Rory McIlroy thinks Philadelphia Cricket Club would be better with shorter-flying balls

USA Today

09-05-2025

Rory McIlroy thinks Philadelphia Cricket Club would be better with shorter-flying balls The A.W. Tillinghast course is a jewel from golf's Golden Age. Rory loves it, but has a hot take on what could make it even better.
With rain working its way through the northeast and mid-Atlantic area, Philadelphia Cricket Club's Wissahickon Course – which on the scorecard measures 7,119 yards, par 70 this week – is playing as long as it can. The A.W. Tillinghast layout, which opened in 1922, is a classic track from the Golden Age of golf.
Thursday, Rory McIlroy shot a 66 in the opening round of the Truist Championship and Friday he followed it up with a 67 before being asked if the conditions gave him a better sense of how the course was meant to be played, before modern technology and equipment allowed pros to overpower shorter venues.
"Yeah, absolutely. It's a little more strategic," McIlroy said. "I think there's a lot of debate about it, but if the golf ball just went a little shorter, this course would be awesome. Not that it isn't awesome anyway, but right now, for the distances we hit it, it's probably 500 or 600 yards too short."
In the not-too-distant future, McIlroy might get his wish.
In December, 2023, the USGA and R&A jointly announced that they plan to change how golf balls will be tested for conformity to reduce the effects of distance in the sport. The plan, which as of now is slated to begin in 2028, is to test balls using a robot that swings at a faster speed (125 mph) and that hits the ball on a higher launch angle with less spin. Shots will still not be allowed to exceed the Overall Distance Standard (ODS) of 317 yards of combined carry distance and roll (with a 3-yard tolerance), the changes could make many of today's balls non-conforming and force golfers to play shorter-distance balls.
"Yeah, it would be amazing to be able to play courses like this the way the architect wanted you to play them. So, yeah, it gives you a better appreciation when you play them in these conditions for sure," McIlroy said.
As Golfweek reported in March, the PGA Tour has quietly tested reduced-distance golf balls with several of its players, including 2023 British Open champion Brian Harman.
'I hit it a lot shorter,' Harman said. "The farther you hit it, the less you are affected by the first version of the golf ball. It's the first version but that was the finding.'