"They (the USGA) want to have data to present against emotional arguments."

Ryan Ballengee adds a few important details about the USGA's ball testing event in Canada and features quotes from an equipment company goon perspective.

"[The] USGA may have progressed on collecting data with short distance balls," the source said.  "[A] few years ago, OEMs were asked to provide balls with 20% less driver distance."

So, is there a desire to roll the ball back?

The source says the data collection may be done in the event that a ball rollback is eventually needed, but that it is not imminent because of the flattening of distance increases in the last three years.

The source added, "They (the USGA) want to have data to present against emotional arguments."

Actually, the manufacturers getting emotional on this topic clouded their judgment and has them now boxed in a corner with little wiggle room for club innovation. All to protect those little white balls that we'll always have to buy to play the game, no matter how far they fly.