Oakmont and Equipment have changed since the '94 U.S. Open

[Gdwall]

The way they were

 

Equipment for ’94 Open reveals a different (bat and) ball game

By E. Michael Johnson

Golf World

June 8, 2007

 

How long ago is June 1994--the last time the U.S. Open visited Oakmont? Consider that Ernie Els won that major using a Callaway Big Bertha War Bird driver about half the size of the driver he uses today.

 

Needless to say, golf equipment was a bit different back then.

 

At Oakmont that year, Phil Mickelson and Wayne Levi were considered cutting edge with their all-graphite Yonex drivers, as was Hale Irwin for using a set of oversize, cavity-back King Cobra irons. Of course, with 23 players still swinging persimmon drivers, anything remotely out of the ordinary was deemed "out there."

 

Although some things have remained constant (like Titleist topping the ball count and TaylorMade doing the same in woods), many brands that ruled then no longer hover near the top of the Darrell Survey--and vice versa. In 1994 Maxfli was the clear No. 2 ball, and Mizuno was in the midst of a long run as the top iron on tour. In drivers, Founders Club was the third-most played driver at Oakmont with 18 while Titleist--currently the No. 2 driver on tour--had just one in play. Endorsement money has changed the landscape, too, as 35 different companies had a set of irons in play at the 1994 Open. At last year's Open that number was 16.

 

But perhaps most interesting in looking at the equipment played at the '94 Open is not what has changed, but how the seeds of today's technology were being sown. PRGR was touting a club that was part wood, part iron--a precursor to the modern hybrid. Insert putters were just starting to show up with regularity, and although golf balls were chiefly wound and balata-covered, 18 players used solid-core models, including Duffy Waldorf (Titleist HP2), Nick Price (Precept EV Extra Spin), John Daly (Wilson Ultra) and Craig Stadler and Payne Stewart (Top-Flite Z-Balata).

 

"I know it seems like a long time ago," said Rocco Mediate, who played in the 1994 Open. "But it really wasn't."

 

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THE BAG ROOM

 

Aaron Baddeley changed to MacGregor's MacTec Tour 9.5-degree driver at the Memorial and had a solid week driving the ball, ranking T-17 in both distance and accuracy (compared with season rankings of 71st and 78th). The only tweak to the Aussie's driver was moving the center of gravity up 3mm to provide the lower ball flight Baddeley prefers. … Another good driver change was Kenny Perry's switch to an 8.5-degree TaylorMade r7 SuperQuad. Perry led the field in accuracy at Muirfield Village, including hitting all 14 fairways Saturday. … Jim Furyk changed to UST's Proforce V2 65-gram shaft at the Nissan Open earlier this year and has only enhanced his reputation as an accurate driver of the ball, currently ranked second on tour in accuracy at 75.28 percent. Furyk's best previous accuracy ranking was third in 2002. … Stewart Cink used a split set of Nike irons at Memorial (Nike Pro Combo OS 2-4 irons and Nike CCi Forged 5-iron through PW) and ranked T-4 in greens in regulation en route to finishing T-5. … Annika Sorenstam made a few changes to her bag last week at the Ginn Tribute, including the addition of a Callaway X 9-wood and a split set of Callaway X-18 5- and 6-irons and X-Forged 7- through 9-irons.