Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley reaffirmed the club's backing of the proposed golf ball rollback during his annual pre-Masters press conference. He called on golf's stakeholders to reach an agreement, stating that failure is not an option. Ridley highlighted efforts to preserve the game's integrity beyond just long drives.
Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National, expressed strong support for the USGA and R&A's golf ball rollback proposal, set for 2028 at the professional level. Speaking on Wednesday, he said, “There’s always been quite a lot of agreement. My feeling on this subject is failure’s not an option. I think we need to continue to work together to come to some agreement.” The initiative aims to protect what makes golf great, according to Ridley, and goes beyond concerns for the club's own course, which now measures 7,565 yards after significant lengthening over 25 years. The par-5 13th hole, one of golf's most famous non-par-3s, was extended by 35 yards to 545 yards in 2023. To build the new tee, Augusta National bought land from the adjacent Augusta Country Club in 2017 and rerouted part of Chapman Court. Ridley noted that this change increased driver usage from 60% to 90% of the field, restoring the hole's original excitement and strategic decisions envisioned by Bobby Jones and Dr. Alister MacKenzie. Ridley acknowledged that not all courses can make such alterations, citing amateur Jackson Herrington's 325-yard carries into the wind on holes 1 and 5. He reiterated past comments that the Masters should not reach 8,000 yards and urged action on the rollback, first proposed in December 2023, amid recent USGA considerations for a 2030 delay with simultaneous implementation across levels. The new standards would limit ball flight to 317 yards at higher clubhead speeds.
