PGA Of America To Allow Rangefinders At Its Majors, Effective Immediately

/
Screen Shot 2021-02-09 at 7.54.41 AM.png

A couple of oddities with this PGA of America announcement:

  • It was made by the current president, with no quote or comment from the CEO or Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh.

  • The use of the world “flow” instead of speed of play (perhaps because faster rounds are a myth?).

  • No supporting evidence of or evidence how “flow” is improved.

  • No mention of demand from players for their use, examples of such use in elite professional competition, or support of other leading organizations.

  • No clarification whether the senior-athlete golfers in the KitchenAid will be able to also access their cart GPS systems. Those are common within the game as well.

The full press release is here.

PGA OF AMERICA TO ALLOW FOR USE OF DISTANCE-MEASURING DEVICES DURING ITS MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEGINNING IN 2021

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (February 9, 2021) – The PGA of America today announced that, beginning in 2021, the use of distance-measuring devices will be allowed during competition rounds at its three annual Major Championships: the PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

“We’re always interested in methods that may help improve the flow of play during our Championships,” said Jim Richerson, President of the PGA of America. “The use of distance-measuring devices is already common within the game and is now a part of the Rules of Golf.  Players and caddies have long used them during practice rounds to gather relevant yardages.”

With this announcement, the distance-measuring devices used by players and/or caddies in PGA of America Championships will need to conform to the Rules of Golf regarding their use and performance:

Rule 4.3a (1)

Distance and Directional Information.

●      Allowed: Getting information on distance or direction (such as from a distance-measuring device or compass).

●      Not Allowed: Measuring elevation changes, or, interpreting distance or directional information (such as using a device to get a recommended line of play or club selection based on the location of the player's ball).

This policy will debut with the 2021 PGA Championship, which will be played at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, from May 17-23. The PGA Championship perennially features the strongest field in golf based on the Official World Golf Rankings.

Strong field super-human athletes apparently needing the support of a petite and pricey device.