\t\t\t\tIn this interview with TG, Colin Montgomerie takes aim at some of the biggest problems he sees in modern golf.<\/p>\n
Colin Montgomerie believes that procrastination from golf\u2019s authorities is further damaging an already \u201cone dimensional\u201d modern game that has rendered some of his favorite courses obselete.<\/p>\n
Much to the chagrin of Montgomerie and many other greats of the sport, it was revealed before this year\u2019s US Open that the R&A and USGA would be delaying the implementation of golf ball testing rules that would roll back driving distances by up to 15 yards until January 2030 at the earliest.<\/p>\n
Average distances have rocketed by more than 50 yards since Montgomerie dominated European golf in the 1990s and the 63-year-old Scot insists the battle between the turbo-charged equipment and the game\u2019s storied venues was lost long ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one dimensional game that\u2019s being played right now is bombing, find it if you\u2019re lucky, and then putt, he tells TG. \u201cIn our day it was a four or five dimensional game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The original proposal to rein in the golf ball was supposed to be introduced at the elite level in 2028 and two years later for amateurs, but the governing bodies are now working with the tours and re-evaluating whether their plan was actually a tangible solution. Fears their plans would have no profound effect were realized this year when it emerged that Cameron Young won The Players with a ball that already conforms to the proposed new testing standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople say it\u2019s the ball, now that hasn\u2019t really worked well,\u201d Montgomerie sighs, reflecting on Young\u2019s win. \u201cIt goes like seven yards less! No, no, no. Seventy yards less, not seven. Something has to be done because these great old courses are becoming obsolete. And you\u2019ll find that at St Andrews [at The Open] next year, if we have a warm summer, my god, the ball won\u2019t stop. We\u2019ve got to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montgomerie, though, isn\u2019t committing to an alternative solution \u2013 but he seems keen on a couple of ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s theories going on all over the place,\u201d he says. \u201cDo we go to 12 clubs in the bag? Or do we go to a smaller-headed driver, which means that the ball\u2019s going to go offline more with less dispersion?\u201d<\/p>\n
On a recent Instagram<\/a> post, Montgomerie proved his point by digging out the driver he used in the final of the British Amateur against Jose Maria Olazabal in 1984 and put the club alongside his 2026 weapon of choice. In comparison, Montgomerie\u2019s latest driver head looks the size of a frying pan.<\/p>\n A merciful evolution for the weekend warriors, perhaps, but Montgomerie says that has come to the detriment of the pro game as a spectacle. It is unclear where R&A and USGA will go next, but the apparent dithering on such an existential issue, as the various stakeholders agree on a way forward, infuriates Montgomerie.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I would like to see happen is make a decision and go with it now as opposed to having to wait four years for the next rule to change,\u201d he says. \u201cFour years? Come on! What the hell? Let\u2019s just do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Montgomerie\u2019s other concern is that these revered venues aren\u2019t only running out of space to accommodate the big-hitting pros, but also fans. He is speaking with TG during The Open at Royal Birkdale, which drew a record-breaking attendance of 306,000. The upshot of the game\u2019s oldest major becoming a commercial behemoth is that venues are now cramped in their bids to meet demand.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see what\u2019s happening to The Open and the numbers involved now,\u201d says Montgomerie. \u201cSome of these classic courses are running out room. Muirfield is running out of room. Turnberry is running out of room. There\u2019s a number of them that infrastructurally cannot cope with 300,000 fans. At St Andrews next year they\u2019re talking about 400,000. Hang on. These old courses at the end of a train line can\u2019t cope. It\u2019s unfortunate that way that we\u2019re having to play courses that have more space other than the ones that are true Open venues to accommodate what\u2019s gone on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was less than 100,000 during last Turnberry Open in 2009. It\u2019s dramatic, we\u2019re talking four times that. It is a shame we have to go to the bigger venues as opposed to the best ones. Is it a sign of the times? Yes it is. It\u2019s good for golf that we want people to come and watch, [but] it has to be the word \u2018money\u2019 is involved. That word wins every time.\u201d<\/p>\n The R&A\u2019s chief executive Mark Darbon stressed at Birkdale that the tournament\u2019s return to Royal Lytham in 2028 is proof that the Open is prioritizing the best courses over their bottom line.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re able to facilitate spectator volumes onsite, we\u2019ll always consider that, but it\u2019s not the primary driver for us,\u201d Darbon said. \u201cLytham has a much smaller footprint. There\u2019s absolutely no way we\u2019ll be near the volume of spectators at Lytham that we have [at Birkdale].<\/p>\n \u201cOur choices, first and foremost, start with the underlying principle for us, which is we want to take the Open Championship to venues that will offer a true test of links golf. We\u2019re not taking venues off the rotation because they\u2019re smaller than others, but there\u2019s a balance to be struck too, and we think we\u2019re getting that right.\u201d<\/p>\n Montgomerie\u2019s fierce passion for golf is still evidenced by his play on the Champions Tour. He also still loves watching the elite game, even if he believes it has diminished as a viewing product. But he is clearly concerned about the direction in which it is heading. His biggest gripe still relates to slow play<\/a> and Montgomerie harks back to the time when Lee Trevino won the Open in 1971 playing in three-balls that took fewer than four hours. The first two rounds at Birkdale in July closed in on the six-hour mark.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too long a chat between the caddie and the player,\u201d Montgomerie says. \u201cMy god, it goes on forever.\u00a0The book comes out. How many times have they got the bloody book out?\u00a0Once that ball is placed on the green\u00a0it should not be marked again\u00a0to get the line on the ball.<\/p>\n \u201cThey say there\u2019s a huge deterrent for slow play. But was anybody penalised?\u00a0No.\u201d<\/p>\n Montgomerie was speaking in Southport shortly before Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s rules fiasco engulfed the final major of the season<\/a>. As his mainstream media blackout continues, DeChambeau is still yet to fully address the chaos at Birkdale that saw him given a two-shot penalty and allegedly threaten to quit the tournament.\u00a0Montgomerie believes it should now be an obligation for golfers to fulfil post-round media duties.<\/p>\n \u201cThis social media day that we live in, Bryson\u2019s made an awful lot of money through the YouTube channels and all the media involvement,\u201d he says. \u201cA bit like the tennis, if you\u2019re given 10-15 minutes and the media know you\u2019re coming in, but it might be a slightly delayed 15 minutes as opposed to straight away, I think that\u2019s fair. But I think it\u2019s right that we as players give to the media.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as you\u2019re there to say what you feel about the round, I think we should be compulsory to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Colin Montgomerie was speaking to TG as an ambassador for Loch Lomond Whiskies<\/a>. <\/p>\n \t\t\t