Nicklaus Calls For Special Golf Balls For Courses, But Why Won't He Make The Ball?

Jack Nicklaus' consistency on golf ball regulation is a thing to admire and he continued to lament the expansion of the golf course footprint at this week's HSBC Golf Business Forum.

Here were his comments from a press release summarizing views expressed during a chat with Giles Morgan at the Marriott Sawgrass Resort and Spa.

Despite the positive signs from the increased media interest in tournament golf, the game faces significant challenges—be it from a cost perspective, difficulty for some golfers, and a commitment of time. For Nicklaus, an award-winning course designer whose firm has 410 courses in 41 countries, that challenge can partly be associated with the golf ball.
 
“Fact is, more golf courses have closed in the US in each of the last 10 years than have opened. This is thanks in great part to changes in the golf ball and the distance it travels. Courses have had to change along with it. It’s now a slower game and more expensive than before, and that can’t be a good thing. We don’t want to change the game for the core golfer, but we need to make every effort to offer alternatives to bring more people into the game and keep them in the game. I think we need to develop a golf ball to suit the golf course, rather than build courses to suit a golf ball. Whether it’s a ball that goes 50%, 75%, or 100%, you play a ball that fits the course and your game.
 
“It’s not that big a deal. We used to do it when travelling to play the Open and switching from the large ball to the small. It took us only a day to get used to a different ball. But when land is a dear commodity and water is scarce, you need to do something to respond to today’s situation. It’s the same in life and business."

And yet, even though he's in the golf ball business, Mr. Nicklaus has refused to make the golf balls he describes above. They could easily be branded by naming them after his courses. The 75% Muirfield Village ball would be a staple of pro shops at places like Pine Valley, Merion and National and used by traditionalists who want to play the course as it was designed.

This is not hard. I just don't get it.