19th Hole

Sir Nick Faldo calls for club loft ban to bring back the skill of ball-striking

Published

8 months ago

Sep 22, 2025

In 2028 new regulations will limit how far the golf balls goes for professionals, while the rollback will then effect recreational players in 2030.

The distance debate has been an ongoing struggle in golf over the past few years, but Sir Nick Faldo has claimed that the ball should not be touched and that authorities should instead be targeting club lofts to bring back “the skill of striking.”

Speaking on the Sliced podcast, Faldo claimed that he would rather tees be outlawed at certain events, while also saying that wedges with higher lofts should also be banned.

“I’m much more of a fan, and we could do it, I blurted out years ago, ‘well, what about banning tee pegs then?’ Then I thought about it. If there was an official length to a tee peg for tournament play, let’s say it was 7/8ths of an inch, that means you can’t tee it up like that and get a 60 inch driver launching at 13 [degrees].

The tour could say, ‘hey guys, when we’re playing a golf course under 7100 yards’, which is short, isn’t it, ‘guys, no tee pegs this week’. Hilton Head, you wouldn’t need it, you’d hit three wood. But it’s not stopping the guy who’s good enough. If a guy’s good enough to place it and hit a driver off the deck, all the power to him. If he can still run it out there over 300, that’s the skill.

Good luck doing that on a Sunday afternoon if you had to do it into the wind, that would be a skill.”

Faldo added:

“Here’s another one that wouldn’t cost anything, it’s just writing in a rule book, we could say we have nothing less than 10 degrees now.

10 degrees is the minimum for the driver, and go the other end and say can we stop at 56 again? The wedges stop at 56, no more 60 and 62s. That doesn’t cost a penny to write that in a rule book.

These companies are going to spend hundreds of thousands retooling, and how do you market it? ‘This is our brand new golf ball, it goes 20 percent less than the last one’. That’s harsh, that’s cruel.”

Would you rather see the golf ball rolled back or tees and club lofts restricted, WRXers?

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Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at gianni@golfwrx.com

13 Comments

Bob Jones

Nov 3, 2025 at 9:19 am

I’m not sure what Sir Nick means by “the skill of ball-striking,” but the best way to do what I think it is would be to bring back the balata-covered ball that spins like crazy (whether you want it to or not).

Reply Report comment
Seth

Oct 27, 2025 at 1:02 pm

Honestly a lot of these recommendations are pretty terrible including the ones in the comments. 10 degree drivers? No 60? Some of the best shots pros these days are making are with 60 degrees. If you really want to shake it up make everyone play traditionally lofted blades, like Tiger, and less forgiving driver and fairway heads.

Reply Report comment
Phil

Sep 26, 2025 at 5:08 am

Just limit the number of clubs allowed to 10 (for pros), would force much more shot making

Reply Report comment
Ace

Sep 23, 2025 at 2:56 pm

That ship has sailed! Money ruins every sport! They need the non golf fan to watch and they want 59s and a putting contest!Nicklaus was on this decades ago! Rolling back the ball will be a minor inconvenience and most amateurs won’t even know it!! They ruined a great game like they always do!

Reply Report comment
Bill

Sep 23, 2025 at 11:40 am

I actually think Faldo’s ideas are great! And it costs nothing.
Unlike the idiotic groove rule and the anchoring rule which is not enforceable. And the drop rule. Which has made a science out if dropping the ball, so you can eventually place it. And getting a free drop around the green because a sprinkler head may endanger your stance because your toe may be touching it. It should be only if your club may damage the sprinkler with a normal swing.

Reply Report comment
DPavs

Sep 23, 2025 at 10:02 am

Is there anything more irrelevant than what Faldo thinks… no one cared back then and no one cares now.

Reply Report comment
- ht
  
  Sep 23, 2025 at 1:42 pm
  
  Just because YOU don’t care doesn’t mean no one cares. I care. There are other people on this very comment thread that care. You sound like a cranky old man. If you aren’t an old man, that’s even worse because you’ll only get worse as you age. Don’t be so mad all the time. Enjoy life
  
  Reply Report comment
Ben Hoagie

Sep 22, 2025 at 3:10 pm

fill in the fairways/rough from 300ish yards to 350 with native areas

Reply Report comment
Brad Baumann

Sep 22, 2025 at 2:05 pm

Course conditions can control the game for the tours, the amateur player does not need any restrictions put on their game. Let them enjoy the long drives and the short wedge shots.
It’s bad enough that the ball is being controlled in 2030 for the amateur.

Reply Report comment
P

Sep 22, 2025 at 12:11 pm

Driver heads should be shrunk back to 250c.
And max length of 43 like it used to be with Wooden heads.
Get rid of Graphite shafts and use steel only.
Leave the ball alone, let the ball be developed as much possible. We’re already at the threshold before the ball is useless after 6 holes anyway

Reply Report comment
J Hendrix

Sep 22, 2025 at 10:51 am

The oversized driver of 460 cc should be reduced to a more reasonable size for professional golf and move the ball distance down to the original Pro V1.

Let’s say start at 425 cc which would be increase swing speed, maybe, and require a little more skill. Maybe a mini driver size with a nornal playing length as a professional standard.

Reply Report comment
Livininparadise

Sep 22, 2025 at 10:01 am

I just don’t see a problem with the game. If you want to make it harder, make the course conditions harder. Greens keeper revenge type of stuff. Grow the rough, shink the fairways, pins in brutal spots.

The amateur game isn’t getting easier. The pros are better athletes, with better equipment, easier travel, better understanding of nutrition, sleep, etc.

Golf is a business with lots of money, it was inevitable that it would become what it is today

Reply Report comment
Hal

Sep 22, 2025 at 9:17 am

The tee is an integral part of golf, but I could possibly see some kind of length restriction being workable. Maybe even loft restrictions on driver, but I’m even less enthusiastic about that.

Restricting wedge lofts? Really? That parts a real stretch and makes little sense to me.

Reply Report comment

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19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”