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Dustin Johnson has said he doesn’t believe there should be a move from the governing bodies to control distance.

The comments from the current Masters champ and world No.1 come in the wake of Tuesday’s public announcement from the R&A and USGA, in which they uncovered proposals to limit the distance players can hit the ball.

The news came a year after the two organisations unveiled their Distance Insights Project – an undertaking that Johnson believes “is not needed”.

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“I don’t think so,” responded the 36-year-old, when asked if golf needs to have something in place to control distance. “I mean, if you look at the scores over the last 15 years, scores aren’t really any different, and I don’t feel like the game is too easy by any means.”

Johnson, now a two-time major champion following his record-breaking victory at Augusta National in November, pointed towards course conditions being a major mitigating factor when it comes to distance.

“If you’re playing a golf course that’s soft and really good greens, I mean, we’re going to shoot low,” he added. “But you take that same golf course and make it firm and fast with a little bit of rough, and the scores are going to change dramatically.

“It’s all conditions I think. But I don’t think that we’re hitting it too far or our scores are too good. So, if they want to do something, that’s fine, but obviously we’ll all adjust to it and go from there. But as of right now, I don’t think there’s anything they need to do.”

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Fellow pro Rory McIlroy was also heavily critical of the governing bodies plan, as he labelled the Distance Insights Project “a waste of time and money”.

“They are looking at the game through such a tiny little lens, that what they’re trying to do is change something that pertains to 0.1% of the golfing community,” said McIlroy. “99.9% of the people this play this game play for enjoyment, for entertainment. They don’t need to be told what ball or clubs to use.”

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