No Tees

[clubchamp98]

Then we just reopen the debate of bifurcation and it’s just not going to happen. To much money will be lost as so many club members and fans want to play the same clubs, balls etc as the pro’s do. After all Staff players are the biggest advertising factor for all OEMs.

You can’t stop progress in any walk of life and nobody looking to earn a living in the game is going to want kit and equipment rolled back or R&D halted where marginal gains can equate to scores and pound notes.

Faldo is an absolute legend and one of my all time golfing heroes his technique and mental strength back in the day was flawless, I understand why he’s making these suggestions. As all ex pros and us as fans are entitled to opinions on how to make it better and fairer, but I agree with Lord T that horse bolted a long time ago.

The simplest way at the top level is to make the courses play harder. Narrow the fairways, grow the rough, choose courses that put a premium on accuracy and shot shaping Instead of always choosing TPC courses. Hardly any courses they play these days have good old fashioned dog legs or are set up to be plotted round instead of bomb and gouge on the stadium courses.

After all look at US Open set ups very rare to get very low scores there, even courses like Riviera rarely get torn apart not because of its length but because of its set up. But that’s just IMO.

Ban ball spotters and make them find their own ball.
That might reign in the bombers.

 

[Mandofred]

I think the biggest problem isn’t how far the players can hit the ball now it’s that courses cannot be made longer due to lack of space.

It means that some of our favourite well known courses are becoming just to easy for the longer hitters.

St Andrews I would say being the prime example.

So if we cannot make courses longer I think to present a challenge then there needs to be more hazards in play

Totally agree. But.....will the people who only want longer, further, bigger, etc get upset because the pro's won't hit the ball as far? I'm all for putting more danger into the courses. In some cases, like leaving the fairway grass a little longer, would solve some of the distance problems without ANY work/money at all. But again.....would the lovers of long hitters be offended?

 

[Mandofred]

Ban ball spotters and make them find their own ball.
That might reign in the bombers.

Not possible. You would have to put out snipers to shoot any spectator who yelled directions etc to the players. There would be a lot of dead bodies.....which might make watching golf more interesting.

 

[irip]

Totally agree. But.....will the people who only want longer, further, bigger, etc get upset because the pro's won't hit the ball as far? I'm all for putting more danger into the courses. In some cases, like leaving the fairway grass a little longer, would solve some of the distance problems without ANY work/money at all. But again.....would the lovers of long hitters be offended?

No they wouldn’t be happy but whatever they do some people won’t be happy and there is always long drive championships if they prefer.

I’m not saying stop them hitting driver but make the punishment more severe for those that miss the fairway

 

[BubbaP]

I quite liked Nick Faldo's idea of banning tees for pro competitions on shorter courses.
He is against lowering ball compressions to stop the big hitters dominating the sport.
Drivers limited to 10 degrees and stop use of the more lofted wedges was also something he said they should consider.

Assume his thinking is the big hitters are generally hitters their drivers on the up, removing the tee would negate this. They'd still have the speed but would need a precise strike. Manufacturers might create shallower driver heads.

 

[clubchamp98]

Not possible. You would have to put out snipers to shoot any spectator who yelled directions etc to the players. There would be a lot of dead bodies.....which might make watching golf more interesting.

It is !
Most don’t even watch where their ball goes.
They turn their backs and just let the ball spotters find it.
If they had to find it themselves they might even aim for the fairways and shout FORE when they are offline.

 

[The Squirrel]

the answer for me is make some of the spectator areas out of bounds, which makes the area they have to hit into narrower and puts a bit more premium on accuracy rather than just smashing driver and not really caring where it goes.

I completely agree. If you want to really go for it, make the grandstands OOB too!
No bifurcation.
No contentious equipment changes.
No difficulty/expensive/impossible course changes desperately trying to extend.
If you get it a bit wrong with your rope placements and level of difficulty you can easily dial it back or make it harder - and as quickly as the next day.
AND it improves spectator safety!

Yes it makes the course a bit different to the ones we play, but they’re different anyway, and if anyone’s saying their setup should be the same as ours then you can fund and send over my ball spotting team for tomorrow’s daily roll up .

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

You may be right, but IMVHO, progress is not automatically synonymous with improvement. The best example is the America's Cup: Yes, the yachts currently in use are (many times!) faster, but they are no match for the old J-Classes like Shamrock, Enterprise, Endeavour and all the others!

I’ve never said it’s synonymous with improvement. I have absolutely no idea about anything to do with Yachting
Other than is some sort of boat so I could tell you if your comparison is akin to anything golf related. Perhaps that’s my ignorance but unless a sport involves a ball or hitting someone I’m clueless

The Pro game in general especially the PGAT has largely become boring over the last decade. Stadium courses, bomb and gouge with little to no rough or shots players have to think about other than hit it hard, find it and wedge it., even Rory I find boring purely because of the game they play isn’t golf as we know and play it. The 2 Opens are pretty much the only majors I find interesting to watch because of them they can’t over power the courses, that’s one of the reason I think that’s the way to go.

I find the DPWT more interesting to watch than PGAT as there is more variety in courses and how they have to play them. But even better I prefer watching the Ladies golf it’s far more akin to what we would play, premium on accuracy actually seeing some decent long iron/hybrid shots into greens etc.

 

[Oops!]

I wholeheartedly agree!

BTW, the same applies (figuratively speaking, of course) to the America's Cup...!

Therefore, I see only two options: Either you let things take their course and accept them as they develop, or you separate the whole thing and create one tour for “current developments” and a second one for “classic” style.

But as @Lord Tyrion already noted: That's not going to happen!

 

[KenL]

I have no issue with the best players in the world make tough courses look easy.
They are not trying to beat the course, they are trying to beat the other players and win the tournament.

When a new 100 metres record is set, nobody complains that the athlete is running too fast!

 

[Crow]

When a new 100 metres record is set, nobody complains that the athlete is running too fast!

This is true, but various designs of running shoes have been banned.

 

[sunshine]

I have no issue with the best players in the world make tough courses look easy.
They are not trying to beat the course, they are trying to beat the other players and win the tournament.

When a new 100 metres record is set, nobody complains that the athlete is running too fast!

But people would complain if the athlete set the record due to better equipment eg aerodynamic leotard or shoes.

 

[sunshine]

You may be right, but IMVHO, progress is not automatically synonymous with improvement. The best example is the America's Cup: Yes, the yachts currently in use are (many times!) faster, but they are no match for the old J-Classes like Shamrock, Enterprise, Endeavour and all the others!

I’m enjoying the obscure reference which nobody understands (including me). Might borrow this tactic.

 

[GreiginFife]

I’m enjoying the obscure reference which nobody understands (including me). Might borrow this tactic.

Me too, I thought the Enterprise was Nebula Class…

 

[sunshine]

Rackets and Real Tennis have stuck with traditional equipment, and these games have never been more popular. I don’t think there is much clamour for carbon fibre real tennis racquets. Lords and Hampton Court are not planning to extend the size of their courts or make them more difficult.

 

[D-S]

Rackets and Real Tennis have stuck with traditional equipment, and these games have never been more popular. I don’t think there is much clamour for carbon fibre real tennis racquets. Lords and Hampton Court are not planning to extend the size of their courts or make them more difficult.

Considering there were hundreds of Real Tennis courts at the beginning of the last century and there are only 45-50 in the whole world now and only around 10,000 players in the world then perhaps this isn’t the best example of a growing sport whereas tennis that has changed equipment dramatically has had a lot of growth in this time.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

I get the wish re Pros finding their own wayward balls.!
The courses on which they play should have more telling hazards, I.e., big clumps of bushes etc into which their wayward balls finish up. How many times do you see them lose a ball, or have to take a playable because there’s no possible way to play the ball from where they’ve played it.
Look at all the trees they hit the ball amongst. Almost always the lowest branches are high enough for them to play a full swing from under . Put them under branches three or four foot high, and see them play that shot!
Let them land in bloody great gorse bushes that you need a packed lunch to walk around, etc
Hyperbole, but you get the drift.
In other words, let them land in as much crap as I seem to!

If courses had that sort of trouble at 300 yards onwards, but not at 280, let’s see how they would play those holes.
The things to change are what’s on the courses, not their lengths, may I suggest.

 

[clubchamp98]

I have no issue with the best players in the world make tough courses look easy.
They are not trying to beat the course, they are trying to beat the other players and win the tournament.

When a new 100 metres record is set, nobody complains that the athlete is running too fast!

Be interesting to see the times in the games where they can take any drugs they like

 

[KenL]

Be interesting to see the times in the games where they can take any drugs they like

I think there is an event like that planned for Las Vegas. Ridiculous!

 

[Mandofred]

I think there is an event like that planned for Las Vegas. Ridiculous!

For years everybody knew the American baseball players were doping like crazy. But home runs sell tickets so the powers that be ignored things. Finally cracked down on things and the home runs were reduced. People at home don't care what happens to the athletes on tv.....they just want to root for winners. I still think the people at home don't care about golfers showing talent in all areas of skill, they just want godzilla to hit the golf ball 500 yards.....and then that won't be good enough, they will want 600 yards.