McIlroy rips distance report The virtual news conference was over. PGA Tour media official Doug Milne thanked Rory McIlroy for his time and was about to send him on his way at TPC Scottsdale.
âI canât believe no one asked me an equipment question!â McIlroy said.
âWell, we can open back up the mics if youâd like?â Milne asked.
McIlroy rips distance report And thatâs when he proceeded to excoriate the USGA and R&A for their announcement Tuesday that theyâre proposing three rules changes, as well as exploring six other areas of interest, in an attempt to curb distance at the elite level. Itâs the latest phase of the governing bodiesâ now-year-old Distance Insights Report, which concluded that continuing distance gains were detrimental to the gameâs future.
McIlroy, who is a paid endorser of TaylorMade equipment, called the report a âhuge waste of time and a huge waste of money,â when it affects only â0.1%â of the gameâs population.
âThe authorities are looking at the game through such a tiny little lens, that what theyâre trying to do is change something that pertains to 0.1% of the golfing community,â McIlroy rips distance report said. âNinety-nine-point-nine percent of the people who play this game play for enjoyment, for entertainment. They donât need to be told what ball or clubs to use.

âWe have to make the game as easy and approachable as possible for the majority of golfers. Honestly, I think this Distance Insights Report has been a huge waste of time and a huge waste of money, because that money that itâs cost to do this report could have been way better distributed to getting people into the game, introducing young kids to the game, introducing minorities to the game.
McIlroy rips distance report âI heard Mike Davis say something about weâre trying to protect the game for the next hundred years â this isnât how you do it. This is so small and inconsequential compared to other things happening in the game. Itâs the grassroots. Itâs getting more people engaged in golf. Thatâs where they should be spending their money, not spending it on the Distance Insights Report.â
Then McIlroy rips distance report, as heâs done before, said heâd be âall forâ bifurcation, in which the professionals and amateurs would play by a different set of rules.
âIf they want to try to make the game more difficult for us, or try to incorporate more skill to the game, yeah, Iâd be all for that, because I think it only benefits the better player, which I feel like I am,â he said. âMaybe they said that in terms of local rules and maybe some sort of bifurcation, but we are such a tiny portion of golf. Golf is way bigger than the professional golf. Weâre such a tiny portion of it. Itâs the other stuff that really matters, and thatâs the stuff they need to concentrate.â
In a TV interview afterward, McIlroy rips distance report said that a distance project like this âreeks of self-importance.â
âYes, theyâre the gatekeepers of the game,â he said. âTheir job is to make sure that the game thrives in a hundred yearsâ time, but this isnât the way to do it.â
Collect By: golfchannel.com