USGA Seeking Feedback on Distance "Issue"

[CaseyD]

Is there a certain “max” distance the USGA finds acceptable?

im with everyone else that it’s not us that’s out driving the courses we play. Couldn’t the usga/pga just cut the fairway grass a little taller?  The couple tourneys I’ve been to their fairways look shorter and harder than the greens at my course.( I’m being a little sarcastic but not much)

Or for pros just go the nascar route of restrictor plates and dial the professional COR allowances back a little, like .815 or .800

seems like it could be a fairly simple fix for the small group of elite they are worried about. 

Edited October 16, 2018 by CaseyD

[iacas]

14 minutes ago, CaseyD said:

Or for pros just go the nascar route of reatrictor plates and dial the professional COR allowances back a little, like .815 or .800

Many of us do not want bifurcation either.

[CaseyD]

Gotcha. It is nice knowing we are using exactly(for the most part) what they are using. Kind of a cool measuring point of skill level. 

[The Recreational Golfer]

I could care less about how far the pros hit the ball.

I care a lot about how far I hit the ball. I like getting to the green with a driver and an iron on a 400-yard hole rather than a driver and a 3-wood, which is what it took me 40 years ago.

 

 

 

[308 Ragin Cajun]

Professional golfers on average, are bigger and better athletes than the pros of yesteryear, and they  train like athletes. Equipment is better and more consistent than it used to be. It's  a combination of technology and evolution. That said, I believe that the equipment is already at the edge of what the Rules allow, particularly with drivers. I don't think the USGA and R&A  will let them go any farther. i personally believe that your average or weekend golfer doesn' hit the ball on the club face consistently enough to make too much distance a problem at local courses.

On 5/25/2018 at 9:22 AM, krupa said:

I'm really confused/angry/baffled by the USGA's insistence on there being a "distance issue".  Who's complaining?  The rich guys who have to keep modifying their courses to keep up with the PGA Tour players?  It's certainly not me and the rest of the unwashed masses who are struggling to make a half-way decent score. How many professional golfers are bombing it to the point that an eyebrow is raised?  10, 20? Hell, let's say 100.  Let's compare that to the number of golfers who are happy to convince themselves they hit it 250 or the number of golfers who just said f*** it and stopped altogether. 

If the USGA actually did something to reduce a ball's distance, I'll have my own solution to the distance "issue":

1. Play with non-conforming balls (I don't have a handicap and will probably never get one.)

2. Quit playing altogether.

And would the PGA Tour even bother with the USGA's ruling? There's no reason that they can't just say, "nah... we're going our own way on this one." I really think that sooner or later, the USGA is going to do something that basically forces the PGA Tour to do their own thing.

The USGA should worry about the amateur game (or lack thereof) and let the PGA Tour sort their own "problems" out.

I gave the USGA feedback to that effect.

I agree. Either the PGA  Tour going its own way, or the USGA combing lawyers out of there hair because of lawsuits filed by equipment manufacturers if the governing bodies restrict their technology too much.

[Phil McGleno]

Former Tour player here and even then I tried to realize we were the minority and not the thing to base golf on.

[Vinsk]

23 minutes ago, Phil McGleno said:

Former Tour player here and even then I tried to realize we were the minority and not the thing to base golf on.

I agree. And today despite all the talk about dialing back the ball (nonsense imo) I see the longest hitters still shooting over par rounds. I’ve seen no ‘legendary courses’ become obsolete. Golf will always win I believe. It’s one of the most fascinating aspects of the game. It’s just hard. 

[Phil McGleno]

2 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I agree. And today despite all the talk about dialing back the ball (nonsense imo) I see the longest hitters still shooting over par rounds. I’ve seen no ‘legendary courses’ become obsolete. Golf will always win I believe. It’s one of the most fascinating aspects of the game. It’s just hard.  

Some courses are outgrown-Cypress Point is too short. Others exist too.-I just do not care because like it has been said 6500 yards is long enough for a lot of people-a lot of golfers.

[Slim_Pivot]

I think the biggest problem is fairway bunker positioning. The average or shorter pro’s drive lands right in the bunker, where the long guys fly over it. The need to extend the bunkers or move them up 30 yards. They can’t have the fairway bunker ONLY effecting the short or mid hitter. I disagree with squeezing fairways past 300.

[308 Ragin Cajun]

On 9/19/2018 at 7:48 PM, billchao said:

No. The way the question is framed presents it that way. If courses are lengthen then maintenance costs go up. If nothing is done with courses, then maintenance costs stay the same. Maintenance cost isn't directly related with how far players hit the ball. I answered it the only way I could reasonably conclude based on how the question was worded.

That's my point. I've taken a lot of surveys. I've also taken marketing classes that covered survey writing. It's very easy to manipulate a survey to get what you want from it. It's no different than a poorly designed experiment, minus the peer review aspect.

This survey reads skewed to me.

Obviously. I spent all of three seconds coming up with it. It wasn't meant to be a "better" question, it was meant to address what you wrote. My question seems more like the statement of fact that you agreed with than theirs.

Maintenance costs will go up anyway. Fuel cost will generally increase, old equipment will have to be replaced with newer, more expensive equipment, and labor costs will increase.

[Lihu]

On 5/25/2018 at 7:22 AM, krupa said:

2. Quit playing altogether.

Distance is not a problem, lack of distance is. Most people don’t hit far enough as it is. You’ll have plenty of company. 😁

The alternative of bifurcation is not good either.

Unfortunately, part of the appeal of golf at this point is that the common man can play by the same rules as the pros on the same courses. So, bifurcation is not really an option either.

A lot of people would quit, and at this tenuous time for golf, it would pretty much end golf for the average golfer due to potentially more course closures and such as more people quit due to even slower play than we have now.

 

[iacas]

Pretty much what I've been saying. Stop worrying about the game for the tiny fraction of PGA Tour players.

6500 yards is plenty for 95% of golfers.

[iacas]

 

[MarvChamp]

On 10/23/2018 at 2:33 PM, Lihu said:

Distance is not a problem, lack of distance is. Most people don’t hit far enough as it is. You’ll have plenty of company. 😁

Yes, yes, yes! I keep on saying this. And most people of my acquaintance don't hit the ball as far as they think. Best, -Marv

[Herkimer]

I think we should leave things as they are and not try to curb any distance from the long hitters.  The longest drivers on tour are fun to watch and they bring people to the course.  I'll bet Cam Champ will be bringing people out to watch him hit the long ball -- people who otherwise wouldn't show up at an event.  Why ruin a good thing?  There's absolutely no need.  If more birdies and eagles are made now, who cares?  It's fun to watch.  And if the scores are going lower and lower -- again, who cares?  I think it adds excitement to the game.  And I think it's great for golf if technology is working to help the average golfer hit the ball farther (with new club designs and materials, and with new balls as well). 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 11/8/2018 at 10:27 PM, iacas said:

Pretty much what I've been saying. Stop worrying about the game for the tiny fraction of PGA Tour players.

6500 yards is plenty for 95% of golfers.

Hell. More like 6,000 for me! 6,500 would be a slugfest! If the equipment companies could design clubs and a ball that would allow me to hit 300 yard drives consistently, I'd be at the front of the line! 

I also like how Chamblee put "our equipment" in quotes! That's like saying the Toyota Celica in your driveway is the same as the one NASCAR drivers are tooling around Talladega! 

Golf fans have always loved the long hitters! 

[BallMarker]

Some day, if I can remember, I'm going to hit a wham-o-super-ball and see what happens.

On 5/25/2018 at 12:09 PM, Bucki1968 said:

After my previous post I got to thinking a little more, and realized that I'm actually in better shape (physically) than I was at 28. I guess that could be more of reason I hit it further now than just attributing it to technology?

Or it could be that your swing has vastly improved.

[Aflighter]

Golf has the same problem nascar does.Its all about money so nothing will be changed or stopped.Research and development will keep others from being able to compete better with the top golfers and top teams.If they stopped all the advances in technology then what would be the point of all those jobs developing it.Imagine if there was cure for cancer well guess what?Medical field just lost lots of money plus people would live even longer.