USGA Outgoing President Fred Perpall was participating in USA new amateur at Trinity Forest in Dallas last month. The appearance of the club, where he is a founding member was not the last official act of his three -year term, but that day is coming soon, with President -elect Kevin Hammer Ready to take over Post on 2026.
Before, who is The first black president In the 131-year history of the USGA, it oversee the organization during what was an explosive extension for the game in general; In 2024, more than 47 million Americans played a form of golf, which represented a 38 percent increase from 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation. He also presided over a period in which the USA made efforts to make the game more accessible and sustainable; introduced one development program for new elite players; and notified plans to Flip the golf ball againA decision that has led to a great control by the Golf world.
As he ended up his presidency, he spoke to Golf.com about his mandate, USA’s advantages and the golf world response to the next Topi’s return.
This interview is easily edited for clarity and brevity.
Golf.com: How would you value your mandate as president?
Fred Perpall: It is not for me to appreciate. I would say that I enjoyed my time as president. I feel grateful, and, another word, I would say polite. I feel like we have achieved a lot, and Usga is in a very good place. We are investing in the future, in the game at the basic level, making more people play. We are investing in the long -term health of the game, addressing distance and other sustainability issues. And we have invested a lot in leadership for the future of USA.
How do you see the ball returning situation by leaving? Of course, the governing bodies have met hard resistance From the likes of PGA Tour, the PGA of America and many leading producers.
Since the beginning of the Golf game, R&A and USA have been delegated authority to write Golf rules. We are not very motivated by the professional game or what is good for manufacturers. Professional golfists are doing their job; They are getting bigger, stronger, healthier. Equipment manufacturers have done their job; They have made better equipment with more accurate production techniques. So everyone has done their job, and now is the time for us to do our job.
We need to see these extreme distances in Golf and what it means for the Golf footprint and the resources required to perform the game, and we have to take a long -term picture. So we have been in this process for more than eight years. We came up with a solution that each of those parties had a place on the table, and we compromised with the PGA of America and PGA Tour, who led this process a lot.
What else is there?
We have shown that the rule will change in 2028 about the golf ball, and we will change the rules of golf to accommodate it. This rule will enter the country in 2028 for professionals and in 2030 for all players.
What do you think will be the push of feedback when the change becomes official?
Change will happen, and I suspect there is a lot of fear and anxiety on this side of change, but my doubt is after we change, and after the rules come into force, that this will be a lot of ado for nothing for regular players. Long -term, we can always flatten the trail in the widening of golf, which I think will be better for the game.
Do you see a legal war that is coming?
No, I don’t believe so.
Why not?
I believe we have articulated, within the rules of golf, the process to change the rules. We have been meticulous how we followed those rules. Everyone has had an impact on this current change, which has been heavily influenced by the PGA of America and PGA Tour. Everyone had a place on the table, and we came up with a compromise and we followed exactly the process described in the rules. When this rule has changed, everyone will have their opportunity to determine if they want to play with golf rules.
Happens what happens if some tournaments choose not to follow new rules?
I feel quite sure when you appear in a R&A championship or a USA championship, you will be required to play conforming equipment that matches golf rules, and every organization, every tournament, each champion itself will be able to determine if they want to play with golf rules. We are quite sure that in the USGA and R&A championships, you will play with the rules of golf and most of our print pages and our excellent USGA clubs, you will play conform equipment.
When you got this job, you said that diversifying the game was one of your main advantages. “As the first black president,” he said, “I feel like I have a responsibility to show others the way.” Do you feel like you were able to create that path? In the new US amateur, for example, there are still few minorities in the field.
I would say two things: one, we didn’t get here overnight in terms of exclusive and homogeneous game is the game. Two, the game requires many resources, and because of our country’s history, people in undeserved communities have not had the same level of resources, which shows the ability to enter this game.
What did you do to close this gap?
We have created two programs while I think they will have a great effect on who runs the game and who plays the game.
One is ours street program. We started a program for 50 children who have already shown the ability to run – to give them leadership roles in Golf. Our goal is to create many future Golf leaders coming from the communities we are trying to achieve, so we have diversity in leadership.
Then we begin to decide US National Development Program This gives $ 50,000 a year to children. The good news this year, we have a couple of our grant recipients playing in these championships – and out of the 50 grants this year, 50 percent are women and minorities. We think that if a child can play golf, the color of their skin does not matter where they are born, the shirt on their backs and who are their parents. If they can get the ball into the hole, we want them to continue on this trip to the elite of golf, and we will now put some dollars in that children of all backgrounds have the same resources and we level the playing field in terms of who can play golf.
Why do you think this initiative is so important for the game in general?
I think when you take care of something, it becomes personal, and when it is personal, it becomes permanent, and we are leaving permanent programs to integrate and include more Americans in Golf. This will be good for golf, but it will also be good for any community that plays golf, because the wonderful thing we want for golf is who puts you close. We can improve the game by including more people, and we also think we can improve our country by giving Americans with all the more opportunities to be with each other. This is a good deal.
;)
