Outgoing USGA president on golf-ball rollback

Outgoing USGA president Fred Perpall was in attendance at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest in Dallas last month. Perpall’s appearance at the club where he is a founding member wasn’t the last formal act of his three-year tenure, but that day is coming soon, with president-elect Kevin Hammer ready to take over the post in 2026.

Perpall, who is the first black president in the USGA’s 131-year history, oversaw the organization during what was an explosive stretch for the game at large; in 2024, more than 47 million Americans played some form of golf, which represented a 38 percent increase from 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation. Perpall also presided during a period in which the USGA made strides toward making the game more accessible and sustainable; introduced a developmental program for elite junior players; and announced plans to roll back the golf ball, a decision that has led to much still-ongoing scrutiny from the golf world.  

As Perpall winds down his presidency, he spoke to GOLF.com about his tenure, the USGA’s priorities and the golf world’s response to the forthcoming ball rollback.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

GOLF.com: How would you rate your tenure as president?

Fred Perpall: It’s not for me to rate. I would say I’ve enjoyed my time as president. I feel grateful, and, another word, I would say accomplished. I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot, and the USGA is in a very good place. We’re investing in the future, in the game at the grassroots level, getting more people to play. We’re investing in the long-term health of the game, addressing distance and other sustainability matters. And we’ve invested heavily in leadership for the future of the USGA.

How do you see the ball-rollback situation netting out? Obviously, the governing bodies have met strong resistance from the likes of the PGA Tour, PGA of America and many leading manufacturers.

From the very beginning of the game of golf, the R&A and the USGA have been delegated the authority to write the Rules of Golf. We are not overly motivated by the professional game or by what’s good for the manufacturers. The professional golfers are doing their job; they’re getting bigger, stronger, healthier. The equipment manufacturers have done their job; they’ve made better equipment with more precise manufacturing techniques. So, everyone’s done their job, and it’s now time for us to do our job.

Do you see any forthcoming changes or compromises to 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 resources required to conduct the game, and we have to take a long-term view. So, we’ve been in this process for over eight years. We have come up with a solution that every one of those parties has had a seat at the table, and we have compromised with the PGA of America and the PGA Tour, who heavily drove this process.

What’s next?

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

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

The change will happen, and I suspect there’s a lot of fear and anxiety on this side of the change, but my suspicion is once we change, and once the rules go into effect, that this will be much ado about nothing for regular golfers. Long term, we can flatline the ever-expanding 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 so.

Why not?

I believe we have articulated, within the Rules of Golf, the process to change the rules. We’ve been meticulous on how we followed those rules. Everyone has had an impact on this current change, which has been highly influenced by the PGA of America and the PGA Tour. Everyone has had a seat at the table, and we’ve come up with a compromise and we’ve followed the process outlined in the rules precisely. When this rule has changed, everyone will have their own opportunity to determine whether they want to play by the rules of golf.

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

I feel pretty confident when you show up to an R&A championship or a USGA championship, you will be required to play conforming equipment that conforms to the Rules of Golf, and every organization, every tour, every champion will themselves have the opportunity to determine whether they want to play by the Rules of Golf. We’re pretty certain that in USGA and R&A championships, you will be playing by the Rules of Golf and at most of our host sites and our great USGA clubs, you’ll be playing conforming equipment.

When you took this job, you said diversifying the game was one of your top priorities. “As the first black president,” you said, “I feel like I have a responsibility to show others the path.” Do you feel like you’ve been able to create that pathway? At the U.S. Junior Amateur, for example, there still are very few minorities in the field.

I’d say two things: One, we didn’t get here overnight in terms of how exclusive and homogeneous the game is. Two, the game requires a lot of resources, and because of the history of our country, people in underserved communities have not had the same level of resources, which points to the ability to access this game.

What have you done to close this gap?

We’ve established two programs during my time that I think are going to have great effect in terms of who leads the game and who plays the game.

One is our pathway program. We started a program for 50 kids who have already shown the ability the lead — to give them pathways into leadership roles in golf. Our goal is to create a lot of future leaders in golf that come from the communities that we’re trying to reach, so we have diversity in the leadership.

Then we start established the U.S. National Development Program that gives $50,000 a year to kids. The good news this year, we have a couple of our grant recipients playing in these championships — and of the 50 grant recipients this year, 50 percent of them are women and minorities. We think that if a kid can play golf, the color of their skin doesn’t matter, where they were born, the shirt on their back and who their parents are. If they can get the ball in the hole, we want them to continue on this journey of elite golf, and we now are going to put some dollars into that so that kids of all backgrounds have the same resources and we level the playing field in terms of who can play golf.

Why do you think this initiative is so important to the game at large?

I think when you care about something, it becomes personal, and when it’s personal, it becomes permanent, and we are leaving permanent programs in place to integrate and to involve and include more Americans in golf. That’s going to be good for golf, but it’s also going to be good for every community that plays golf, because the wonderful thing we love about golf is who it puts you next to. We can improve the game by including more people, and we also think we can improve our country by giving Americans of all backgrounds more opportunities to be with each other. That’s a good deal.

“>