The USGA and R&A, alongside the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, announced in June 2026 that the golf-ball rollback would no longer be phased in. Instead, the governing bodies set a single implementation date of January 2030, giving them more time to reassess the issue. In the meantime, they will work closely with players, tours, and manufacturers to explore alternative solutions that could have a more “meaningful impact on distance at the elite level.”

Now, the governing bodies are working to deliver on that promise. However, veteran golfer Rocco Mediate believes the issue doesn’t need to be so complicated. In his view, several simpler options could help address the problem.

“I’m not a smart person when it comes to technical stuff like that, but it doesn’t take one to understand this. There’s only one way to fix it. You add a massive amount of spin to all the golf balls. You make the golf clubs – the driver, 3-wood, five, all the woods smaller, 30% minimum smaller. Then you put a premium on striking. If you make a sweet spot, there’s no such thing as a max driver. You have a sweet spot. If you miss it, you don’t get to hit it as far. And then if you definitely miss it with the ball that spins, it definitely doesn’t go as far and curves a lot,” Rocco Mediate opened up during an interview with Fully Equipped.

“That’s the only way. The proof is in the pudding with Cameron Young playing the ball that’s already legal for that. He’s hit it three, you know, 375 on the last roll at TPC. It doesn’t make any sense. So, the only way to stop the distance is spin and smaller heads. And I don’t know why they’re not thinking about that. It doesn’t take a scientist. It just doesn’t.”

Mediate, however, believes the USGA and R&A are looking at the distance debate from the wrong perspective. The six-time PGA Tour winner argues that the issue cannot simply be reduced to how far the ball travels. He pointed to the relatively minor change in scoring averages over the decades to make his case. Despite the average driving distance increasing by around 40 yards since the late 1900s, scoring averages have improved by only about one stroke. For Mediate, that raises a key question: if distance were truly the fundamental problem, why has it not translated into a much larger drop in scoring?

That raises questions about whether reducing distance through the golf ball alone would make a significant difference—and Cameron Young’s numbers offer an interesting example. Despite using the new ball eligible under the proposed rollback rules, Young is averaging 318.3 yards off the tee this season, ranking 14th on the PGA Tour. Remarkably, that figure is even higher than his average with a different ball last year, when he averaged 313.2 yards. The numbers suggest that simply changing the ball may not be enough to curb distance at the elite level.

The USGA and R&A, however, are already exploring alternatives that could address the distance issue differently. At the request of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, the governing bodies are researching Model Local Rules that could be introduced in elite competitions as early as January 2028. As part of that process, they have contacted equipment manufacturers for input, and they have until October 21, 2026, to submit their responses.

Currently, three potential solutions are on the table: a tighter limit on golf-ball performance, less springy driver faces, and shorter clubs. However, these remain proposals for now and, if adopted, would apply only to elite-level professional competition rather than the game.

However, Mediate believes today’s golfers and equipment manufacturers can adapt to changes. As a result, he is open to adjustments regarding the golf ball but takes a firmer stance on clubs. In fact, Mediate suggested that governing bodies should leave the equipment rules unchanged rather than introduce further restrictions.

Other professionals have also weighed in with their own ideas for addressing the golf-ball rollback debate. Nick Faldo, for example, suggested using one-inch tees in competition, arguing that even the game’s longest hitters have found shorter tee lengths challenging. He also backed an idea by José María Olazábal, who proposed limiting professionals to nine clubs instead of the standard 14.

Faldo also believes the nine-club limit would encourage better shot-shaping and add another layer of strategy. Players would need to choose carefully which nine clubs best suit a particular course, potentially creating more variety in how they approach each shot while also helping speed up play. When Faldo later shared the idea with Rory McIlroy, the Northern Irishman reportedly backed the proposal.

Others, including Brian Harman and Adam Scott, have also argued that changing the golf ball alone will not be enough to address the issue. Rocco Mediate shares that view, calling for the governing bodies to consider more effective alternatives, such as increasing spin and reducing clubhead size. In his eyes, those changes could address distance while also preserving more of the skill and strategy that make the game challenging.