"Developing a new ball to substantially different specifications like that is almost like starting over for the ball manufacturers, " said Rugge of the USGA. All the major companies have multiple ball lines, each with different characteristics intended for different players.
The first thing I learned in talking to engineers from several leading ball manufacturers and to the U.S. Golf Association's just-retired technical director, Dick Rugge, is that it wouldn't be not if golfers want a ball that plays consistently throughout the bag.