The two bodies governing the game globally – the United States Golf Association (USGA) and The R&A – recently announced a proposed new Model Local Rule (MLR) to be enacted no earlier than January 2026 in an attempt to combat the distance gains in elite professional golf.
It was 1997 when John Daly became the first player to average more than 300 yards off the tee, a distance that was 30 yards further than the average Tour pro, of the time. Fast forward to 2023 and the average driving distance for the entire Tour is a tick under 300 yards, and by 2024 it is predicted the Tour average will surpass that mark. For context,
