Sports

Mike Whan And The USGA Deserve Credit For Golf's Long Game

By Brendon Elliott Athlon Sports

Updated June 17, 2026 1:06 PM

There are very few jobs in golf where doing the right thing almost guarantees someone will be mad at you.

That is the reality for the USGA.

If the golf course plays too hard, it went too far. If the winning score gets too low, it lost its edge. If it tries to address distance, it is messing with the modern game. If it waits too long to address distance, it is asleep at the wheel. If greens get fast, it is accused of chasing carnage. If greens are held back, it is accused of going soft.

That is the chair Mike Whan sits in. That is the chair John Bodenhamer sits in. That is the chair Kevin Hammer now occupies as USGA president.

And after listening to USGA leadership speak Wednesday at Shinnecock Hills ahead of the 126th U.S. Open, one thing felt pretty clear: this group deserves more credit than it often gets.

Not blind approval. Not a free pass. Not immunity from criticism when criticism is earned.

But credit.

Credit for caring deeply about the game. Credit for listening. Credit for being willing to take heat in a sport where everyone wants the best version of golf, but almost nobody agrees on what that looks like.

This Was Never Just About The Golf Ball

Athlon Sports Opinion

The 90 Percent Message

Mike Whan's most important U.S. Open message was not only about distance. It was about finding common ground in a divided golf world.

90%

The common ground Whan said golf should spend more time focusing on.

That framing matters because the USGA is trying to lead through collaboration, not simply win an argument.

Distance Still Matters

Whan said distance continues to increase at the highest levels and remains a long-term issue for the game.

2030 Stays In Play

The USGA said there will be no ODS golf ball change before January 2030.

A Better Answer?

Whan left the door open to ideas that could be more impactful and less disruptive for the overall game.

Yes, the golf ball rollback remains a massive topic, and it should.

Whan addressed it directly, noting that after industry feedback there will be no change to the Overall Distance Standard approach on golf balls until January 2030. He also said discussions with PGA Tour leadership, DP World Tour leadership and the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council brought three things into focus: shared recognition that distance continues to increase at the highest levels, concern that the current ODS change may not be enough and, most importantly, a "collective willingness" to reconsider ideas that might be more impactful and less disruptive.

That matters.

But the bigger story is not simply whether the ball changes in 2030, or how many yards the longest players might lose, or whether the eventual answer is a ball, a driver, a competition-specific standard, a model local rule or something else.

The bigger story is that the people charged with governing the game are still willing to govern.

That sounds simple. It is not.

Governance in golf is hard because golf is not one thing. It is Rory McIlroy hitting driver at Shinnecock. It is a junior trying to break 90. It is an architect trying to protect classic angles. It is a superintendent managing water, turf stress and budget. It is a manufacturer investing millions into research and development. It is a club trying to stay relevant. It is a public course trying to survive.

The USGA has to think about all of it.

That is why Whan's tone mattered. There was no victory lap. No stubborn doubling down. No sense that the governing bodies were saying, "We know best, deal with it."

Instead, Whan kept coming back to common ground. He said Hammer often reminds people that golf is better when the industry focuses on the "90 percent" it has in common instead of obsessing over the 10 percent where it disagrees.

That is not weakness.

That is leadership.

Shinnecock Is A Perfect Test Of USGA Restraint

The 16th Hole of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in the Southampton, N.Y. on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (USGA/Fred Vuich)

The setup conversation this week might be just as important as the equipment conversation.

Shinnecock Hills is one of the greatest golf courses in the world, but it is also one of the most sensitive U.S. Open venues imaginable. Wind, sun, sandy soil, exposed greens and poa annua surfaces can turn good intentions into chaos quickly.

The USGA knows that better than anyone.

The 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock was remembered as much for survival as shotmaking. The 2018 U.S. Open brought another wave of criticism when conditions became too severe on Saturday. Those weeks are part of the story whether the USGA likes it or not.

What matters now is whether it learned from them.

Based on everything Bodenhamer said Wednesday, it has.

He talked about the USGA's four championship pillars: great venues, openness, tough but fair and player focus. He also made it clear that the U.S. Open is no longer about chasing par as the winning score. It is about testing every part of a player's game.

Bodenhamer even joked that the USGA wants players to get "all 15 clubs" dirty: the 14 they can make a stroke with and the one between their ears.

That is exactly what a U.S. Open should be.

Not punishment for punishment's sake. Not a scorecard protection exercise. Not a week where the governing body becomes the story.

A complete examination.

U.S. Open Setup Watch

Shinnecock's Test Is About Restraint

John Bodenhamer made it clear: this U.S. Open setup is about tough but fair, not chasing chaos.

Yard Average Fairways

Width does not make Shinnecock easy. It brings William Flynn's angles, options and strategic pressure back into play.

Mid-10s

Green Speed Target

The USGA adjusted from its original 11.5 to 12 target because of wind, playability and fairness.

Thu/Fri

Syringing Plan

Light watering between waves is designed to protect poa annua greens and improve competitive consistency.

The setup takeaway:

Shinnecock does not need help becoming difficult. The USGA's job this week is to let the course be demanding without allowing the setup to become the story.

Green Speeds Are Not A Masculinity Test

One of the strangest parts of modern championship golf is how often green speed becomes a measuring stick for toughness.

It should not.

Fast greens are not automatically better greens. Brutal greens are not automatically championship greens. A putt that rolls off a green because the surface crossed the line is not a better test than a putt that demands perfect speed, perfect read and a calm mind.

There is a difference between difficult and unfair.

That difference is where U.S. Opens are won or lost before a shot is ever struck.

That is what made Bodenhamer's comments so important. He said the USGA came into the week with a target of 11 1/2 to 12 on the Stimpmeter, but with wind in the forecast, the target shifted mostly into the mid-10s throughout the day.

Whan joked that it hurt Bodenhamer to say it.

It probably did.

But it was also the right call.

Slightly slower green speeds can actually create a better championship at Shinnecock. They allow the USGA to use better hole locations. They allow the slopes and architecture to matter. They allow the course to get firm without becoming silly.

That is not soft. That is smart.

As a PGA coach, I love watching elite players get tested mentally. I love seeing them uncomfortable. I love seeing every club in the bag matter, including the one between their ears.

But I do not need to see the USGA become the main character.

That is the trap. When a U.S. Open setup goes wrong, the conversation moves away from the players and the course. It becomes about the governing body. It becomes about mistakes. It becomes about blame.

The best possible U.S. Open at Shinnecock is one where Shinnecock is the star, the champion earns it and the USGA is barely noticed.

"We Could Brutalize This Place" Is The Line That Matters

Bodenhamer gave the quote of the day when he said, "We could brutalize this place the next few days if we wanted to. That's not what we're about."

That should be the headline for the USGA's setup philosophy this week.

The U.S. Open should be difficult. It should make the best players in the world uncomfortable. It should test discipline, patience, imagination, execution and nerve.

But it should not be performative toughness.

Bodenhamer said the USGA wants Shinnecock to be "what Shinnecock Hills has always been." That is the right mindset. The course is good enough. If the wind blows, it will push back. If it does not, the players may score. That is golf.

The USGA does not need to manufacture danger. Shinnecock provides plenty on its own.

That is why the decision to keep fairways wide matters. Bodenhamer said Shinnecock's average fairway width is 48 yards, but he also explained that the anxiety at this course rises as players approach the greens. That is William Flynn's architecture. That is the point.

Width does not make Shinnecock easy. It makes Shinnecock strategic.

A great U.S. Open asks players to make choices. Shinnecock will do that.

The Quote

The Line That Matters

John Bodenhamer gave the clearest explanation of what the USGA is trying to do at Shinnecock Hills.

"We could brutalize this place the next few days if we wanted to. That's not what we're about."

That is the difference between a hard U.S. Open and a forced one.

Tough Is Still The Goal

The U.S. Open should test every club, every decision and every nerve.

Fair Is The Standard

Bodenhamer's message was not softness. It was discipline, preparation and respect for the course.

Shinnecock Should Be The Star

The best version of this championship is one where the course, the wind and the players tell the story.

Criticism Comes With The Job

The USGA will always get criticized. Sometimes fairly. Sometimes unfairly.

That is part of the deal.

But criticism should not erase the scope of what the organization is trying to do for golf. This was one of the stronger parts of Wednesday's press conference because Hammer and Whan spent significant time talking about more than the elite men's game.

Hammer discussed the U.S. National Development Program, the Boatwright Internship Program, Pathways Discover and Pathways Launch. Whan talked about the growth of the game, the rise in participation among women, juniors and people of color and the USGA's investments in public golf, the Shinnecock Indian Nation and future leadership pathways.

That matters.

The USGA is not only running championships. It is helping shape the Rules of Golf. It is investing in sustainability, agronomy, accessibility, adaptive golf, junior development, course research, public golf and the long-term health of the game.

That work does not always trend on social media.

It still matters.

Whan has brought a tone to the job that golf needs. He is direct. He is human. He is willing to explain. He is willing to listen. He is also willing to take the arrows.

That last part matters most.

Golf needs leaders who can be unpopular for the right reasons. It needs people willing to think beyond the next news cycle, the next player complaint or the next social media pile-on.

USGA flags fly at Chambers Bay during the 2015 U.S. Open practice rounds, with the governing body's golf ball rollback plan now shifting into a broader debate over distance, timing and the future of the game. Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports arena

The Betterment Of The Game Is A Long Game

The phrase "for the good of the game" can sound like a throwaway line. In this case, it should not.

The betterment of golf is not one decision. It is not one rollback. It is not one setup memo. It is not one U.S. Open.

It is a thousand choices over time.

How do we preserve great courses without making them obsolete? How do we keep golf challenging without making it inaccessible? How do we celebrate power without allowing power to swallow every other skill? How do we stage a U.S. Open that is demanding, memorable and fair? How do we serve elite golf without forgetting everyday golf?

Those are not easy questions.

The USGA is not going to answer all of them perfectly. No governing body would. But I would rather have leadership willing to wrestle with those questions than leadership afraid to touch them.

Hammer closed the press conference by saying the USGA will continue to be good stewards of the game and the land upon which it is played. That might sound like standard press conference language.

It is not.

It is the job.

And at Shinnecock Hills, with all its history, beauty, scars and ghosts, stewardship might be the most important word of the week.

The USGA does not need everyone to agree with every decision it makes.

But golf should want leaders who are willing to make hard decisions for reasons bigger than themselves.

From what we heard Wednesday, Whan, Hammer, Bodenhamer and the USGA staff are trying to do exactly that.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent "The Starter" on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.

This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 12:48 PM.