Master Ball Rollback Thread

[Kieran123]

Agreed, distance doesn't always make the hole harder, granted it CAN make it harder, but I think firmer greens with a lot of undulations ( like pebble ) make it A LOT harder, sure you may get to the green in one, but trying to stick the ball on a firm green is tough, and when the green is sloping away from the hole, you have to pick the right spot to hit.


Look at the really low scores this season......reason being soft greens, not the ball.

The ball should stay the same, the courses should catch up.

[newtogolf]

That's an excellent point.

I understand your point, but basketball has considered the idea of raising the height of the hoops to reduce the advantage for the taller players and increase outside scoring.

[James_Black]

I continue to find it interesting that the longest par fours are never thought of as the "tricky" or "interesting" holes, but the short ones continue to beguile the PGA Tour players. They make an occasional eagle (wheee!) but they rarely make as many birdies as you'd think.

Good idea.

It would help shot-shapers and would make matchplay a lot more interesting to watch.

[sean_miller]

I understand your point, but basketball has considered the idea of raising the height of the hoops to reduce the advantage for the taller players and increase outside scoring.

They've done that. They moved the 3 point line out too. Then they allowed double dribble and the 5 step layup. The NBA is painful to watch.

The problem with making courses trickier the closer you get to the hole is they're trickier for everyone. A lot of local courses mimic championship setups on weekends to give people a "memorable round". Yeah, who can forget watching the group ahead with two high handicappers chipping back and forth over the green and then waiting on the two single digit cappers as they pace back and forth trying to get a look at their putt from every conceivable angle. Awesome!

[mlf16507]

Any golfer under 60 should use a restriced distance ball(I am 63)

To protect the older courses(Greenbriar,Sedgewick,etc),all the PGA Tour has to do is grow long rough from 275-325 yds from tee. As soon as tournament is over cut it back to fairway height.

[sean_miller]

Any golfer under 60 should use a restriced distance ball(I am 63)

Hmm . . . that is a really good idea. Okay, that one I agree with.

[allin]

I continue to find it interesting that the longest par fours are never thought of as the "tricky" or "interesting" holes, but the short ones continue to beguile the PGA Tour players. They make an occasional eagle (wheee!) but they rarely make as many birdies as you'd think.

The real issue is risk vs reward. Short par 3s and 4s with hazards or choices that make pros think, make them hit non standard shots, and reward someone who can do more than hit the ball a huge distance are what really make watching golf fun. After the wow how far did he hit that driver part is over many modern course are basically boring. Course designers need to make more of an effort to reward skills and worry less about distance. The pros complaining about any variation in the conditions week to week, any hole that doesn't reward pure target golf is ruining the game in my opinion, not length. These attempts seem to be aimed at rewarding robotic play, as if this were archery with no wind, bowling indoors, with the same lane conditions every week. There are enough sports for the biggest and strongest.

[iacas]

Hmm . . . that is a really good idea. Okay, that one I agree with.

I think you might have misread what he said. He's saying to have no fairway at all from 275-325. Just long rough. No fairway.

[ControlJunkie]

I continue to find it interesting that the longest par fours are never thought of as the "tricky" or "interesting" holes, but the short ones continue to beguile the PGA Tour players. They make an occasional eagle (wheee!) but they rarely make as many birdies as you'd think.

You mean something like a 90° sharp turn? Maybe not quite that severe, but that sort of idea?

[sean_miller]

I think you might have misread what he said. He's saying to have no fairway at all from 275-325. Just long rough. No fairway.

Either way, I agree. If you can carry 325, you deserve to make any course your b****, but if you're just "way above average long" you have to hit less than a driver. Shorter hitters will have a 50 yard carry at some point. If a person can't carry the ball > 50 yards, they really need to consider a different activity, or at least a different course.

As far as doglegs go, they're the great equalizer - as long as the trees can't be carried. If the player has a rangefinder or a GPS to know how far to go (or rather how far not to go) they rock!!

[iacas]

You mean something like a 90° sharp turn? Maybe not quite that severe, but that sort of idea?

Not quite 90, but a good 30 degree turn or so, sure. Enough that someone has to try to control their ball as they curve around it. Put a lake on the far side and a few trees on the inside that you can't carry and you get the same effect - it doesn't have to literally be a corridor of trees.

[alomar123]

Why any hate on hitting the ball far. Tell me one person that says he doesn't want to be longer off the tee. PGA rough does need to be longer, but another reason why they are hitting them long is better athletes are playing the game. Technology is great and its not like they are trying to make the ball go the farthest, but then they would make BIG drivers illegal, as well as certain balls.

The game is not being dominated by long hitters, but you do need distance off the tee to be a pro.

[iacas]

I think the PGA Tour rough should be shorter, actually. Encourage more people to go for it and get flier lies. They know the ideal height for that... let's see more of it.

Reward accuracy, but reward a guy going for a shot and pulling it off.

Around the greens, sure, make it a bit longer. I also think bunkers should be a hazard again, and I think that fairways should go up to the edges of bunkers so that the ball more easily runs into them. Lose the rough between the fairway and bunkers or greens and bunkers (if bunkers can be made a hazard again).

But that's all somewhat beside the topic of this thread.

[alomar123]

I think the PGA Tour rough should be shorter, actually. Encourage more people to go for it and get flier lies. They know the ideal height for that... let's see more of it.

One of the reasons why I like Phil is he isnt scared to go big, so it makes it more interesting. But, some of the courses rough looks hardly as high as half the ball. People like seeing 59s in all, but Id rather see them play insane courses shooting around par.

[nearwater]

As far as the game not being what it used to be, well, my first thought is "blah". Things change, games evolve, and the way they're played has evolved. 30 years ago, the NFL was dominated by teams with a strong running game, but now, it's a pass happy league. It's just an example of the fact that things change. Scores aren't crazy low, and one of the longest players in the field just won his first tournament earlier this year. It might be changing the game, but it's definitely not ruining it. There are a lot of people that hate change, and they're always going to whine about something.

Ditto.

Their claim of equipment technology 'ruining the game' is just ridiculous. Every sport evolves and what they're trying to do is to choke the evolution of golf equipment technology. Dumb idea. Honestly, I think the game of golf is much more exciting to watch these days with modern equipments. Dan

[Paradox]

One or even three 500+y par 4 isn't stupid for touring pros. All 500y par 4s would be stupid even for touring pros.

I was saying stupid in terms of..those holes are usually either VERY BLAND or way too hard to be a par 4, even for a touring pro. If the hole is just a straight shoot, its not gonna matter that its 500 yards. The pro is going to bomb a drive from 280-300+ and then hit at worst a 3w another 245+. If its too hard, then they are most likely not going to be on the green in two and probably gonna end up in a place where they can't really get up and down from to make par. Artificially inflating the score by making regular par 5's in to par 4's for tournaments is lame to me.

[Paradox]

another thing that people don't really think about when it comes to "these balls are too long for todays golf courses!"...stop cutting the fairway slicker than a baby butt and stop letting it dry out. Keep it watered til its soft and/or let it grow a little longer. TADA you have less rollout and distance isn't a factor.