym, so let’s not penalize them.”
Golf has always been about reaching from the tee to the cup as soon as possible. Adding the ball rollback rule will discourage the players from pushing themselves to achieve that. Instead, making the course more challenging will encourage the pros to either avoid hitting long or improve their accuracy with the driver. Either of which will be better for the sport. So, while ball rollback might be beneficial, what will make the sport more exciting and entertaining for the fans will be increasing the difficulty of the course.
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Having said that, are the players who are known for driving long also good with accuracy? Let’s see who leads both the stats in the PGA Tour to understand how narrowing the fairways might just be the key to improving the quality of golf for everyone.
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Are Justin Thomas & Co. as good at hitting long as they are at hitting straight?
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Rory McIlroy is one of the longest hitters from the tee on the PGA Tour. He sits second behind Aldrich Potgieter with a difference of 4.4 yards separating them. However, when it comes to their driving accuracy, two of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour are ranked apart and way low on the leaderboard. Potgieter is ranked 127th on the Tour in 2025 with an accuracy of 55.51%. McIlroy is further down the list at 159th with a 51.24% accuracy.