"There will be solutions but this is not that solution. What they are, we’re not sure yet, but this is not it."
/Mike Stachura covers a lot of ground on the driver length “Model Local Rule” here, including early signs of more players going longer, the supportive stance of the PGA Tour, and the overall theme of this as a proactive move instead of reactive.
If that wasn’t clear, this from the USGA’s Thomas Pagel leaves no grey area about what lies ahead.
“We’re committed to our desire to stop the cycle of increased hitting distances. We have the long-term health of the game in mind. How is the game healthy 20, 50, 100 years from now. That’s something we \remain committed to. We know elite players can achieve distance increases through using a longer club, and as an industry as we go through the critical conversation about the long-term health of the game and what role distance plays with that, we just thought it was best to cap this now while we have the rest of that discussion.”