The golf ball rollback is one of the most intensely fought debates in modern golf.

Ever-increasing distances threaten golf courses around the world. The Home of Golf, St Andrews, is undergoing renovations to keep up with how far modern players hit the ball, prompting many in the game to call for a rollback. 

Some want to introduce a golf ball that doesn’t travel as far, but others say the change would be ineffective. Cameron Young has used the new golf ball all season and doesn’t seem to have missed a beat. 

But while this conversation feels like one that spawned in the 21st century, it’s actually a debate that has raged for a century.

What Bobby Jones said about the golf ball rollback in 1927

Until around 1900, golfers played with gutta-percha balls, also known as gutties. The balls were made from sap from the gutta-percha tree, which forms a rubber-like material.

These golf balls were then replaced by the Haskell, a rubber-cored wound ball that offered significantly better performance. But not everyone welcomed the change.

Bobby Jones, co-founder of The Masters, said the new Haskell ball should be limited to amateurs, leaving pros with the gutties. 

Speaking to the Pittsburgh Press in 1927, Jones said, “Modern golf is ruining every golf course in America. There has been a constant stretching of courses to cope with increased distances. That makes up a vicious circle. Championship caliber links once were 6,000 yards; then 6,500 yards; now they are close to 7,000 yards and, if it keeps up, may have to go to 7,500.

“The premium is now on strength; it should be on skill! Golf has deteriorated to a drive-and-pitch proposition. The most skillful clubs in the bag are rusty with the too lively ball. My two favored shots are a long iron to the green and a spoon. How many times do I get a chance to use either in the course of a round? Not many.

“And what a kick there is in playing a long iron or a spoon up to within a few feet of the hole! What we lose in distance with the ‘gutty’ ball we will make up in control.

“Let the majority of golfers keep their fun and their electric balls: I merely suggest that a saner brand be selected for the small-handicap players and stars in championships. And after all, what difference does it make whether you go around a course in 65 strokes with the present ball or 80 strokes with something restoring the balance between strength and skill?”

This feels remarkably similar to the conversations we’re having today. Jones’ comments have aged incredibly well, as the future of golf is now threatened by the game’s ever-improving technology.

Perhaps the time to stop this change was 100 years ago.