Augusta chair supports reducing driving distance

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday that the club supports governing bodies' efforts to reduce elite driving distance, which he says are needed to protect golf's integrity.

"My feeling on this subject is [that] failure's not an option," Ridley said during a news conference ahead of this week's Masters. "I think we need to continue to work together to come to some agreement. Tough issues like this require compromise, and I think there has been some compromise to date."

The United States Golf Association announced in March that it might not implement a new Overall Distance Standard, which would reduce elite driving distances by 15 yards, until 2030. The USGA and R&A had previously stated the new testing rules would apply to elite players in 2028 before affecting all golfers in 2030.

"I want to reemphasize that support and affirm our position as the USGA and R&A represent their collective obligation as custodians of the game," Ridley said. "I also want to be clear that our position is grounded on much more than protecting the Augusta National golf course. We will continue to make modifications as are necessary to react to driving distances that in some cases exceed 350 yards."

Ridley noted that amateur Jackson Herrington, who qualified for his first Masters as the 2025 U.S. Amateur runner-up, told him that he drove balls over the fairway bunkers on Nos. 1 and 5 during practice rounds this week

"About a 325-yard carry, and one was into the wind," Ridley said.

The Masters tees on the par-4, 445-yard opening hole were pushed back 20 to 25 yards in 2002 and additional 15 to 20 yards four years later.

The par-4 fifth hole was lengthened to 445 yards in 2003 and extended by another 40 yards in 2019.

"I've said that we can make changes, but there's not much we can do to make [additional] changes -- unless we tear down the Eisenhower Cabin, and we're not going to do that," Ridley said of the iconic cabin near the 10th tee, which was built by the club for U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife in 1953.

"We'll make changes when we can, but I think it's time to really address this issue. It's been talked about for a long time. There's certainly commercial interests that are at play here, and we all know what those are."

The USGA and R&A announced in January that they were seeking additional input on whether it would be more efficient to implement the rollback for all golfers on a single date instead of a staggered start. The input period ends April 16.

"Unfortunately, many courses, including some iconic venues, do not have that option," Ridley said, about making course changes to accommodate increased length. "Until recent years, golf has been a game of imagination, creativity, and variety. The game has become much more one-dimensional."

Ridley argued the proposed equipment changes would be "immaterial" to recreational golfers.

"Regulation of the golf ball is not an attempt to turn back time or stifle progress," he said. "It is an effort to preserve the essence of what makes golf the great game that it is."

Also, Ridley said Augusta National Golf Club supported five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods' decision to step away from competitive golf and his administrative roles with the PGA Tour to seek treatment, following his DUI arrest in Florida on March 27.

Woods was involved in redesigning the existing course and a new nine-hole short course at The Patch, which will open to the public on April 15.

Later this year, Augusta National Golf Club will break ground on a new TGR Learning Lab, a STEM learning facility that Woods and his TGR Foundation created more than two decades ago.

"I would like to add that we fully support Tiger's recent decision to focus on his health and well-being," Ridley said. "Our commitment to the TGR Foundation and to Tiger personally has not wavered. We wish him the very best."