USGA/R&A Changes to the Equipment Standards?

[dennyjones]

2 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't think what I consider "shotmaking" will change much at all.

Longer hitters are still going to be advantaged. If they hit 9I, they might hit 7I now, while the short hitter will now be hitting a 5I or 4I. A 5I is unlikely going to beat out a 7I.

I guess that is what I was trying to say

[ChetlovesMer]

8 hours ago, Vinsk said:

IMO the WGC was a great example of how reducing the distance will really diminish the excitement of golf today. Rory hit some of the most awesome drives ever. And getting guys to go for a green protected by water by bombing a 3wood is good golf. Laying up with an iron followed by a pitch is a snooze fest.

See, the problem is the old timers. Thwy think golf has become just a bomb and gouge system.They  don’t understand that we’ve all watched pros with stunning short games since the beginning of golf itself. It’s old and brings nothing new to the game. They’re all good at it. But smoking a driver or even a 3W that the vast majority of golfers in the world couldn’t even attempt is exciting. It’s something new to the game. 
 

Courses are not becoming obsolete. They think watching a pro dink a lay up off the tee and still making birdie makes a course more playable? Hitting it big has huge risks and is a hell of a skill on its own. Rolling back the ball is asinine. Period. Nobody has made a good argument to its benefit other than trying to speculate what it could do to some golf courses if the distance continues to increase. It won’t. Whatever equipment restrictions exist now can remain. Leave it alone.

You and I are pretty much in lock step here. I've been watching golf since the 70's and I think it's better now than ever before. 

Maybe bring back the wicked-cool checked pants of that era. ... 😁

[ChetlovesMer]

On 3/23/2023 at 10:45 AM, GolfLug said:

Yes I know. And it is important to me that I play the exact same new shorter ball. I don't care if my carry drops from 225 to 200. If not, the same current ball will now feel like a head start in comparison to the pros (the ultimate benchmark, IMHO) I don't want. It's patronizing and would water down the accomplishment against the benchmark. I am already playing shorter tees for my bogey golf. 

I have to agree with you. 

My other question is what about strokes gained. If this future world of bifurcation occurs, would I then need to add an adjustment factor to my stokes gained vs the tour pros to account for me playing a different golf ball? 

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Maybe bring back the wicked-cool checked pants of that era. ... 😁

Only with white belts.

I think long hitters have always had an advantage. The anecdotal short hitter victory is an anomaly (Zack Johnson comes to mind). The only way to disadvantage the long hitter off the tee is across fairway hazards that require them to use less than driver. But there, they still have an advantage because the will use a shorter club from that spot than the short hitter. There is really now way to mitigate or legislate that advantage. It would be akin to making the fastest players in the NFL/NHL soccer, etc. slow down. Speed is an advantage in every sport and I would say one of the top requirements to excel. Distance is speed in golf.

[GolfLug]

5 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

My other question is what about strokes gained. If this future world of bifurcation occurs, would I then need to add an adjustment factor to my stokes gained vs the tour pros to account for me playing a different golf ball? 

Yeah, if it is quantified to begin with. I guess they could make up an algorithm but seems like it would require a massive effort of data collection to verify which is how SG were assigned to begin with IIRC.

It is also entirely possible they might say it is not significant enough to warrant an adjustment for ams.

[Vinsk]

I wonder if the people who love to say the pros from Jack’s day, Arnie’s, could hit 300+ yd drives with Dunlop blades and balata balls are all for the roll back?

[GolfLug]

As much as Jack himself has talked about rolling back the ball, his generational fan-base would be all for it, I would think. Although for diff. reasons. Jack wants to address the course length and his fans prolly just want to see the current pros' wings clipped a bit. 

[Aguirre]

Zero. If they attempt to apply this to amateurs I'll simply buy illegal equipment. Like I give a f*** about the USGA.

[pganapathy]

6 hours ago, Aguirre said:

Zero. If they attempt to apply this to amateurs I'll simply buy illegal equipment. Like I give a f*** about the USGA.

So why aren't you using illegal equipment now 🤷‍♀️

[iacas]

1 hour ago, pganapathy said:

So why aren't you using illegal equipment now 🤷‍♀️

Exactly.

I love the distaste for the ruling bodies. It’s a “tell me you’re unaware without telling me you’re unaware” situation IMO.

[Aguirre]

12 hours ago, iacas said:

Exactly.

I love the distaste for the ruling bodies. It’s a “tell me you’re unaware without telling me you’re unaware” situation IMO.

Because it's a rollback of distance as opposed to allowing it to expand, you pedantic pain in the ass. 

[Vinsk]

28 minutes ago, Aguirre said:

Because it's a rollback of distance as opposed to allowing it to expand, you pedantic pain in the ass. 

They’ve limited the length one can use for a driver.

Ball size has specifications, can’t use a Robin Hood.

They eliminated anchored putting.

They deemed certain grooves non-conforming….

Not really the point though. You stated you don’t give a f*** about the USGA….so why have you conformed?

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Aguirre said:

Because it's a rollback of distance as opposed to allowing it to expand, you pedantic pain in the ass. 

I'm not being pedantic. I'm saying that your post is kind of dumb. You're "not a fan of the USGA" yet you don't play illegal equipment now, and you're seemingly almost oblivious to all the many things that the USGA does that benefit you.

It's a dumb comment, IMO.

38 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

• They’ve limited the length one can use for a driver.
• Ball size has specifications, can’t use a Robin Hood.
• They eliminated anchored putting.
• They deemed certain grooves non-conforming….

Not really the point though. You stated you don’t give a f*** about the USGA….so why have you conformed?

Yep. Does he keep a handicap? Follow any rules at all? Use any of their turf grass research? Benefitted from any of their other studies? Watch the U.S. Open? Belong to or play in any Allied Golf Association events? Etc. etc. etc.

[Aguirre]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

I'm not being pedantic. I'm saying that your post is kind of dumb. You're "not a fan of the USGA" yet you don't play illegal equipment now, and you're seemingly almost oblivious to all the many things that the USGA does that benefit you.

It's a dumb comment, IMO.

Yep. Does he keep a handicap? Follow any rules at all? Use any of their turf grass research? Benefitted from any of their other studies? Watch the U.S. Open? Belong to or play in any Allied Golf Association events? Etc. etc. etc.

My handicap is deez.  It's right there in my profile. Nobody I play with wants to play matches at this point. I didn't say I was not fan of the USGA, I just don't give a f*** about the USGA. I own my enjoyment of golf. Why would I possibly care about what a bunch of out-of-touch white guys in suits have to say about how I consume the game on a participation level? Anymore than I would care about some random poster on the internet who regularly engages in pedantry and gets confirmation from his army of sock puppets?

 

[pganapathy]

59 minutes ago, Aguirre said:

Why would I possibly care about what a bunch of out-of-touch white guys in suits have to say about how I consume the game on a participation level?

Because they already are doing it.  If you could use a longer driver shaft of 50+ inches, you could hit the ball further.  A COR of 0.83 limits the distance you can hit a golf ball and if that was higher you could get more distance.  The driver head is limited to 460cc and supposedly a bigger head will give you more distance and accuracy.  There is illegal equipment out there that supposedly performs better and is longer.  The question is why aren't you using that already if you can be more accurate, hit longer shots and score better. 🤷‍♀️

[Vinsk]

6 hours ago, Aguirre said:

Why would I possibly care about what a bunch of out-of-touch white guys in suits have to say about how I consume the game on a participation level?

You’re really missing the point here. If you have always played non-conforming equipment and have no regard for the rules, then you’re making your point. But surely you can see you’d not be a very enjoyable person to play with in any sport.

It’s being assumed that you don’t use Alien wedges, put Vasoline on your driver face and you play by the rules. I’m totally against a roll back. But if what ball I use becomes non-conforming, then I won’t use it based on the same reasons I don’t do the above listed.

 

[boogielicious]

6 hours ago, Aguirre said:

My handicap is deez.  It's right there in my profile

It’s not showing in your posts BTW. If you really don’t care then why voice an opinion? I can see getting frustrated if they do a full rollback. But if it’s only the Pros, why post at all?

[iacas]

 

7 hours ago, Aguirre said:

Why would I possibly care about what a bunch of out-of-touch white guys in suits have to say about how I consume the game on a participation level?

This illustrates my point. You're quite unaware of all that the USGA does or who they are. If you did know, you'd realize how dumb the comments you've made are.

You don't have to agree with every decision they make in order to appreciate or even understand what they do.