‘The change will happen’: the outgoing USGA president reflects on reversing golf ball

The outgoing USGA president Fred Perpall was present at the American junior amateur in Trinity Forest in Dallas last month. The appearance of Percall in the club where he is one of the founders was not the last formal act of his three-year term of office, but that day soon, with President-Elect Kevin Hammer, it will be ready to take over the mail in 2026.

Percall, who is the first black president in the 131-year history of the USGA, supervised the organization during what was an explosive for the game in general; In 2024, more than 47 million Americans played a form of Golf, which, according to the National Golf Foundation, represented an increase of 38 percent compared to 2019. Perpall was also chairman during a period in which the USGA made steps to make the game more accessible and sustainable; introduced a development program for Elite Junior players; And announced plans to reverse the golf ball, a decision that has led to much still long -term research from the golf world.

While Perpall ends his presidency, he spoke with Golf.com about his term of office, the priorities of the USGA and the golf world’s response to the upcoming balwinning.

This interview is slightly processed for clarity and concise.

Golf.com: How would you judge your term of office as a president?

Fred Perpall: It is not up to me to assess. I would say I enjoyed my time as a president. I feel grateful, and another word, I would say accomplished. I feel that we have achieved a lot, and the USGA is in a very good place. We invest in the future, in the game at the basic level, so that more people can play. We invest in long -term health health health, with regard to distance and other sustainability issues. And we have invested heavily in leadership for the future of the USGA.

How do you see the situation of the ball grid? It is clear that the administrative bodies have placed strong resistance from the PGA Tour, PGA from America and many leading manufacturers.

From the very beginning of the golf game, the R&A and the USGA have been delegated to the authority to write the rules of Golf. We are not overly motivated by the professional game or because of what is good for the manufacturers. The professional golfers do their work; They get bigger, stronger, healthier. The manufacturers of equipment have done their work; They have made better equipment with more precise production techniques. So everyone has done their job, and it is now time for us to do our work.

Do you see upcoming changes or compromises in the plan that you announced in 2023?

We have to look at these extreme distances in golf and what it means for the footprint of golf and the means needed to perform the game, and we have to take a long -term image. So we have been in this process for more than eight years. We have devised a solution that all those parties have at the table, and we have compromised with the PGA of America and the PGA Tour, which have applied this process heavily.

What is the following?

We have indicated that the rule will change around the golf ball in 2028, and we are going to change the rules of Golf to be possible. That rule will go into place in 2028 for professionals and in 2030 for all golfers.

What do you think is the thrust of the feedback when the change becomes official?

The change will take place, and I suspect that there is a lot of fear and fear on this side of the change, but my suspicion is that once we change, and once the rules come into force, that this will have been made a lot about nothing for regular golfers. Long term we can prepare the ever -increasing footprint of golf, which I think it will be better for the game.

Do you see a legal fight coming?

No, I don’t believe that.

Why not?

I believe that, within the rules of Golf, we have articulated the process to change the rules. We have been meticulous about how we followed those rules. Everyone has influenced this current change, which is strongly influenced by the PGA of America and the PGA Tour. Everyone had a place at the table and we came up with a compromise and we precisely followed the process in the rules. When this rule has changed, everyone gets their own chance to determine whether they want to play according to the golf rules.

What happens if some tours choose not to follow the new rules?

I feel pretty confident when you pop up at an R&A championship or a USGA championship, you have to play in accordance with the rules of golf, and every organization, every tour, each champion gets the opportunity to determine whether they want to play according to the rules of Golf. We are pretty sure that you will play in USGA and R&A championships due to the rules of Golf and at most of our guest sites and our large USGA clubs, you will play conforming equipment.

When you took this job, you said that diversifying the game was one of your top priorities. “As the first black president,” you said, “I feel that I have the responsibility to show others the path.” Do you feel that you have been able to make that path? With the American junior amateur, for example, there are still few minorities in the field.

I would say two things: one, we did not come here at night in terms of how exclusive and homogeneous is the game. Two, the game requires a lot of resources, and because of the history of our country, people in disadvantaged communities have not had the same level of resources, which points to the ability to gain access to this game.

What did you do to close this gap?

We have set up two programs in my time that I think will have a great effect in terms of whom the game leads and who plays the game.

One is our Pathway program. We started with a program for 50 children who have already shown the possibility of the lead – to give them paths to leadership roles in Golf. Our goal is to create many future leaders in Golf who come from the communities that we are trying to reach, so we have diversity in leadership.

We then start the American national development program that gives $ 50,000 a year to children. The good news this year, we have some of our subsidy recipients who play in these championships -and of the 50 subsidy recipients this year, 50 percent of them are women and minorities. We think that if a child can play golf, the color of their skin does not matter, where they were born, the shirt on their backs and who their parents are. If they can get the ball in the hole, we want them to continue with this journey from Elite Golf, and we are now going to put some dollars in, so that children of all backgrounds have the same means and we level the playing field in terms of who can play golf.

Why do you think this initiative is so important for the game in general?

I think when you care about something, it becomes personal, and when it is personal, it becomes permanent and we leave permanent programs to integrate and involve more Americans in golf. That will be good for Golf, but it will also be good for every community that plays Golf, because it is beautiful what we like about golf who also brings it. We can improve the game by taking more people, and we also think we can improve our country by giving Americans of all backgrounds more opportunities to be together. That’s a good deal.

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