Jim Furyk called for a major driver overhaul before the TV premiere

Just two weeks ago, the Golf Channel announced that it will have a new commentator on TV for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational and this week’s Players Championship: Jim Furyk.

With his TV debut on Bay Hill now in the background, Furyk appears to have been successful with rave reviews. At least he didn’t seem to be offending anyone.

You might not be able to say the same about Furyk’s comments before Arnold Palmer’s invitational coverage began.

In an interview with Trey Wingo on the “Straight Facts Homie” podcast that aired last week, Furyk shared some great hot gear. If he could change one rule in pro golf, it would be to reduce the legal size of drivers’ heads.

Furyk drives to reduce driver head sizes for professional golfers

While the Golf Channel’s announcement that Furyk will be joining their TV team temporarily this year came as a surprise, his credentials speak for themselves.

He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open at Olympia Fields in Illinois. While collecting 17 PGA Tour titles during his career, he also played on several US Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams.

He went on to captain the losing American Ryder Cup (2018) and the winning captain of the Presidents Cup (2024). Furyk also served as Keegan Bradley’s vice-captain at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, which was won by the Europeans.

But during his appearance on the “Straight Facts Homie” podcast, the hot topic of the day was the controversial laws Furyk would like to see scrapped.

Furyk stated that he is not a fan of the new rule that allows players to reduce spike marks on the green. In addition, he provided a strong defense of the law prohibiting free relief on divots.

However, the first rule Furyk said he would change if he had the power is not that. Instead, he argued for a major change in the gear rule: reducing the size of driver’s heads for pros on the PGA Tour.

“I’ll tell you what I was going to do. I’m not going to be too famous for this, but I’m going to reduce the size of the driver’s head,” Furyk said in his “Straight Facts Homie” interview.

He used the performance characteristics of his junior driver as an example of how the rule change will affect the games of tour players.

“I’ll tell you, I play a little driver in my bag with my 3-wood. And when I hit that beautiful mini, it goes right next to my driver. It’s less than 10 yards apart,” Furyk explained. “But if I hit it, if I hit it slow, I hit it slow on the toe, I hit it slow on the heel, I lose a lot of yardage.”

He went on to say that the young professionals who play today’s great drivers know how to swing everything from the tee shot. With a small driver head like Furyk’s small driver, they will have to drive it back for accuracy. In other words, less forgiving drivers can force professionals to make easy turns, thereby reducing the distance of their drives.

“I think you’ve got these young guys who are swinging back and throwing 110 percent at it, and you can cover areas in the face and get more forgiveness and more distance. I think it’s going to show a more skill set,” Furyk said. “They’re extremely talented, don’t get me wrong, but I think it’s going to slow down the guys who are swinging 110 percent all the time. They’re going to have to pick their spots and maybe the golf courses won’t last as long.”

1 key difference between Furyk’s driver rule and the golf ball putter

However, Furyk also clarified one way he will make his new driver rule different from other gear rule changes planned by the USGA and R&A.

In 2023, golf’s governing bodies announced what is known as “golf ball rollback.” It’s a new rule that sets production limits on how far golf balls can fly. The goal is to reduce the average drive by 15 yards. But this rule is not limited to beauty. The rule change will apply to all golfers.

Originally, the rollback golf ball was scheduled to be introduced to professional golfers in 2028 and recreational golfers in 2030. Although recently the USGA and R&A have reportedly told ball manufacturers that they are considering changing the timeline so that all golfers, professionals and Average Joes alike, will start playing new balls by 2030.

Furyk, on the other hand, argued that his main driver rule should only apply to “professional golfers,” not beginners.

“Maybe not for the average golfer, but I’ll do that for a professional golfer. Because you can hit it in the face now and it’s forgiving. You don’t lose any distance,” Furyk said.

Finally, the golf ball rollback was designed to solve one of the problems of modern golf. Thanks to the invention of new equipment (and increased fitness and athleticism), players are hitting it much longer than in the past, especially in the professional ranks. This has forced many historic golf courses to be expanded (and then expanded again).

Furyk sees his driver’s license as a way to combat that problem, too.

“They’re going to have to pick and choose their spots and maybe the golf courses won’t last long,” Furyk said.

Furyk will return to the Golf Channel circuit at the 2026 Players Championship when the opening round begins Thursday.

You can hear Furyk’s full comments about his proposed driving schedule changes on the “Straight Facts Homie” podcast here.