Rollback Is the Wrong Word: What F1 Teaches Golf About Regulation
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Rollback Is the Wrong Word: What F1 Teaches Golf About Regulation

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What if golf stopped calling it a rollback and started calling it what it really is: normal regulation of the 

In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, our host duo of Matt and Dr. Kevin("The Professor") uses Formula 1 as a revealing mirror for golf. Starting with F1’s sweeping 2026 changes, they ask a bigger question: why is one sport willing to consistently regulate boldly for the product it wants, while golf so often hesitates?

From overtaking, driver agency, and protecting Monaco, to new changes in St Andrews, Pebble, and the distance debate in pro golf, this is a conversation about stewardship, skill differentiation, and what the powers that be want their sport to look like at its highest level. Down the closing stretch, Matt and Kevin dream up some fun golf comps - including smaller club heads, a smaller ball, reduced grooves, team caps, and a deployable "bazooka" driver.

The conversation dives into:

🏎️ What F1’s 2026 regulations are really trying to do - create a better racing product with more strategy, more overtakes, and more driver input

⛳ Why "rollback" may be the wrong word - and why regulation should start with the question of what kind of golf we actually want to watch

🏛️ What Monaco can teach golf about St Andrews, Pebble, and protecting the timeless grounds of the game

🛠️ Creative golf thought experiments inspired by our friends and motor-heads 

🌱 Why non-regulation is still regulation - and what stewardship looks like when the future of the sport is on the line

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Chapters

00:00 Rollback vs. regulation
01:07 What F1 is changing for 2026
05:37 Why F1 keeps regulating
11:19 Regulation, parity, and unintended consequences
16:08 What golf can learn from F1
19:01 Why "rollback" is the wrong word
23:47 Monaco, St Andrews, and iconic venues
30:53 Golf comps for F1 rule changes
34:05 The "bazooka" driver thought experiment
41:02 Non-regulation is still regulation
44:31 Variance, leaderboards, and the product

What is The Bag Drop?

The Bag Drop features weekly stories from the culture, community, and characters shaping golf today. Produced by NewClub Golf Society, each episode blends authenticity and expert insight for passionate golfers at every level.

What is NewClub?

Founded in 2017, NewClub blends the community and access of a private club with the variety and affordability of public golf, bringing to life the first premier golf society in the U.S. with local chapters in Chicago, Atlanta, and Northeast Ohio and others coming soon. 

Creators and Guests

Matt Considine
Host
Matt Considine
Founder of NewClub and our resident feel player. Matt’s junior golf career led him to the University of Akron where he met our co-host. During his junior year, Matt Studied abroad in Ireland and discovered golf societies. Subsequent trips to Scotland fed his passion for the history, ideals, and culture of accessible, affordable, and sustainable golf, a concept he would later bring to the U.S. with NewClub. Known for his interviewing style, quick wit, and compelling storytelling, Matt brings thoughtful, reflective conversations to The Bag Drop. His professional journey before NewClub included multiple leadership positions in growth-stage startups, where he managed teams responsible for more than $250 million in revenue. Matt actively gives back to the game as a Board Member of the First Tee of Akron and past chair of the Evans Scholar Foundation. Proudly based in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Matt finds inspiration in family life with his wife, their three children, and their golf dog, Gypsy.
The Professor
Host
The Professor
NewClub's Chief Ambassador and every golf sicko's favorite educator. Kevin is a thoughtful and deeply curious host. His studied, constructivist approach adds intellectual enrichment and balance to the show. As a professor of Math Education at the University of Georgia, Kevin's background in applied mathematics and cognitive psychology uniquely informs his insights on golf strategy and performance. Originally from Ohio, Kevin was a Division I collegiate golfer at the University of Akron, where his passion for understanding mathematical thinking began. After earning his doctorate from Arizona State University, he combined his analytical expertise with his love for golf by co-founding Golf Blueprint, an organization aimed at helping golfers optimize their games through data-driven strategies. Kevin enjoys balancing deep philosophical discussions with simple pleasures, such as indulging his sweet tooth, cheering on college football, and spending relaxed evenings with his friends, his wife, and their beloved dog, Nole.