Latest news with #PGAchampionship
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
What is a mud ball? Scheffler frustrated at PGA Championship
The world's best golfers began the PGA Championship on Thursday, but the main talking point coming out of Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, United States, was a bit number one Scottie Scheffler spoke about the issue on Thursday, but what exactly is a mud ball? What is a mud ball and why does it matter? A mud ball is actually quite self-explanatory - it's when golf balls get covered in mud and dirt during bad might not sound too important, but it can greatly affect the flights and trajectory of balls, often causing them to spin most golf tournaments preferred lies are in place, a rule that permits players to lift, clean, and place their ball within a specified distance of its original position on closely mown areas, generally during periods of adverse at majors like the PGA, the introduction of preferred lies is at the discretion of tournament organisers. What happened at the PGA? Quail Hollow was hit by heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday and while most of the course was in good condition on Thursday, the 16th hole caused serious problems for the best players in the number one Scheffler and world number three Xander Schauffele picked up mud on their balls, before both pulled their approach shots to the green well wide and into the water. Both carded double unlikely either would have made that mistake under normal is tied 20th in the standings on -2 after day one, while Schauffele is tied 60th on + Open champion McIlroy is down in joint-98th on +3. What did the players say? Both Scheffler and Schauffele voiced their frustrations at the PGA of America's decision not to allow 'preferred lies' on Thursday."It's one of those deals where it's frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it's going to go," Scheffler said."I understand it's part of the game, but there's nothing more frustrating for a player. You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes."But I don't make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules. I did a good job of battling back today and not letting a bad break like that, which cost me a couple shots, get to me. Did a good job battling after that and posting a decent score." What did the PGA say? The PGA of America decided against introducing preferred lies after weather conditions improved."We do not plan to play preferred lies. The playing surfaces are outstanding and are drying by the hour. We are mowing the fairways this evening," read a statement published on Wednesday evening."We are looking forward to an exciting opening round to the 107th PGA Championship."It has not responded to Scheffler's comments.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
What is a mud ball? Explaining the PGA Championship's golf rules controversy
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — They drive professional golfers up the wall. They're highly unpredictable — unfair, depending on who you ask. You never know when you're going to get one or how bad it's going to be. They're 'mud balls,' the bain of any pro golfer's existence. They've become a hot topic already this week at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, with two of the top-three ranked players in the world choosing to complain about championship officials letting them happen. To hear Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele describe the controversy, the PGA is at stake with each fleck stuck to a once-pristine golf ball. Advertisement What is a mud ball, why do they happen and what can players do to combat their devious effects? When a drive lands in a wet fairway, it doesn't react as it normally would, with at least a few yards of roll. Instead, it lands, bounces once, maybe twice, and clumps of mud can start to attach to the sides of the golf ball. Or worse, that mud just splatters all over the ball's surface. Walking up to one of your best drives of the day as it's sitting in the middle of the fairway, only to find that half of the ball is covered in mud is a disheartening ritual. At Quail Hollow, the experience was frequent throughout Thursday's first round. Heavy rainfall earlier this week soaked the overseeded ryegrass fairways, and as the course gets more traction and starts to dry up, the mud balls might get even more penal. 'They're going to get in that perfect cake zone to where it's kind of muddy underneath and then picking up mud on the way through,' Schauffele said. The sight of a mud ball alone is vexing but it's how the mud impacts the ball flight that really gets players going. Pros hit the ball with speeds ranging from 100 mph to in excess of 180, depending on the club choice, and the added surface area caused by the mud can impact the direction that it flies. Professional swing coach Joe Mayo, the self-proclaimed 'TrackMan Maestro' for his expertise in employing the PGA Tour-ubiquitous $20,000 launch monitor, says that mud balls are all about aerodynamics. Tests and experiments throughout the years have proven a general principle to be true: When the mud is stuck to the right side of the ball, the ball is going to curve left. And when the mud is on the left side of the ball, the ball is going to curve right. The mismatched forces on either side of the ball cause the air to flow around it disproportionately. Advertisement 'It creates an aerodynamic effect, like a plane tilting its wings,' Mayo says. 'How does a pilot curve a plane? He just tilts the wings and it causes a pressure imbalance. So that mud is causing a pressure imbalance that pushes the ball to the left when it's on the right-hand side of the ball. And when the mud is on the left-hand side of the ball, there's a pressure imbalance pushing the ball to the right.' A ball covered in mud all over is even worse — a 'double whammy,' Mayo calls it. The ball is not only going to potentially curve offline, it's going to fly shorter because it will lose ball speed. The mud in between the face of the club and the ball acts as a sort of pillow, dampening the interaction between the two surfaces. Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, called mud balls one of the most frustrating issues a professional golfer can experience after he posted a 2-under 69 in the PGA Championship's opening round. On Thursday, Scheffler and Schauffele both found the water because of mud balls on the 16th hole. They both walked away with double bogey. Scheffler went on an uncharacteristic rant in his post-round interview about it. 'You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes,' Scheffler said. 'But I don't make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules.' The thing about mud balls is that they can easily be prevented by the rules of golf. Tournaments can choose to employ 'preferred lies,' which is a temporary rule that allows players to 'lift, clean and replace' their ball when it is in the fairway. The mud is wiped away. But it's generally understood that in major championships, the ball is never to be played 'up,' another colloquial term for the process. There's a belief system that the rule takes away from the purity of the final round of the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol, won by Jimmy Walker for his only major championship, was the last major round to use preferred lies. Advertisement 'When I look at golf tournaments, I want the purest, fairest test of golf, and in my opinion maybe the ball today should have been played up,' Scheffler said. 'But like I said, I don't make the rules.' It's not a complete exaggeration. Scheffler believes that the mud on his Titleist cost him two shots on No. 16 and he's 2-under through Round 1, three strokes behind the leaders, Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis. At last month's Masters, Jordan Spieth notably called out mud balls, claiming that they significantly impacted his weekend scoring. Apparently, suggesting Augusta National can be muddy is on the no-no list: 'It's just so frustrating because you can't talk about them here,' Spieth said. Complaining about mud balls can in some ways be seen as a jab to the golf course and its maintenance staff. But this week at Quail Hollow, the weather has made them inevitable. You guys complain about distance. We complain about mud balls. Just kinda what we do lol — Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) May 15, 2025 To combat these types of on-course dilemmas, some players go as far as to communicate with equipment engineers and PhDs to train themselves to best evaluate scenarios like that of a mud ball. When Mayo was working with Hovland, the pair decided to call up PING's President of Engineering, Paul Wood, in the middle of the 2023 PGA Championship to help figure out how the moisture on the golf course would affect the flight of his irons. They were told that water creates different aerodynamics depending on what club you have in your hand — water causes long irons to spin more, and short irons to spin less. But trying to mitigate the effect of a mud ball is a dangerous game. Some players preemptively try to hit tee shots lower, so the ball skips along the ground and rids itself of some mud before coming to rest. But that will sacrifice distance. So when you get over the ball, you can try your best to predict what's going to happen, or you can just accept fate and wait to see how the ball reacts in the air. The result could be totally fine. Or it could get ugly. And it could decide a major championship. (Top photo of Ryan Fox: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
PGA of America boss wants rethink on rollback rule
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, May 13 (Reuters) - Golf's governing bodies need to rethink plans to implement new testing procedures that would curb how far golf balls travel, PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague said on Tuesday. Sprague, speaking to reporters ahead of this week's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club, said his organisation is against the planned rollback rule announced in December 2023 and feels more discussions are needed to find a different solution. "We're certainly vehemently against the ball rollback. We've had great conversations with the governing bodies since that point," said Sprague. "We've had several constructive and collaborative meetings probably a number of times, three, four times. I feel really good about where we are with them, and we're going to continue to collaborate on the proposed rollbacks." In late 2023, the United States Golf Association and R&A announced that in an effort to reduce the effects of distance in the sport they would change how golf balls will be tested for conformity. As such, the governing bodies said that starting in 2028 the game's longest hitters can expect a reduction of 13-15 yards in drive distance via testing conditions that will increase from the current standard of 120 mph swing speed to 125 mph. Longer golf courses require additional resources such as water, the cost of renovating or moving elements like tees and bunkers continues to rise and other long-term impacts have been identified as a result of increased distance. The governing bodies believe that if the sport is to enjoy a sustainable long-term future then the aforementioned economic and environmental impacts have to be kept under control. But the rule will also affect recreational golfers -- which was not expected to be the case when the R&A and USGA first unveiled their proposals -- beginning in 2030 when driving distance reductions will be five yards or less. Sprague, who was named CEO of the PGA of America last December, said his organisation is working on a "deep-dive" to make sure the rollback is the right idea. "They're clear where I stand, where we stand for sure. I talk really almost monthly now with the governing bodies, and we're working to really take a deep dive on the rollback and make sure it's the right thing," said Sprague. "We're really concerned about the 28 million golfers in this country, and ... a number of people have reached out, a number of amateur golfers, recreational golfers have reached out and have the same concerns that we do. "They're thanking us for pushing this issue to make sure it's well thought out, and if we can hit the pause button or change it altogether, that's our goal."
