Too much technology in Golf Equipments?

[WilsonWedgeMan]

One of my Sunday foursome said his daughter got a 12 point last week.

maybe I should re-locate my stand closer to the road....

[ipark1303]

I would like to consider myself as a purist (even though I play an oversized driver... what a bloody hypocritical I am!) but anyway...

yes, I really believe that there is too much technology in modern golf.

It's ok for us and amateur, but the Pros should really be limited to a certain degree of technology....

Tiger is already long by nature... if you give him also a great technological advanced club, then, what's going to be the future of

Golf????

[ronaldkuntoro]

I just switch to steel shaft, truetemper dynalite, for my iron.... my shots are straighter than ever... even though I lost some yards (maybe 5 yards for every iron).

[aquacooled]

my shots are straighter than ever... even though I lost some yards (maybe 5 yards for every iron).

I would trade 5 yards anyday of the week if I could throw darts at the flag stick..

[Bill H.]

what's going to be the future of Golf????

Oh, I don't know... Perhaps we'll see 600cc, 750cc or even 1,000cc drivers. The current materials are, indeed, light enough to allow an eggplant sized head to be put on a shaft. LOL Of course, the rest of the "weaponry" will increase exponentially in size. The ball? Maybe the size of a tennis ball, as we must have

everyone shooting par or better. "It's only fair" Maybe the course itself will grow to 9, 10, 12,000 yards. A round will take 8 hours. Just like a job.

[ipark1303]

Oh, I don't know... Perhaps we'll see 600cc, 750cc or even 1,000cc drivers. The current materials are, indeed, light enough to allow an eggplant sized head to be put on a shaft. LOL Of course, the rest of the "weaponry" will increase exponentially in size. The ball? Maybe the size of a tennis ball, as we must have

Hahahaha! Bill H. you are hilarious!!!!

[popey]

Have you not heard that Tom Sites at Nike has built a 600cc driver. Paul Casey has tested it and say that it goes miles and impossible to slice or draw!!! Now i want that club!!! He did it to test how much MOI and the tampoline effect can increase.

He has also built an ignite ignite. (Does exactly what it says) AS you hit the ball flames come out of the top of the clubface. I no that is cool and should become legal for amateurs!!!! Although i would not trust my best mate with it while having a bad day with the driver!!

[Steven McFarlane]

Lol thats funny...i said the exact same thing to my dad...since they made this weird putter witch could help read the break..and a stupid hat that had lines to help you ain to the hole. lol stupid..

'' Ball, Club, You, Tees, Course..and thats you go play'' is what i say

[Guest]

This is a great topic and my main problem with golf. I'm not into golf - mainly because it doesn't feel like golf anymore. I've grown up saturated in golf, every single member of my family save for one grandmother plays golf, talks golf, and watches golf constantly. I think the uber long courses and over sized metal heads take away from the tradition of golf and make a sacreligious sound off the tee.

I usually give golf a try once a year and it's coming up on that time. This year, however, I'm determined. I'm really going to give it a try this year. I plan on taking some lessons and really trying to learn the game.

This being said, I refuse to use these modern clubs. I have some really nice old wooden headed Tommy Armour's that I want to get re finished so that I can use them. Any advice on where and how to get this done? They're nice clubs but they're old. I'm also wondering if there are any companies that still make WOODS out of actual WOOD. I would love to order some new woods so that I can keep the Tommy's in mint condition. Plus if anything happened to these Tommy's I'm not sure where I could get new clubs any ideas?

[lamebums]

I know that Louisville Golf still makes persimmon heads, but I haven't heard of any others these days. Your best bet, that aside, would be a museum.

I occasionally hit a persimmon club out of the tee box for old time's sake if I'm not taking a round seriously, but being a golf purist in the most literal sense is the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. You're just adding strokes to your score because a skyball on your 160cc persimmon driver is only a slight mishit on my 460cc driver.

[Upright]

It was interesting to see Ernie Els doing the Jack Nicklaus Memorial Clinic on The Golf Channel. Jack brought out his old MacGregor persimmon driver and Ernie knocked the crap out of it. He remarked that it felt strange, and Jack remarked that he never hit that far. I think this speaks to the opinion that tour players are somewhat more fit, bigger and stronger as a whole, which results in longer drives etc. That said, not everybody on tour is an "Ernie Els". According to the USGA, the average handicap hasn't dropped much in the last 20 years, which makes the obvious implication that longer drives doesn't automatically mean you're going to hit more greens or sink more putts. Practice always has been and always will be the key to game improvement and lower score. I play the same courses quite often that I played 35 years ago, and with the new clubs I don't do much better than the old days using Wilson Staff blades and a Tony Penna 2-wood, making tracks in the early morning dew in Converse sneakers. Ah, the good ol' days.

I commented earlier in the thread that I'd be right there watching a tournament put on with only vintage equipment. With smaller clubheads (and smaller sweet spots), with old style grooves, I think it would be interesting to see how the pros score on today's courses. They are still pros and still better than Joe Hacker day to day, but I doubt you see many low rounds. An interesting point to make is to note that Moe Norman carded many sub-60 rounds using the old stuff without hitting it 350 off the tee. I guess not all pros are a "Moe Norman", either.

All that in mind, do what makes you happy. Pick a softer, lower compression ball, and go have at it. eBay and GolfExchange.com are just a few places you can find "vintage" equipment, as well as the pre-owned section of the big online retailers. Your local pro might have some ideas on the subject.

[erniebanks]

I play the same courses quite often that I played 35 years ago, and with the new clubs I don't do much better than the old days using Wilson Staff blades and a Tony Penna 2-wood, making tracks in the early morning dew in Converse sneakers. Ah, the good ol' days.

Well 35 years ago I was 30 and could certainly hit the ball better and farther

than I do today.

[Upright]

Well 35 years ago I was 30 and could certainly hit the ball better and farther

I was 11. On my 11th birthday I shot 84 from the forward tees at Hillandale Golf Course in Durham, NC, and beat my Dad by two shots. We played the next day and he moved me back to the whites with him. We both shot 83. I try not to let him forget it. haha!

To the equipment issue, it seems like I recall Arnie saying he credits technology for allowing him to continue to have good scores and have fun playing on into his 60's. On that note, I think it's a great thing. I think it's wonderful that the game has evolved so that people can enjoy it as a life long pursuit, rather than be limited to their youth. I look forward to playing as long as I'm able. Cheers.