Rory-proofing.....

[palindromicbob]

It's a lot easier to stick an 8 or 9 iron close for Rory than for shorter hitters who are having to hit 5 or 6 irons into the same greens though.

He can also stiff a 3w. Very few able to bring in the long clubs as softly as he does when his game is on.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Leave it alone for a rank and file tour event and make the majors as more severe test. Don't forget the members still have to be able to play it the other 50 weeks of the year

 

[User 105]

It's a lot easier to stick an 8 or 9 iron close for Rory than for shorter hitters who are having to hit 5 or 6 irons into the same greens though.

I guess the point I was making is that he still has to be able to hit those shots and finish the hole off as well as bombing it.

Look at DJ, bombs it but his wedges are decidedly dodgy. Bo Weekly or even Westwood, Bombs it but putting is decidedly dodgy.

 

[Tongo]

Leave it alone for a rank and file tour event and make the majors as more severe test. Don't forget the members still have to be able to play it the other 50 weeks of the year

Yep, I think that's pretty much the ideal scenario!

 

[Stuey01]

I believe it is what it is. They are professional for a reason. Hard work and dedication has got them where they are. There are stand out people at any sport. Do we make the goals smaller as Ronaldo has scored a load of goals? Look at someone like phil Taylor in the darts. Same board, same equipment, same rules. Just a different class of player. sometimes you just have to step back and admire what these people can do.

100% agree

 

[pendodave]

Haven't read all 5 pages (soz), but if the authorities are really worried about Rory reducing all the great courses in the world to a drive/pitch/putt, the answer is more likely to be found in changing the ball legislation than looking to make expensive/out of character changes to hundreds of iconic golf courses (old course, anyone??)

Although Rory is a bit of a one off at the moment, in 5 years time there will be 10s, if not 100s of athletic young chaps with optimised equipment doing the same.

Given the amount of expensive research that goes into golf balls it must be possible to preserve the advantage of being a good driver of the ball (which is an important skill worth keeping), while scaling back distances for all.

 

[SugarPenguin]

All those hours at the gym Rory has put in...
can you imagine his face if they did change the balls / equipment.

In my opinion I like the idea of a few more 300 yards of fairways and cross bunkers and maybe thicker tree lines at around 320 yards. Its a good compromise.

 

[pendodave]

In my opinion I like the idea of a few more 300 yards of fairways and cross bunkers and maybe thicker tree lines at around 320 yards. Its a good compromise.

This is why the ball has to change.

Putting a literal/metaphorical wall at 300 yds has two bad consuquences.

- it negates the advantage the Rory has earned through hard work and skill.
- It is expensive and ugly course architecture.

A ball roll back means the courses maintain their integrity while still conferring an advantage for good drivers of the ball.

Golf is about great courses, not bionic golf balls. Allowing a £3 item of disposable consumer goods to render classic golf courses unplayable to the best ams and pros is a ridiculous example of the tail wagging the dog.

I'm not holding my breath mind....

 

[gazr99]

Question, why are we treating the way Rory played at the weekend as a negative thing for golf?

Does Rory hit 364 yard drives in the centre of the fairway every time? Does he play like he did at the weekend every time? Even he admitted that was the best golf he has evert played and happened to be at course that he admits suits his game to a tee.

Instead of seeing it as a negative, we should take a second to think how great that golf was, because I can't see him playing like that at Wentworth this week or in most of the tournaments he plays in.

It's golf, every now and then we all have those rounds where the fairway fells like the size of the atlantic ocean and the hole the size of a house.

 

[Jimaroid]

I've heard some gossip locally that one of Peter Dawson's regrets during his time as Chief Exec of the R&A is not tackling the development of the modern golf ball and that it could be something his successor might be keen to challenge. The R&A are building a big new test facility at Kingsbarns at the moment and there have been suggestions that re-assessing the ball will feature in its use.

It kind of makes sense because ball distance is an issue that seems to be growing in momentum. So even if they don't change anything I think they would need to explain why they're not changing anything based on analysis.

We're many years away from anything happening and in the meantime it's part of the game that Rory's the best at. So, go Rory!

 

[Berger]

Question, why are we treating the way Rory played at the weekend as a negative thing for golf?

Does Rory hit 364 yard drives in the centre of the fairway every time? Does he play like he did at the weekend every time? Even he admitted that was the best golf he has evert played and happened to be at course that he admits suits his game to a tee.

Instead of seeing it as a negative, we should take a second to think how great that golf was, because I can't see him playing like that at Wentworth this week or in most of the tournaments he plays in.

It's golf, every now and then we all have those rounds where the fairway fells like the size of the atlantic ocean and the hole the size of a house.

I agree with this......... apart from the last sentence. I'm still waiting for that round!

 

[Kellfire]

This is why the ball has to change.

So now Rory is hitting, say, a 6i instead of a PW into a green which admittedly makes it harder to stop on the green. Fair enough.

But now Zach Johnston, for example, is hitting a 3W instead of a 5i into the same green.

So who are you actually punishing if you make the ball go less distance? That's right, the shorter hitters because the dispersion is much higher in the longer clubs so you'll actually give Rory (and all big hitters) an even bigger advantage by making the ball travel less distance.

Make the ball go further, give everyone scoring clubs into every green and then we'll see scoreboards tighten up!

 

[Jimaroid]

Bumping this as I just came across this chart of stats. It's incredible when you look at it like this.

https://twitter.com/anexus2/status/599732088049303552

 

[Paul77]

It's only going to be a problem, if it's a problem, for a short time anyway. He's not going to be able to hit it like that for very long, as we've seen with other players who used to reduce courses to pitch n putt. There's always going to be someone who can thump it a long way. It's how consistent they are with it, that's the joy to watch. If they thump it 300+ yards into the rough all the time it's no fun.

The manufacturers need us to believe that when we buy a Nike Driver, we're going to thunder it down the fairway like Rory too. The tv people need the ratings so they'll be quite happy for everyone to tune in to watch McIlroy eagle a par 5. Big hitters, big names attract to the sport. Limiting their potential by limiting the gear would have a knock on effect on consumers too. I think it's up to the course/club to implement obsticles to force players to rethink their strategy. However, with big money comes pressure to allow those players to thunder it down the middle due to the things I said before.

 

[Snelly]

Let Rory play at Royal County Down every week!

 

[Alex1975]

Make the hole smaller?

 

[Berger]

When pros are hitting 9 irons 178 yards there's not much the courses can do, unless they start building separate courses for pros and amateurs.

 

[Dan2501]

Hitting a 9 iron 178 yards didn't help him at Wentworth or RCD. Courses aren't too short, just sometimes the guys play to their absolute potential. Rory would have shot a ridiculous score on any course the day he shot 61. Can't do it every week though.

 

[User 105]

I think making courses longer, or changing the balls so they fly shorter ultimately will impact the shorter hitters more than the longer hitters. The big boys will still be hitting approach shots with 2-3 clubs less.

Why don't they introduce different balls depending on how far you hit it. So Rory can hit one of those sponge balls and Luke can use a normal golf ball.

 

[pendodave]

I think making courses longer, or changing the balls so they fly shorter ultimately will impact the shorter hitters more than the longer hitters. The big boys will still be hitting approach shots with 2-3 clubs less.
:

There are two points I would raise here.

Firstly, they can change the ball so that the distance differences decreased proportionally.

Secondly, the point is that they will have longer clubs in their hands to play the second shots, as the course designers originally intended. Just hitting wedges and short irons into greens reduces golf from the multi-faceted game it used to be, even for top players. I am not so much concerned that long hitters hit it further than short ones, more that classic golf courses have become irrelevant to the modern player because of lack of equipment regulation.

There is a lot of chat in this thread about 'lengthening courses', and moving hazards around as if the great golf courses in the world have enough land, money, water and maintenance budgets to do so. TBH, I'm slightly disappointed in you all....