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If golfers for yester-year had today's equipment

Crawfy

Crawfy

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Off the back of Thommo's Tiger/Bear thread.

What if Nicklaus, Seve and the rest of the golfing gods had access then to present-day equipment .. how low would they be scoring ??

Imagine those craftsmen with oversized drivers, cavity irons, wedge grooves (when allowed) and modern day ball technology

How much of this was evident over recent years with Tom Watson's and Greg Norman's performances at The Open, or were these brief indian summers ?
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

I think that modern clubs help handicap golfers more than they help Pros. Golf Ball technology would be the biggy I reckon, more spin/control rather than more cc in the woods. In a clip posted yesterday of the 86 Masters, Seve hit one 303 yards, wasnt his longest or anything, the commentator just matter of factly mentioned it so to me its the little white thing that has changed more than the clubs hitting them.


After that Fitness and technique plays equally as big a part where I believe (and I could be mistaken) the mental side was much more the weapon of yesteryear.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

Not sure Cavity backed irons or balls that produce less spin would let Seve do what he wanted to do with it. If the Driver was going straigter he'd probably hit it harder and still get into some of those interesting positions!

I don't think technology has come on leaps and bounds except, as Brendy said, with the golf ball. The club companies do have a lot of us believing though.


Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and the like might be a different story.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

I would guess that they would be scoring the same as the current pro's do. If you are a skilled player you would surely score according to the ability that you have. A Hogan would be competing with likes of Luke Donald as they would both have superb technique and the most modern gear at their disposal, the greens would be slicker these days and I cant see why, with the modern drivers and balls Hogan wouldn't match Donald for distance

Chris
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

Its tough to actually say how well a certain individual player would do in todays game, but I think we can safely assume that the players on tour now as a whole, are better than the players on tour in Nicklaus' day.

As a complete guess I would say that if Seve and Nicklaus had the peak periods of their careers in the period of 2000-2011 I think that they would still be two of the best players in the game, but still streets behind Tiger.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

As a complete guess I would say that if Seve and Nicklaus had the peak periods of their careers in the period of 2000-2011 I think that they would still be two of the best players in the game, but still streets behind Tiger.[/QUOTE]

Seve & The Golden Bear, at their best (with modern tech) would be streets behind Tiger ??....ooooft big shout !
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

I consider Nicklaus as still the greatest player ever, and Tiger has yet to catch him. I am convinced he would have been just as dominant with todays equipment. Nicklaus was a very long hitter at his peak, and would be even longer with today's equipment, but what won him golf events was his mind. He would dominate Woods.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

EZprophet said:
As a complete guess I would say that if Seve and Nicklaus had the peak periods of their careers in the period of 2000-2011 I think that they would still be two of the best players in the game, but still streets behind Tiger.
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I'm just off to get some pop corn, I'll be right back in time for the argument.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

Plenty of players with lovely swings have done nothing in the professional game.

What sets winners apart is between the ears.... attitude, dedication, self belief, ability to perform under pressure.

Those qualities would prevail in any era and with any equipment.

The who would beat who debate just can't be answered, although I suspect it won't stop people trying :eek:
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

I agree that the overall quality of player in the Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Trevino, Watson, Miller etc era was not as high as now. The top players then were significantly better than the rest, but these days we have more in quantity good players, but apart from Woods, no great ones. Hence the majors being shared around, and players in the top five in the world that have not won a major.

I believe that apart from Woods, and possibly Mickelson, the older players mentioned would have dominate the current tour players over the last 10 years. These players in their day would win 6/7/8 times a year which doesn't happen these days.

It is difficult to compare sportsman from different eras, but golf is one sport where it is more possible than most. Tom Watsons performance at the Open at the age of 59, at a time when he was no where near his peak of the mid 70,s and early 80's, just proves how good he was, and Nicklaus was better !
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

I have no doubt that yesterday's great players if they had grown up using modern kit and playing today would dominate the game as they did in their day. Equally I have no doubt that if today's top players had been brought up with the old gear back then they too would have shot great scores. The basic skill set is the same, even though technique may have changed.

Looking at some of the scores achieved by the players of past generations really is sobering considering the gear they were using. Henry Cotton's 65 at Royal St Georges in 1934, not beaten in an Open until 1977, stands out of course but how about

  • Harold Hilton (GMs founder and first editor) 72 round Muirfield in the 1892 Open,
  • James Braid's 69 and JH Taylor's 68 round RSG in 1904,
  • Bobby Jones' total of 285 at St Andrews in 1927 (an Open record at the time) would have got a top 10 place in 1995.

Those guys could play!
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

Has the scoring in the pro game really changed that much. In the majors in particular if you take away McIlroys canter there hasn't really been a landslide in any for a while and no-one has gone mega low. Its impossible to answer but Nicklaus etc have used the modern gear on the seniors tour in the last few years anyway and it hasn't made a huge difference.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

HomerJSimpson said:
Has the scoring in the pro game really changed that much. In the majors in particular if you take away McIlroys canter there hasn't really been a landslide in any for a while and no-one has gone mega low. Its impossible to answer but Nicklaus etc have used the modern gear on the seniors tour in the last few years anyway and it hasn't made a huge difference.
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That because they're getting on now. Now, if they had that gear back in their best days, thats the question. However, all the other players would have that gear also....so who knows.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

Dodger said:
nobody knows and nobody will ever know and those who are stating otherwise are simply making things up.
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Well done for stating the obvious Dodger! :D It would not be much of a forum if we just stuck to facts and ignored opinions would it?


I think it is a more interesting approach to say would Tiger Woods have won as much as he has if he were transported back to the days of Nicklaus, Watson and Trevino in their prime. Like Dodger says, we can't possibly know but my opinion is that he would have won much less. Not so much down to the equipment he would have to use although I think this would be a factor, but rather that the competition would be harder to beat.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

HomerJSimpson said:
Has the scoring in the pro game really changed that much. In the majors in particular if you take away McIlroys canter there hasn't really been a landslide in any for a while and no-one has gone mega low.
Click to expand...

Oostheizen won by 7 shots in the open at -16.
 
Re: If golfers for yester-year had today's equipme

Would have been interesting to see what the game of golf would have been like with comparable prize money t/out the ages.

In 1946 Sam Snead recieved £150 for winning the open

1864 - Old Tom Morris - £6
1900 - J. H. Taylor - £30
1931 - Tommy Armour - £100
1951 - Max Faulkner - £300
1961 - Arnold Palmer - £1,400
1971 - Lee Travino - £5,500
1981 - Bill Rogers - £25,000
1991 - Ian Baker-Finch - £90,000
2001 - David Duval - £600,000
2011 - Darren Clarke - £900,000

I doubt some of the golfing legends of yester year would recognise the game let alone how it is run.
 
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