Where is Golf going?

[HTL]

OK guys, where do you reckon Golf is going? Are we just going to keep on progressing in distance and technology so the pros are driving downhill 400yrd par 4`s, driving and short irons on par 5`s and getting stupid backspin from the rough with wedges(I know about the new rule but lets wait and see how much impact it has), or, will the R & A reign in the rules and get back to the basics with golf?

Will we see shot making players emerge instead of the bombers dominate the leader boards?

Over to you folk, go off on tangents as much as you like and have some fun.............

 

[OldWindy]

I go along with most of the golfing media in that the ball and most probably some of the equipment with be different for pros/amateurs and your average club player. The wedge grooves are a good example. It's just not going to happen overnight as there's too much cash invested in this sector. Also, they can't lengthen courses indefinitely.

Don't forget the players are getter stonger/fitter, too. Think about how far the Finau (Tony & Gipper) brothers are hitting 'em. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HOvIEGb2Rsc&NR=1

 

[krokodil]

I've never been one that gets caught up in hitting my driver as far as possible. However in my experience a large majority of people are obsessed by distance, which I think is a great shame.
I grew up watching Faldo, Seve, Langer, Watson and Norman people, maybe with the exception of Norman, were never talked of as big hitters, instead shot makers.
I'd love to think we could reign golf in to the extent that par 4s weren't drive and chip, or par 5s reachable in 2 shots all the time.
It won't happen though because people are willing to spend lots of money in the belief that technology will make them better golfers, so the companies will continue producing new clubs/balls and pushing the boundaries all the time.

 

[Herbie]

I dont get a lot of joy playing ultra long courses even when I am hitting well. The courses I love are those that for most holes give you a reasonable chance to get away off the tee but become nightmareishly lethal the closer you get to the hole. I love courses that have really tough greens surrounded by many hazards. I like courses that force you to lay up off the tee due to number of bunkers spread at various distances to catch all hitters, or holes with wide water crossing fairways, or trees dotted about on line.

I have played one or two long courses(and is why I havent played many) the kind where even with my best hits cannot reach par 5s in 2 yet found them easy courses to play IF you could get the distance per club right. I found very little that was daunting.Trouble is I just couldnt wait to get to the point where Im hitting to the green, where I expect difficulty, yet found myself board with all the hiking between shots and the lack of challenge at many of the holes. Most Pros dont lose that many shots early on in a hole no matter how long the course,they are more likely to lose them aproaching a well protected green or when putting on one thats difficult to read so whats the point of making longer courses, just make the end of each hole more challenging.If you put enough hazards in the right place on any course you can eliminate the benefit of the massive hitter and technology that goes with it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Courses will get longer but only get played to their full potential on club championship days or when the tour comes to town. Big courses like the one propsed by Trump will have to be made longer to cope with the ever increasing power and distance of top pros. I've noticed that even when courses are being built to cater for the "everyday" market of members and societies, these still tend to be in excess of 6500 yards even fromt he yellows. This is surely too long to make it enjoyable for the average golfer or society player

 

[heronsghyll]

The showing of Greg Norman in the last Open agrees with your point. The youngsters were amazed at his shot making, punching in 5 irons 150 yards through the wind etc. A true master of the old game.

Bring back skill and inventivness - down with pure length!!!

 

[thomas1981]

I think it would be good to see more technical courses made for and used in the big comps.as i don't think the big hitters are necessarily the best all round golfers.

 

[chipping]

As for the old pros 15 - 20 years ago you only have to look at the equipment they were using as well, persimmon drivers,forged blades,less technicaly advanced balls, and they still scored below par.
I went (10 years ago) from a short course to where I am now (longer) I have found it harder with the distance as opposed to the accuracy, my old course you needed to hit the narrow fairways with small greens,it taught you alot about hitting it straight as opposed to long.

 

[viscount17]

I want to see tough courses, especially for the big events. Tighten the fairways at the long bomb ranges, punishing rough, bunkers that are HAZARDS. These guys are supposed to be professionals - show me by overcoming the course not by tailoring the course for a hatfull of birdies. I mean, using a roller on the bunkers - what game is this?

essentially a Birkdale everytime

 

[Basher]

I'll be honest and say I like to play short courses from time to time.

I love my club course and find it still a good challenge with it's mixture of par 3, 4 & 5's. It's sometimes good to play some of the local small courses which have mainly par 3's.

Nothing beats creaming a drive straight down the middle of the fairway but it's also good to knock a nice iron shot from the tee as well. You don't need all your clubs either which means a much lighter bag!!!

 

[RGuk]

f.w.i.w. I think some courses could do a lot to improve the experience for amateur players and scratch players alike.
I play a lot of places where the hazards were "originaly" designed for the better golfer but NOW they punish the average players. So many fairway bunkers at 200-230, far too many par 5s that provide little challenge for the can-get-close-in-2 players, etc. etc.

I'll offer an example. The 9th at mine gets EASIER the further you go. The right bunker only catches the seniors and ladies, yet you can safely hit a 20 yard slice past it into the rough and leave under 100 to the green. If they put in a couple more bunkers (preferably with high sided exits) and narrowed the fairway (plus a few staked trees) at 250-280, all the good players would probably take an iron off the tee, have more than a wedge and be presented with more of a challenge.

If I was designing a course, I'd utilise the type of danger zones (bunkers/narrow landings) that make Little Aston (as an exampe) more testing the BETTER you are. ALL the par 5s here are free from trouble played as 3 shot-ers, they are a menace to the big hitting driver-3 wood brigade. It's a Open qualifier from time to time......not exactly rocket science is it!!!

 

[TonyN]

I would like too see the game step away from length as the difficulty factor.

I think its a fairer test across the board when the course is short but more difficult in terms of hazard placement and hole layout.

I play on a longish course at over 7000 yards in places its really poorly designed. Emphasis should be on accuracy.

Tighter fairways on the approach, well designed/placed hazards and trickier greens to attack.

Let rough be rough, not a couple of inches of light fluffy grass. (like the stuff I was caught in last week on the 10th. RGUK, EVITA4, VIG???)

They could always make the hole smaller I suppose

 

[USER1999]

Along with most, I think limiting the equipment will be difficult, and no one wants to see a 'pro' set of gear as part of the game is every one using the same kit.

Course management has to be a big part of it. Longer fairway grass so they don't get the run (or the same control when hitting irons),deeper rough, narrower fairways that promote accuracy, smaller greens anyone?, better bunkering (my issue with bunkers is the stuff you read in magazines where hackers like us can't get out of the sand because we decelerate. There is a reason why we don't play like the pros, the bunkers we play in haven't been raked, there is a 6" layer of building sand, or no sand, or compacted gravel, not the 1/2" of nice white fluffy stuff that anyone can get out of). Hazards need to be well positioned, and be actual hazards. How can you have a situation when it is better to be in a bunker than not?

For a lot of older courses, rather than making them longer, maybe re-djusting the hazards would be a better bet.

 

[Imurg]

Limiting the ball might be a help but I agree with most that a different set of equipment/rules for the pro game wouldn't really help ours.

The longer you make a course, the easier it is for the long hitters. Bring in the fairways and make the rough punishing. Lee Westwood was right when he said at the US Open that a drive just off the fairway was punished more than a 20 yard slice onto the spectator walkways. Punishing a shot that just misses the fairway worse than one that misses by 20 yards can't be right. Make them drop off the walkways back into the rough? Why not.

BUT..........

How many long drivers are at the top of the game - I mean long drivers like JB and Bubba? Not many. Most of the top 20/30 in the world hit it 300 but not the 320/330 that the "bombers" do. So is hitting it long really an asset if you are always in the rough? Fairways hit stats for the bombers are shocking and although they may hit the green in regulation, they can't be making many birdies as they're not always winning.

The only way to put a stop to the huge distances some are getting is to make the course tougher - longer rough, narrower fairways etc. And on the subject of bunkers, These days most of them are a waste of time. Fill them all in and make it 4 inch high rough. That'll sort the men from the boys.

 

[cm_qs]

OK guys, where do you reckon Golf is going?

In my particular case......to hell in a handbasket!

 

[MVP]

Its still all down to short game in my opinion! Just look at the greens at the masters this year! The top ten in the world are still the ten with the best short game! Instead of lengthening the courses they should make the greens faster with more tiers and surround them in more trouble! Introduce more bunkers and hazards on the top courses on tour and let the skill do the talking and not the 300+ drives !

 

[USER1999]

And put a windmill in the middle of the green?