The Threat of Distance

[iacas]

I don't think the ball goes too far. I support the USGA's/R&A's possible addition to the Overall Distance Standard (the one that will set a distance standard at 320 yards for 120 MPH swing speeds - the current standard is like 298.6 yards for a 109 MPH swing).

I think that courses like Pebble Beach - all 6800 yards of it - hold their own. I think today's golfer is stronger.

I also think the overlooked thing in ball technology is that the damn thing goes so straight these days. The "big miss" (not counting Darren Clarke's hosel shot at last year's PGA) has gone missing from professional golf. You can completely toe a driver and still make birdie.

[gas_can]

I don't think the ball goes too far. I support the USGA's/R&A's possible addition to the Overall Distance Standard (the one that will set a distance standard at 320 yards for 120 MPH swing speeds - the current standard is like 298.6 yards for a 109 MPH swing).

I think that courses like Pebble Beach - all 6800 yards of it - hold their own. I think today's golfer is stronger.

I also think the overlooked thing in ball technology is that the damn thing goes so straight these days. The "big miss" (not counting Darren Clarke's hosel shot at last year's PGA) has gone missing from professional golf. You can completely toe a driver and still make birdie.


I think the big thing being overlooked in this distance debate is shortgame. Even with all this distance, scoring average on tour isn't going down. The 300 yard drives didn't stop the massacre at Shinnecock.

Deadening the ball isn't going to keep these guys from getting to the greens in regulation. Nor is it going to stop Phil or Tiger from getting up and down. These guys are talented, when Tiger hit his monstrous 200 yard 7 iron on the 6th at pebble beach in 2002, he could have been hitting a putt-putt ball and it still probably would have gotten on the green.

Just my .02

[Donald MacKenzie]

Let's not forget better conditioning (both golfers and the courses) and instruction. Take the balls and clubs back to 1970s design and material and PGA Tour pros will still hit the ball farther because they're more athletic, the fairways are cut like greens and they all have their swings tuned regularly.

Want to really roll back distance? Make Tiger stop working out, make Vijay stop practicing using training aids and tell Carl Spackler to take a couple days off before he mows the fairways.