The correct answer is:
D. There is not a strong demand for non-competition permissible golf balls generated by competition golfers.Explanation:The
main conclusion of the argument is:
Quote:
"The technology that manufacturers pursue is limited to that which is deemed permissible for competition golf tournaments." The
reason provided is that only
competitive golfers are willing to pay the
high price needed to cover R&D costs for innovative golf balls.
So, the
assumption is that
there isn’t enough demand from non-competition golfers (or even competition golfers using non-approved balls) to justify developing golf balls that are
not allowed in competitions.
That leads us to
D:
Quote:
There is not a strong demand for non-competition permissible golf balls generated by competition golfers. ✅ This directly supports the idea that R&D is only done for competition-legal balls, because there’s no economic justification to develop others.
This is the assumption the conclusion relies on. Why the Other Options Are Wrong:A. The slow pace of technological advancement is a consequence of golf ball manufacturers not wanting to manufacture different products for different national markets.❌ This brings in
national markets, which are irrelevant to the argument. The argument is about
competition legality vs innovation demand, not market segmentation across countries.
B. Unless the market for balls for competition golfers expands, the market for golf balls for non-competing golfers will not expand.❌ This talks about market expansion for non-competing golfers
depending on the competitive market.
But the argument is about
R&D limitations and
demand justification, not about market expansion
dependence.
C. Innovative golf balls are more likely to be developed by small, young manufacturing companies than by industry giants.❌ This introduces a point about
who is developing golf balls (small vs large companies), which is
not relevant to the reasoning about
why certain innovations are pursued or not.
E. The authorities who determine what is permissible in competition golf tournaments are not necessarily up-to-date on cutting edge technological improvements.❌ This suggests a
problem with the rule-makers, but the argument assumes the rules
exist and are followed by manufacturers because of
economic demand, not because of the authorities' awareness.