To think that golf used to have a reputation of being a bit boring!
Over the last couple of years I don’t think any other sport has come close to matching it in terms of controversies and big splits right down the heart of the professional side of the game.
The LIV furore and all its sub-plots has still got plenty of life in it.
And now it’s got competition with the R&A and USGA finally deciding to do something about the golf ball.
As of 2026, if you’re playing in The Open and US Open you’ll be using a ball that has been adapted to not fly as far.
It’s a debate – very much like LIV – that will be hard to find middle ground on.
When you get to the heart of the argument, you’ll come down on one side or the other depending on whether you are willing to see the link broken between players in a monthly medal being able to use the same equipment as the pros in the biggest championships in the sport.
For me, I don’t have a problem with that.
In my own sport of curling, that has already happened.
These days I could play in the Perth Super League and use a brush that wouldn’t be allowed in the Olympics or World Championships.
We’ve had our ‘Broomgate’.
It was a big deal when it was clear ‘directional sweeping’ was becoming a serious issue but curling has come out the other side.
Golf has got a long way to go.
The fact that you or I could still play the same courses as the pros (well, maybe not Augusta!) is the main thing that needs to be preserved far as I’m concerned.
"If you're swinging 127 mph, more power to you. People are running faster now too, so what, are they going to make the length of a mile longer so the fastest mile time doesn't change?"pic.twitter.com/2k5qlHSxSb
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) March 15, 2023
I don’t think regular players will care nearly as much about the ball difference as some people make out.
Running out of land to extend courses and tour events getting reduced to driving, wedge and putting competitions are far bigger issues.
I do accept that manufacturers making equipment better and better, the ball included, is part of the appeal of golf for some.
And I don’t think we should downplay the importance of driving and hitting the ball a long way.
Someone like Bryson DeChambeau isn’t just blindly smashing balls as far as he can.
He’s putting technique, gym work and strategy into it.
But the big hitters will still have an advantage even if the ball is not going as far.
And, more importantly, it will mean the Old Course and other world-renowned venues are preserved as great tests of golf for generations.
At a time when talk about closing sporting arenas is more common than building them, I’ll be fascinated to see how the big plans for Scottish basketball play out.
A £20 million arena in East Kilbride, which will have a 6,000 seater stadium for the Caledonia Gladiators, is incredibly ambitious.
Thank you very much to @Cal_Gladiators in partnership with Active Schools NL for an outstanding basketball session today. All of our pupils had a fabulous time! Please come back 🏀🥳🥇 pic.twitter.com/8HlbkX4dEm
— Condorrat PS & NC (@Condorratschool) March 15, 2023
Especially when you consider that there isn’t really much of a tradition for the sport in this country.
It’s been called the largest single investment in basketball in Scotland.
Every minority sport would love to have backing like this behind them.
I really hope that the phrase ‘build it and they will come’ applies.
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