WATCH: Fired-up Rory McIlroy takes aim at golfing authorities over proposed rule changes

Addressing the ongoing distance debate in golf, Rory McIlroy has slammed the game’s authorities for trying to fix something that isn’t broken.
It was announced on Tuesday that golf’s governing bodies intend to limit the length of a driver shaft to 46 inches, two inches shorter than the current legal limit, with further changes potentially on the horizon.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, a surprisingly passionate McIlroy accused the R&A and USGA of wasting time and money by spending “millions of dollars” on “looking at the wrong thing”.
“I feel the R&A and USGA are looking at golf through a tiny, narrow little lens that pertains to 0.1% of golfers,” McIlroy said.
“Yes, of course the ball goes a long way with top-level professionals and top-level amateurs and the guys who make their living playing this game, but 99.9% of golfers don’t do that. And they don’t want the ball to go shorter. They need help getting the ball in the air for going further!
“Golf has had an unbelievable boom in 2020. This pandemic has been so good for golf, and the fact that they’re looking at the wrong thing…
“They spent millions of dollars doing this Distance Insight report, which I think… it’s not going to change the game at all.
“They might put new regulations on manufacturers – manufacturers are going to find a way to get around them. That’s how good they are.
“So those millions of dollars spent on the Distance Insight report should have been put back into the grassroots of the game, because golf is experiencing a boom, so we need more younger people in the game, we need more minorities in the game. That’s how we keep the game going for the next 100 years – not by looking at the ball and the driver. And that’s my whole thing.
“I’m probably going to get in trouble for saying this but it reeks of self-importance, and that’s not… yes, they’re the gatekeepers of the game, but their job is to make sure the game thrives in a hundred years’ time, and this is not the way to do it.
“The way to do it is by getting more people into the game and by making golf more approachable. And if you’re just piling and piling rules onto people all the time, that doesn’t make it approachable.”
After his passionate rant, McIlroy admitted to reporters that he’d “woken up in a mood” and was just “keeping it going”.
Latest
-
PGA Championship
Graeme Storm recalls ‘surreal’ US PGA adventure after battle with Rory McIlroy
His famous victory over McIlroy came on the third extra hole in the 2017 South African Open in Johannesburg
-
PGA Tour
Lee Kyoung-Hoon shoots his lowest round on the tour to retain Texas title
Dallas-born Jordan Spieth went close with a chip for eagle on the 18th which would have forced a play-off.
-
European Tour
Sam Horsfield ‘so happy’ after winning Soudal Open to secure another title
Horsfield overcame overnight leader Ryan Fox in a thrilling final-round battle.
-
PGA Championship
Justin Rose still has drive to succeed as ‘exciting challenge’ of US PGA arrives
Rose won the US Open in 2013 and Olympic gold in Rio three years later, but has not tasted victory since February 2019.
-
PGA Championship
Tiger Woods will expect to do better at US PGA Championship – Curtis Strange
Woods returned to top-level action after a long injury absence with a 47th-placed finished at the Masters.
-
PGA Championship
Defending champion Phil Mickelson withdraws from US PGA Championship
The six-time major winner has been taking a break from golf.
-
PGA Tour
English rookie David Skinns shares lead in Texas
The 40-year-old from Lincoln shot a second-round 63 in the AT&T Byron Nelson.
-
PGA Championship
Jordan Spieth looking for career grand slam at US PGA Championship
The presence or absence of defending champion Phil Mickelson which will dominate the conversation at Southern Hills.
-
PGA Championship
5 contenders to win the US PGA Championship
Tiger Woods could contend for victory in Tulsa.
-
News
We’ve got your back – Greg Norman promises to defend players on breakaway tour
Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood are among the professionals to have asked for the required release to play the first event at Centurion Club.