Here comes the rollback..maybe

[Cherry13]

where golf is so unique and in my opinion this issue comes from, is how we view the course. In most sports the court/pitch/arena is just there to serve a purpose and act as a canvas. In golf though the course is uniquely almost viewed as a competitor.
Ultimately in stroke play golf you are playing against the course, you win by beating the course more than the rest of the field.
I think we need to address our relationship with the course first and if we want it to remain as integral, or as mentioned above do we just move with the times and allow athletes to overpower them.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

Courses and equipment should yield par to the club champions, not to elite touring players.
Trying to defend par against the latter is the fantasy of the R&A/USGA.
If they defend par against the top players in the world, the course in particular and possibly the equipment itself is unplayable for even the better recreational players.

Everything about course setup and equipment alike should be determined with the recreational player in mind, and if the best players in the world threaten to break sixty every round, so be it.
That will give a more accurate perspective as to the difference between a club champion and an Open champion.

 

[garyinderry]

Were the belly putters phenomenal at putting? They banned them, but not because they were overwhelming greens and making a mockery of pin positions.

Seems the USGA spotted a trend and didnt like it.

2011 keegan Bradley wins Uspga
2012 webb Simpson us open

2013 belly putting banned.


They nipped that right in the bud.

 

[Imurg]

I like Mygolfspy's idea of trying a cheap and fairly instant experiment
Just let the grass grow a little...
Not much, just dont cut it quite so short.
1/8 to 1/4 of an inch on the fairways..and add a bit of moisture, grow the rough by 1/2 an inch.
That'll stop people hitting 360 or whatever yard 2 irons as they won't get 100 yards of roll.
It's cheap and easy to do.
It'll stop massive run and make good contact with an iron a bit more tricky
It may not work but it might..and what have you lost if it doesn't.?

 

[howbow88]

Has anyone suggested that the R&A/USGA just say that we have now reached the limit - Ball speeds have reached the limit and any new balls made cannot go faster than they currently do when they're tested. The same as they test driver COR.

I think pro golf as it stands is ok, but I agree that if it goes much further, it will start to be a bit crap.

 

[USER1999]

Has anyone suggested that the R&A/USGA just say that we have now reached the limit - Ball speeds have reached the limit and any new balls made cannot go faster than they currently do when they're tested. The same as they test driver COR.

I think pro golf as it stands is ok, but I agree that if it goes much further, it will start to be a bit crap.

It is already pitch and putt, how much more crap can it get?

 

[howbow88]

Well it isn't pitch and putt. To me, the idea of freezing things seems like a fair compromise. Going backwards in terms of the ball seems unlikely for several reasons, and getting more distance isn't desirable for several other reasons. So putting a ball speed limit in now like there is already for clubs, makes sense to me.

 

[USER1999]

Well it isn't pitch and putt. To me, the idea of freezing things seems like a fair compromise. Going backwards in terms of the ball seems unlikely for several reasons, and getting more distance isn't desirable for several other reasons. So putting a ball speed limit in now like there is already for clubs, makes sense to me.

But the players get stronger, they train the right muscle groups, and hit it further. Todays freak is tomorrow's norm. They will continue to hit it further. Stasis is not an option.

 

[USER1999]

I find it amusing that the RandA and USGA have spent years looking at this, analysed thousands of statistics, canvased opinions, etc. They come out with a report, and a bunch of absolute nobodies on a golf forum think they know better. There is no problem. Put a few new bunkers in. Grow the rough. No. There is an issue. It needs addressing. The governing bodies say so. Finally.

 

[pendodave]

I find it amusing that the RandA and USGA have spent years looking at this, analysed thousands of statistics, canvased opinions, etc. They come out with a report, and a bunch of absolute nobodies on a golf forum think they know better. There is no problem. Put a few new bunkers in. Grow the rough. No. There is an issue. It needs addressing. The governing bodies say so. Finally.

You should say "a bunch of absolute nobodies who haven't read the report".... i find it hard to believe that you can read it and then think 'Yep, all good then'...

 

[harpo_72]

Look at tennis... the ball compression is controlled. We don’t see the high speed mono dimensional players now. They don’t get a huge advantage. Just do that to the ball.
You can water fairways, but that’s not a sustainable solution.
Changing the size of the driver heads .. minimal impact, some pro clubs are smaller already.

 

[Slab]

The courses and equipment seem fine for us amateurs with loads of growth left on current courses so it’s just the Pro’s that there’s a problem, so when these guys come to town and can reach that par 5 with driver mid iron, make it a par 4 (now they’ll also think twice about using driver all the time because saving par from the rough isn't a gimmie)
You can defend a 130yrd par 3 pretty easily and it’s not like they are talking driver on those holes anyway so no technology adjustment needed there, par 3’s don’t need to be 240 long
And the really short par 4’s get chopped to a par 3 for pros (& maybe even make them tee it forward for the pros to bring in other par 4s so that driver becomes too long a club)

Might even speed up a round for the tours

Let them have their boom boom fun at some holes too so we get a nice mix and reward is still there for the boomers and if the course par for their comp is 58 … so what, lowest score wins, it’ll be a par 72 again the following week when the members get back out

 

[howbow88]

I find it amusing that the RandA and USGA have spent years looking at this, analysed thousands of statistics, canvased opinions, etc. They come out with a report, and a bunch of absolute nobodies on a golf forum think they know better. There is no problem. Put a few new bunkers in. Grow the rough. No. There is an issue. It needs addressing. The governing bodies say so. Finally.

No need to be rude I'm just surprised no one has suggested that the ball be 'frozen' as such in terms of speed.

 

[howbow88]

But the players get stronger, they train the right muscle groups, and hit it further. Todays freak is tomorrow's norm. They will continue to hit it further. Stasis is not an option.

That's the same with pretty much every sport though. In basketball they now score higher than ever before, in rugby you have wingers that weigh 20 stone, etc.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The courses and equipment seem fine for us amateurs with loads of growth left on current courses so it’s just the Pro’s that there’s a problem, so when these guys come to town and can reach that par 5 with driver mid iron, make it a par 4 (now they’ll also think twice about using driver all the time because saving par from the rough isn't a gimmie)
You can defend a 130yrd par 3 pretty easily and it’s not like they are talking driver on those holes anyway so no technology adjustment needed there, par 3’s don’t need to be 240 long
And the really short par 4’s get chopped to a par 3 for pros (& maybe even make them tee it forward for the pros to bring in other par 4s so that driver becomes too long a club)

Might even speed up a round for the tours

Let them have their boom boom fun at some holes too so we get a nice mix and reward is still there for the boomers and if the course par for their comp is 58 … so what, lowest score wins, it’ll be a par 72 again the following week when the members get back out

Some logic there and the USGA in particular are fond of making par 5's into long par 4's for the US Open and PGA so there are precedents there

 

[USER1999]

No need to be rude I'm just surprised no one has suggested that the ball be 'frozen' as such in terms of speed.

It has been, for ages.

 

[howbow88]

It has been, for ages.

Has it been legally restricted by the R&A?