Rory McIlroy explains his 'selfish' opinion after going back to an old flame
Rory McIlroy has offered his 'controversial' opinion on the idea to rollback the golf ball for elite players from 2026.
Rory McIlroy says he backs the proposals to rollback the golf ball, highlighting a chat with the chairman of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club a few years ago.
McIlroy, 33, who will use some new equipment before the WGC Match Play, believes that overall the plans to reduce how far the golf ball will fly for the best players in the world will be of overall benefit to the game.
His comments stand in contrast to some of his peers, who have absolutely blasted the idea to implement a model local rule (MLR), that will would increase the test speed for golf balls used at elite competitions from the current 120mph to 127mph.
Justin Thomas 'ranted' on this subject for several minutes before the Valspar Championship. Sam Burns joined in, criticising the 'silly' idea.
Unsurprisingly, equipment manufacturers TaylorMade and Titleist have questioned the idea put forward by the two governing bodies that write golf's rules.
Related: Who is Rory McIlroy's wife?
In an exclusive interview with No Laying Up before taking to Austin Country Club, McIlroy explained why he was in favour of the idea.
He understands that his opinion will be 'controversial'.
In the interview McIlroy explained:
- He was 'adamant' he didn't want the governing bodies touching the recreational golfer because, 'We need to make this game as not as intimidating and as much fun as possible'.
- McIlroy believes, 'selfishly', that the roll back will help the better players in the world such as himself.
- A chat with the Ian Hewitt, the chairman of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, helped convince him the idea would be good. In tennis, they slowed the ball down and made the grass much stickier. "And then you fast forward three years from that and you've got Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal playing one of the greatest Wimbledon finals ever," McIlroy said.
- If he takes his PGA Tour hat off, he believes this is the best thing for the major championships.
McIlroy told the podcast:
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Why does his opinion differ from his peers?
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What about the majors?
McIlroy said:
Elsewhere, McIlroy has been testing out a Scotty Cameron Newport GSS before taking to Austin Country Club.
McIlroy used the flat stick to claim the first two of his four majors before signing a deal with Nike.
He told Golf that he was trying to 'rekindle an old flame'.
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