I watched the tournament this weekend

[maverick]

It's been a while since I watched a tournament because I am usually busy on weekends and would rather play myself. Now I realize I do not play the same game as they do. Driver/wedge or driver/putter is not my way of playing golf and I am sure it was not designed for this style of golf. Since the courses cannot be lengthened any more in a practical way the equipment and balls have ruined it all. I agree with Jack Nicklaus that pros need a special ball. In the past great players were great iron players. Since they are never that far from the hole, long iron play is not the usual play. It's too bad.

It seems the new players all want to score like a pro. Practice is not a popular subject and it's easier to try and buy a game. On another golf site someone is trying to be a scratch golfer in 30 months. Why are so many so impatience? I guess it has to be instant gratification or nothing. Most of the pros started as children which seems to lead to early burn-out. Now I see why the biggest part of golf is driving and most on this forum believe that to be true.

I'm glad I played golf in the era I have. Golf have been and is an integral part of my life. I have no plans to change that. Now to need find some nice wood, woods.

[cardoustie]

I would only point out that they hit long and mid irons into par 5's .. and they are high quality shots as well

[Wriggles]

Golf on TV is entertainment, focused to sell equipment, cars, Rolexes, and other stuff.

 

Modern pro golf is all about how far you can drive a ball. If your favorite pro can hit a ball 300+ yards with XYZ driver, the average guy will buy that driver, thinking he can attain comparable results. It's all human nature.

 

I don't buy much golf equipment, but every January, I seem to want another driver or 3W. On Saturday, I played a quick 9 in soggy, wet conditions. Playing alone, I played two balls off the tee, one driver, one 3W. Every well hit ball was within a few yards of the other. The 3W was as good as the driver, around 210 carry. Now, I'm thinking. Gee, maybe, I need something like a mini driver. Then, I realize I'm playing a small GBB; it could be classified as "mini". So, what good would a new driver do? None.

 

The GBB was carrying about the same distance as the 3W. In summer conditions, the GBB would get another 20+ yards easily with the lower trajectory, where the 3W would gain less, due to height. Last summer, under drought conditions, 240 or more off the tee was commonplace for me.

 

It seems manufacturers focus on drivers and 3Ws more than irons, because there's a gorilla trying to bust out of every guy. Everyone wants to be Bubba, or Phil. This new driver will do it.

 

I like to watch a little bit of golf on weekends. Those guys would play equally well with an old set of beat up clubs. Couldn't have that, though, not good for sales.

[scomac2002]

I watched a bit of the final round last night. I have to agree with the OP that it is getting to be a bit of a joke with a -30 winning total and a half a dozen under -20. It becomes a bit or a dog and pony show IMO especially with all the glad handing that takes place.

 

Either the courses aren't tough enough or the equipment needs to be reigned in. Probably a bit of both. Alas, there seems to be far too much power with the equipment lobby because of the amount of money at stake. It's noteworthy that it didn't take the curling bodies long to rule on the merits of the new broom pad material that came into use this season. At the professional level, they agreed not to use it because it has such an impact on the game through being able to manipulate the path of the rock. Amateurs are of course free to use it. Golf takes a different approach and they take forever to reach a decision.

[Eidolon]

There are many ways to play our game. Just like there are many flavors of ice cream. Each of us gets to pick what we like best and enjoy it. I like old school golf best. Blades, persimmon, and working the ball around, thru and over the trouble to reach the hole. Bomb and gouge has zero interest for me, playing or watching. I'm just glad the kids keep playing because without them paying, us old guys would not have many courses to pick from.

[Muirfield Willie]

My game got infinitely better when I quit trying to win the long drive contest and learned to put it in the fairway, chip, pitch and putt. My brother hits it further than anyone I've ever seen in person and almost effortlessly. However it then becomes a game of "where did it go" more often than not. I prefer to hit it straight every time whether I'm fifty yards behind or not. I catch flack when I use my old clubs but when we tally up the scores I'm right there with my plywood and penny clubs.

[maverick]

I just got somewhat bored. Long irons are being replaced with hybrids for the masses and some pros. I would love to see these players use an old ball that could curve around and hit you in the back. lol Anyway par 4s were not designed to be pair 3s and par 5s were not designed to be par 4s. But that is todays golf on TV. I'll just keep on trucking' my way and try and enjoy the big tournaments. I still think Jack N had a point about the pros using a special ball. Originally I was avidly opposed but something has to be done. JMHO

[adizero]

Agree with all the above comments. I am having a hard time faking an interest in the televised tournaments. Even the courses that use to play tough are handled with ease. The course set up is not penal in the least. I like to go to several tournaments a year, at least you can walk the course a get a better appreciation for what they are doing when they pick apart a championship course. What a Profession!

[stevemcgee99]

I love watching golf. On YouTube. With Peter Alliss commentating and the crowds wearing neckties or skirts.

 

There's too much of what I can't think of what else but to call histrionics, and too much 'performance fabrics' for a walk within a a quarter mile of the clubhouse and the cars. They're not climbing Denali....

 

Anyway I see it the same way - I'm playing a different game.

[mocokid]

PGA Tour = ZZZzzz, sorry but only the majors count. Watching Master Spieth blab incessantly about every infinite detail of his game doesn't do it for me. Maybe a more competitive tourney would have made it watchable. I was hoping Reed would get close.

[scruffynick]

I have to agree, I really miss great shots with long irons! I miss the brilliant shot making of a Corey Palin who wasn't long, same with faldo in his hey day. For me around 210 yards should be a 3-4 iron and decideding to draw of fade it. One of my earliest golf memories was watching Sandy Lyle hit 3 irons between run by posts at fulword! It seems shot making has gone out of the game these days

[NRJyzr]

Bomb and gouge isn't a function of the new equipment, it got its start much earlier, maybe Daly or even earlier. It was really ramped up when Tiger started winning, and winning big, and part of his success was seen as his length off the tee. Players were forced to try to keep up, so we have longer driver shafts, guys swinging closer to 100% than they were previously, and so on.

[maverick]

I liked it when a pro had to be a great iron player to win. There were many but some stand out. Norman was a great iron player as were most of the top players. Unfortunately most just remember his disastrous Masters. But that was before hybrids. There were many and it was fun to watch the tremendous skill these guys had. I remember when the ball had to be worked due to their tendency to curve so much. They also had much more varied swings. Now all the players swing the same except Bubba with his home made swing and I love it! Guys wonder about our current putters and why they weight so much more than the old ones. They never saw anyone 'wrist putt' or they would understand. Actually I believe the current golf balls are one of the problems. They go forever. Some women's balls go so far they are banned from the PGA. I need to find some of those. ;-)

[Tall golfer]

I love watching the European tour . That's where you learn to become a good player. Doing chip and runs with an 8 iron not using a lob wedge for the same shot

Playing in different conditions each week and countries. No water hazards on every hole. The American golf courses all have the same layout. And is very boring. The worst thing is that person that yells GET IN THE HOLE that person should be shot. The American golfers play like rubbish when they go and play in Europe for the British open and the Ryder cup because they cannot handle courses outside America

[oldschoolrocker]

I would hate to see the stats if us Yanks could send some proper golfers "over there." We might have won all of the last three Open Championships, instead of just two out of three.

Just sayin'...

[birly-shirly]

Ouch. An awful lot of those "hostile" Ryder Cup courses over here were designed by Americans. It's a long time since we tried to pull home advantage and play the home ties over a windy links.

 

As for the Open, it's a great part of the event how international and truly "open" it is, even if that entails typically lengthy intervals between home winners. Chip and run is great, but not so arcane that non-legends like Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton couldn't pick it up in a weekend's practice.

[Tall golfer]

I would love to see a tournament where the golfers play with a set of clubs from the mid 1980s.

The rules are simple no graphite shafts

The only adjustment to the clubs are lie angle and new grips

No lob wedge

The ball is a Top Flite

No practice round.

The caddy can only pass the club and rake the bunkers.

This would make golf fun.all the players using the same ball clubs that are 30 odd years old

The PGA needs to do something to make the game more interesting

That's my 5 cents worth today

 

[W C Franco]

A ball with a maximum carry yardage of 250 yards would be a simple task for manufacturers to produce for specific use on the pro tours a major benefit being the termination of constant rejigging of perfectly good courses that are considered 'too short'.

A modern version of the old balata would be great to see and play with,soft,spinny and bendy!

Totally agree about caddies,golf is an individual game and the players should have to make their own decisions about wind,terrain,yardage and club selection.

I remember as a kid everyone saying 'The Yanks can't play in the wind' which somehow didn't stop Jones,Hagen,Hogan and then an apparently endless stream of American winners in the '70's and early '80's.

Maybe the wind didn't blow for all those years or maybe they were better than we cared to admit?

Have to agree that modern pro golf is a yawn as are the 'personalities' involved all rolled off the college golf conveyor belt.

Come back Arnie,Lee,Fuzzy!!!

[Shallowface]

I would love to see a tournament where the golfers play with a set of clubs from the mid 1980s.

The rules are simple no graphite shafts

The only adjustment to the clubs are lie angle and new grips

No lob wedge

The ball is a Top Flite

No practice round.

The caddy can only pass the club and rake the bunkers.

This would make golf fun.all the players using the same ball clubs that are 30 odd years old

The PGA needs to do something to make the game more interesting

That's my 5 cents worth today

 

The current ball is essentially a Top Flite except for a paint layer thin urethane cover.

 

I think what you really want is a Titleist Pro Trajectory.

 

I can remember what it was like to find one of those as a kid in the 70s. We were used to playing with no-spin two piece rocks and thought we could hit it pretty straight.

 

Then we'd find one of those (provided it didn't have a huge smile on it), put our normal swing on it and slice it across two fairways.

 

No question lower spin makes the game easier. And around the greens it's just different, not more difficult. The harder balls pop higher immediately off the clubface and can be stopped with trajectory even if they don't spin as much. With the old ball you could hit that spinning low checker.

 

Those of you who were around back then, think about it. Did anyone hit a "flop shot" in the 70s?

[scomac2002]

While I certainly appreciate the sensibilities expressed above, sadly we are not likely to see days like that again. We have to relive them for ourselves, which may in part explain the attraction of vintage kit.

 

The big money sponsors and OEMs set the agenda in golf today. A spectacle is what sells and that's what we've got. It is really no different than Wall St. setting the agenda on Capitol Hill.

[oldschoolrocker]

Spectacles sell advertising. Train wrecks and dirty laundry sell newspapers and increase TV ratings.

I must admit I am not as avid a follower of televised sports, or news as I used to be.

Reminds of of leaving the new Star War movie and then listening to the critiques in the lobby. For the most part the older generations that were familiar with the orginal were disappointed, the younger crowd touted it better than sliced bread.

The earth, rotates on it's axis, and orbits the sun. Day turns to night, then to day again. Seasons change and the treadmill of life slogs along.

Playing the old gear teases us into believing the treadmill has stilled for a moment as we bake our homemade bread.

[Eidolon]

Wow Rocker, that was deeply philosophical for so early in the day. Went very nicely with my morning coffee & smokes.

[Soloman1]

Yes, 30 months is going to be unrealistic for most people to get down to scratch, but did you know that the average tour pro got to scratch in about 2 years? Getting to a +4 (about the level one can start to think about playing for a living) is what filters out the rest.

 

The Walter Mitty chromosome separates us from insects, I think.

[Sean2]

I don't agree with equipment "dial backs". Simply allow the rough to be seriously penal and narrow the fairways. There are some things that can be done around the greens as well to make it play more difficult. After all, these folks are professionals and should be able to hit the ball well.

 

At the Sony the ball was hitting the fairway and the players were getting up to 30 to 50 yards of roll out. I read somewhere that a lot of venues will cut and roll the fairways just for that very reason as the viewing audience wants to see mammoth drives. The average carry distance on Tour is around 270 yards. In those rare instances where they play a very soggy course, it's surprising to see how "short" their tee shots actually go with no roll. I don't recall the tournament last year, but there were tee shots into the wind, on a soggy course, that were going 250 - 260 yards.

[NRJyzr]

I don't agree with equipment "dial backs". Simply allow the rough to be seriously penal and narrow the fairways. There are some things that can be done around the greens as well to make it play more difficult. After all, these folks are professionals and should be able to hit the ball well.

 

At the Sony the ball was hitting the fairway and the players were getting up to 30 to 50 yards of roll out. I read somewhere that a lot of venues will cut and roll the fairways just for that very reason as the viewing audience wants to see mammoth drives. The average carry distance on Tour is around 270 yards. In those rare instances where they play a very soggy course, it's surprising to see how "short" their tee shots actually go with no roll. I don't recall the tournament last year, but there were tee shots into the wind, on a soggy course, that were going 250 - 260 yards.

 

 

Let's not also forget TV is about hype, and professional golf is no different. Distance on tour is sometimes exaggerated.

 

Shotlink data has shown the average 5 iron is under 190 yds, and the Trackman average shows 194.

 

Hype hype hype. :)

[Sean2]

I don't agree with equipment "dial backs". Simply allow the rough to be seriously penal and narrow the fairways. There are some things that can be done around the greens as well to make it play more difficult. After all, these folks are professionals and should be able to hit the ball well.

 

At the Sony the ball was hitting the fairway and the players were getting up to 30 to 50 yards of roll out. I read somewhere that a lot of venues will cut and roll the fairways just for that very reason as the viewing audience wants to see mammoth drives. The average carry distance on Tour is around 270 yards. In those rare instances where they play a very soggy course, it's surprising to see how "short" their tee shots actually go with no roll. I don't recall the tournament last year, but there were tee shots into the wind, on a soggy course, that were going 250 - 260 yards.

 

 

Let's not also forget TV is about hype, and professional golf is no different. Distance on tour is sometimes exaggerated.

 

Shotlink data has shown the average 5 iron is under 190 yds, and the Trackman average shows 194.

 

Hype hype hype. :)

 

Maybe Trackman uses Common Core.

[NRJyzr]

I don't agree with equipment "dial backs". Simply allow the rough to be seriously penal and narrow the fairways. There are some things that can be done around the greens as well to make it play more difficult. After all, these folks are professionals and should be able to hit the ball well.

 

At the Sony the ball was hitting the fairway and the players were getting up to 30 to 50 yards of roll out. I read somewhere that a lot of venues will cut and roll the fairways just for that very reason as the viewing audience wants to see mammoth drives. The average carry distance on Tour is around 270 yards. In those rare instances where they play a very soggy course, it's surprising to see how "short" their tee shots actually go with no roll. I don't recall the tournament last year, but there were tee shots into the wind, on a soggy course, that were going 250 - 260 yards.

 

 

Let's not also forget TV is about hype, and professional golf is no different. Distance on tour is sometimes exaggerated.

 

Shotlink data has shown the average 5 iron is under 190 yds, and the Trackman average shows 194.

 

Hype hype hype. :)

 

Maybe Trackman uses Common Core.

 

 

You're a funny boy, Sean. :)

 

Stating the obvious... wind by itself could account for some of that; upwind shots are reduced more in distance than downwind shots, all else equal.

 

Could be time lag between the two, as well; the shotlink data I was thinking of is older than 2013. Lofts getting stronger, younger guys in the trackman avg, blah blah blah. ;)

[guisician]

Hype hype hooray!

 

Or is it "don't believe the hype?"

 

In solidarity, I have cut & rolled the hair on top of my head for maximum distance.

[ewfnick]

I am now in my mid fifties and have played nearly all ball sports for most of those years, some to a pretty high standard. I took up golf at about ten years of age and it is now the only sport I play, apart from the odd game of tennis, badminton or squash.

Being a player of sports, I have never been a fan of watching sport, preferring to play rather than watch, the exception being golf, which, up until the past couple of years, I would view at every available opportunity, but that has all changed now as I rarely watch it at all except for The Open and now that has been snatched away from me as it has been moved to Sky TV and I will simply refuse to watch the greatest championship of all with advertising breaks every few minutes and no Peter Alliss!

The main reason that I have stopped watching golf on TV is that it has simply become boring, I agree with most of the comments here regarding the driver, wedge, driver, wedge, driver, wedge game that is a constant on what seems to be the majority of the holes that are shown.

That being said, it is still the finest sport of all time and I will continue to enjoy sport in the best way possible and that is to play it if you are capable of doing so.

[TimV]

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

Step right up and witness a Modern Miracle. Bazooka on a Stick!

It Slices. It Dices! It mows your lawn on the weekend!

It comes on our patented 50 inch Rocket Ray shaft with Gyroscopic Glow in the Dark Head!!!

 

The Pro Game is not going to change guys because the pro Game is what drives equipment sales. It's that basic.