“We just don't have enough property anymore” - Tiger Woods advocates for golf ball rollback and endorses ‘bifurcation’ in rules

Not even Tiger Woods, on his return to the courses this weekend, was oblivious to the raging debate in the golf world: the ball rollback rule. Woods said he was in favor of the so-called 'bifurcation,' opining that players "don't have enough property anymore."

Tiger Woods made these comments after finishing his third round at the Hero World Challenge. According to Woods, the issue of golf's ever-increasing distances has been present since his arrival on the PGA Tour.

Here's what Tiger Woods had to say about the ball rollback rule (via TWLEGION):

"This has been I guess the talk ever since l've been out on Tour. And then to finally see it come to this point where I think both governing bodies who control the rules around the world are going to come to a collaborative understanding of how far -- we just doesn't have enough property anymore."

He added:

"So I think that understanding that yeah, we've been hammering the ball needs to slow down, but it has kept speeding up my entire time on career and here we are…. As I told you guys, I've always been for bifurcation. I've always said that. Just like wood bats and metal bats."

Tiger Woods finished the first 54 holes of the Hero World Challenge with a score of even par. His performance on Saturday, December 2, included five birdies and four bogeys.

What is the 'bifurcation' that Tiger Woods talked about?

The ball rollback rule being proposed by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the R&A seeks to reduce the length of strokes in golf. The two governing bodies have evaluated three possible scenarios.

The first is the general application of the rule. This would require golf at all levels and categories to use balls with less reach than the current ones. The main argument of the opponents of this scenario is that golf would become much more difficult for recreational players.

The second scenario is the so-called 'bifurcation'. This would mean that amateurs would continue to play under the current conditions, while professionals would play with shorter-range balls.

This is supported by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, among others. The main opponents of this option argue that it would eliminate one of the most distinctive features of golf: the fact that players of all categories can use the same equipment and play the same courses.

The third variant is to do nothing, i.e. to maintain the current state of affairs. Governing bodies consider this scenario unfeasible since the sustained growth of the range of golf shots threatens to make the current courses obsolete. Their expansion, however, is considered economically and environmentally unaffordable.