Equipment: What To Listen For If 46-Inches Becomes A Local Rule

If the USGA and R&A reduce the cap on club length, watch what the other Five Families say. It may tell us where the distance debate is headed.

Any day now—maybe even tomorrow since Tuesday’s end in a y—the USGA and R&A are overdue on a decision about the proposed “Model Local Rule” capping non-putter club length at 46 inches. According to the proposal, lowering the limit from 48 inches would be geared toward “competitions limited to highly skilled players.”

The likelihood of a rule change is s…