Jim Furyk shared the key driver rules he would like to see changed ahead of the Golf Channel’s television debut.Harry Howe/Getty Images
Just two weeks ago, Golf Channel announced it would have a new lead analyst, Jim Furyk, in the TV booth for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational and this week’s Players Championship.
With his TV debut at Bay Hill on the horizon, Furyk appears to have come through with mostly positive reviews. At least he didn’t seem to have angered anyone.
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The same may not be said for Furyk’s comments before coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational began.
In an interview with Trey Wingo on the Straight Facts Homie podcast released last week, Furyk shared his hot take on essential gear. If he could change one rule of professional golf, it would be to reduce the legal size of driver heads.
Furyk calls for smaller driver heads for professional golfers
Golf Channel’s announcement earlier this year that Furyk would be temporarily joining its television team came as a surprise, but his history speaks for itself.
He is a major champion who won the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields in Illinois. He won 17 times on the PGA Tour during his career, while also playing on several U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams.
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He later captained the team when they lost the American Ryder Cup (2018) and won the Presidents Cup (2024). Furyk also served as one of Keegan Bradley’s co-captains at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, which the European team won.
But during an appearance on the “Straight Facts Homie” podcast, the hot topic of the day was a controversial rule that Furyk would like to see waived.
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Furyk has made it clear that he doesn’t like the new rule, which allows players to stamp on spike marks on greens. Or he calmly defended a rule prohibiting free relief from divots.
However, the original rules that Furyk said he would change if he had the power were neither of those things. Instead, he advocated a major change in gear rules, reducing the size of professional driver heads on the PGA Tour.
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“I’ll tell you what I would do. It’s not going to make it popular, but it would reduce the size of the driver head,” Furyk said in an interview with Straight Facts Homie.
He cited the performance characteristics of his mini driver as an example of how rule changes could affect a tour player’s game.
“I’ll tell you, I play with a mini-driver in my bag for my 3-wood, and when I hit that mini it goes about as far as my driver, less than 10 yards,” Furyk explained. “But if you mishit it, hit it a little thin, hit the toe a little, hit the heel a little, you lose a lot of yards.”
He went on to argue that young professionals playing modern big drivers can swing as hard as they can on every tee shot. Smaller driver heads, like Furyk’s mini screwdriver, require you to dial it back for accuracy. In other words, a less forgiving driver will make it easier for pros to swing, resulting in less distance with the driver.
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“I think we’ve got some young guys who are going to step back and swing 110 percent, cover some facial area and get some forgiveness and distance. I think that’s going to show an additional skill set,” Furyk said. “They’re very talented, don’t get me wrong, but I think it also limits guys who swing 110 percent all the time. They’re going to have to kind of pick and choose their spots, and the golf course probably doesn’t have to be as long.”
One key difference between Furyk’s driver rule and golf ball rollback
But Furyk also revealed one way he will make his new driver rules different from other gear rule changes planned by the USGA and R&A.
In 2023, golf’s governing body announced the so-called “golf ball rollback.” This is a new rule that places manufacturing limits on the distance a golf ball can fly. The goal is to reduce the average drive by 15 yards. But this rule isn’t just for professionals. This rule change applies to all golfers.
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Originally, golf ball rollback was scheduled to be introduced to professional golfers in 2028, followed by recreational golfers in 2030, but the USGA and R&A recently reportedly told ball manufacturers that they are considering changing the schedule so that all golfers, pros and average jaws alike, begin playing the new ball in 2030.
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LPGA golfer Charlie Hull hits a tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of the Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club on September 8, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Meanwhile, Furyk argued that his proposed driver head rule should only apply to “golfers,” not amateurs.
“It’s not necessarily for the average golfer, but I would like to do it for the professional golfer because you can hit the ball all over the face right now and it’s pretty forgiving. You don’t lose a lot of distance,” Furyk said.
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As it turns out, golf ball rollback is designed to solve one problem with modern golf. Thanks to innovations in equipment (and improvements in fitness and athleticism), players are hitting much longer distances than before, especially in the professional ranks. This has forced the extension (and extension) of many historic golf courses.
Furyk believes driver rules are also a way to address that issue.
“They’re going to have to kind of pick their spots, and the golf course probably doesn’t have to be that long,” Furyk said.
Furyk will return to the Golf Channel booth for the 2026 Players Championship, which begins Thursday with the opening round.
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You can hear Furyk’s full comments on his proposed driving rule changes on the Straight Facts Homie podcast here.
The post ‘It’s not going to be very popular’: Jim Furyk calls for major rule changes for drivers ahead of TV debut appeared first on Golf.
