Bryson DeChambeau delivers damning verdict on rolled-back golf ball

In potentially the least surprising news of the week, it turns out Bryson DeChambeau is not a fan of a rolled-back golf ball.

Shocker, right?

The big-hitting major champion shared that conclusion in a video on his YouTube channel after playing nine holes with a ball similar to the one pros could be made to use in just a few years’ time.

In December, the R&A and USGA shared proposals for a game-changing universal golf ball rollback, that will see distance controlled not just for the game’s elite, but also for regular amateurs.

The plans – set to come into effect for professionals in 2028 and amateurs in 2030 – will make almost every ball currently on the market non-conforming, with balls that do conform expected to be up to 15 yards shorter at the elite level.

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Keen to assess the impact of that decision, LIV man DeChambeau used a Nike One Tour ball for nine holes at Dallas National Golf Club – and, despite playing the holes in one-under, was less than impressed.

“Range balls go farther than this,” he grumbled. “They don’t have that type of compression.

“I know when I’ve hit range balls in the past and I’ll hit it off the heel and toe it will miss right and left.

“So there’s something about the compression of it that makes the ball not react to send it back straight.

“Everything I saw today, from my perspective, I personally wouldn’t want it.”

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He added: “They’re saying it’s like a ten to 11-yard difference but it’s like 15 to 20. I don’t like it.”

DeChambeau, who reported a drop in ball speed of around 6mph from 188mph to 182mph, was also frustrated by the lack of movement in the flight of the ball, which he described as ‘wild’.

“Because the ball is going shorter, it’s just not curving as much,” he added. ‘When it’s going shorter it’s just not curving as much. Normally, that ball would be going farther and curving more.

“It’s curving completely differently to what I’m used to. I’m thankful I’m not playing it right now. I’d have to change my whole game just because of the golf ball.”

Watch the full video with Bryson DeChambeau below:

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor