6-9 irons

[Hacker Khan]

I think we are closer than we should be yes

Suppose it depends on how you define 'should be'. Should be for who, the elite amateur, the pro, the mid range handicapper, the happy hacker, the potential golfer that has not yet got into the game.

You will struggle to find a solution for all parties the way the game currently is. I think to be fair to the governing bodies that have mostly done a decent job in trying to keep everyone playing to the same rules and using the same equipment. But I've heard/read calls for the game to be made easier for the amateur so we can grow the game and harder for the pros so most courses do not become a drive and pitch for them. And club and ball technology is a major part of that. So maybe bifurcation is the only sensible way forwards.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I think we are closer than we should be yes

So why are average HC no different to 20/30 years ago ?

If you believe the game is easier why aren't average HC coming down ? Why aren't course records and scores getting better ?

 

[bobmac]

So why are average HC no different to 20/30 years ago ?

If you believe the game is easier why aren't average HC coming down ? Why aren't course records and scores getting better ?

Because people are too busy to practice

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Because people are too busy to practice

I know plenty who practise lots , use hybrids etc but HC hasn't come down

Maybe just maybe the game is still as hard to master as it always used to be

 

[freddielong]

So why are average HC no different to 20/30 years ago ?

If you believe the game is easier why aren't average HC coming down ? Why aren't course records and scores getting better ?

Because people play less and don't put the time in, the guys at the top of the amateur ranks who put the time in are way lower handicap wise than they used to be.

25 years ago the one or two lowest club golfers on the island played off 2 now we have at least 10 players playing off plus numbers.

 

[bobmac]

I know plenty who practise lots , use hybrids etc but HC hasn't come down

Maybe just maybe the game is still as hard to master as it always used to be

When I learned my golf, you bought a whole set, irons and woods. (1,2,3,4 normally) The only real choice you had was persimmon or laminated woods. The ball was small and it went nowhere. And if you found it you had no idea how far you had to go as there were no 150 markers. The bunkers were ill maintained and the greens weren't much better. I cycled there and back and carried my bag. And as a junior, I wasn't allowed to tee off if adults were waiting. But I still loved it and spent all my spare time there playing and practicing

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Because people play less and don't put the time in, the guys at the top of the amateur ranks who put the time in are way lower handicap wise than they used to be.

25 years ago the one or two lowest club golfers on the island played off 2 now we have at least 10 players playing off plus numbers.

Im guessing that's all backed up by surveys and factual evidence ?

Or is it just your opinion

I know people that play week in week out , practise regualry but HC stays as it is

Not seen any factual back up to provide the evidence to suggest that the game is easier now

 

[Deleted member 15344]

When I learned my golf, you bought a whole set, irons and woods. (1,2,3,4 normally) The only real choice you had was persimmon or laminated woods. The ball was small and it went nowhere. And if you found it you had no idea how far you had to go as there were no 150 markers. The bunkers were ill maintained and the greens weren't much better. I cycled there and back and carried my bag. And as a junior, I wasn't allowed to tee off if adults were waiting. But I still loved it and spent all my spare time there playing and practicing

But that doesn't mean that golf is easier now

Courses are longer , tougher , greens are bigger and quicker , more water , more bunkering, course designed to test

Still just as hard to put the ball in the hole

 

[Qwerty]

Because people play less and don't put the time in, the guys at the top of the amateur ranks who put the time in are way lower handicap wise than they used to be.

25 years ago the one or two lowest club golfers on the island played off 2 now we have at least 10 players playing off plus numbers.

:thup:

There was a guy on here a couple of weeks ago saying he played in the British Amateur at Nairn 10 years ago and he was able to get in to the event off +0.3 as that was a very low H'cap back then.
Nowadays I'd imagine you'd have to be considerably lower to qualify.

 

[freddielong]

I know plenty who practise lots , use hybrids etc but HC hasn't come down

Maybe just maybe the game is still as hard to master as it always used to be

Ha ha

So you drive it further and straighter with less side spin , your irons go further they are much much more forgiving the stop from everywhere, your putter is more balanced, the balls travel further and deviate less in the wind, grips are better so playing in the rain is easy, every aspect of the game is easier, but overall the games not easier.

Ok I'll have whatever your having please

 

[Alex1975]

But that doesn't mean that golf is easier now

Courses are longer , tougher , greens are bigger and quicker , more water , more bunkering, course designed to test

Still just as hard to put the ball in the hole

The ball is bigger, the hole is the same size....

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Ha ha

So you drive it further and straighter with less side spin , your irons go further they are much much more forgiving the stop from everywhere, your putter is more balanced, the balls travel further and deviate less in the wind, grips are better so playing in the rain is easy, every aspect of the game is easier, but overall the games not easier.

Ok I'll have whatever your having please

So why are the scores not getting better and HC not coming tumbling down ?

 

[bobmac]

But that doesn't mean that golf is easier now

Courses are longer , tougher , greens are bigger and quicker , more water , more bunkering, course designed to test

Still just as hard to put the ball in the hole

Championship courses may be. My home course is still the same as it was 40 years ago

 

[freddielong]

So why are the scores not getting better and HC not coming tumbling down ?

Scores at the top end have come down

 

[freddielong]

But that doesn't mean that golf is easier now

Courses are longer , tougher , greens are bigger and quicker , more water , more bunkering, course designed to test

Still just as hard to put the ball in the hole

Some courses are harder the majority are the same more or less.

 

[bobmac]

So why are the scores not getting better and HC not coming tumbling down ?

Because people are too busy to practice
We're going round in circles here.

Phil, before I finish, how can you really argue about the standard of golf now and the standard back in the 70s when you weren't born until 1973?

 

[Alex1975]

We are now going round in circles but I have never seen a post with so little evidence or fact from either point of view.

 

[Hacker Khan]

We are now going round in circles but I have never seen a post with so little evidence or fact from either point of view.

OK, some other opinion from the 'let's not make it harder' argument http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/new...my-view-on-what-the-game-of-golf-needs-to-do/

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Because people are too busy to practice
We're going round in circles here.

Phil, before I finish, how can you really argue about the standard of golf now and the standard back in the 70s when you weren't born until 1973?

I play with plenty who played the game through those years who suggest the game is still just as hard

Until someone produces something to show that the game is easier then it's just opinions

 

[Alex1975]

OK, some other opinion from the 'let's not make it harder' argument http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/new...my-view-on-what-the-game-of-golf-needs-to-do/

"It needs to have the stigma taken away from it that it’s an old man’s game" ... Is that relevant to this post?