PGA tournament with rule stipulating only irons allowed in golf bag.

[isaacbm]

Does anybody else think that this might be an interesting experiment? No hybrids, no three woods, no driver. 16 degree for longest iron in the bag max 40 inches. 
The longest hitters would hit their driving iron around 290. The shortest hitters probably close to 265. 
    Would this be an entertaining tournament to watch or are we all obsessed with the big dog?  Just once per year? 
    Would this add more strategy to the game? 
   How much higher would average score be?
      
    

[MtlJeff]

I'd watch, it depends on the course setup but I could see it being less exciting. One of the most exciting things at least to me is watching guys hot driver on #18 with a lead, because this is usually where a lot of the suspense is

 

They probably would miss far fewer fairways. 

 

Now if they did this on a 7500yd course....they'd hit a lot of fairways but be hitting a lot more long and mid irons. Again could be interesting

 

I don't think it helps the game at all though. Like the average fan wouldn't care about any of this

[isaacbm]

9 minutes ago, MtlJeff said:

I'd watch, it depends on the course setup but I could see it being less exciting. One of the most exciting things at least to me is watching guys hot driver on #18 with a lead, because this is usually where a lot of the suspense is

 

They probably would miss far fewer fairways. 

 

Now if they did this on a 7500yd course....they'd hit a lot of fairways but be hitting a lot more long and mid irons. Again could be interesting

 

I don't think it helps the game at all though. Like the average fan wouldn't care about any of this

I think it would be interesting to see the precision displayed by having to hit significantly more long irons, but I agree completely that some of the excitement would be taken out of the game 

[mark m]

The course would make a big difference. The lengths you mentioned are not much different than current Senior/Champions tour players. They have been playing their championships at around 6800-7100 yards. (Basically where the tour was 30 years ago.) Therefore the Old Course or Merion would be interesting. Tiger would have loved this. Give him a ride and he could probably still win.

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by mark m

[cdnglf]

I like this idea.

So would prime Tiger, as he would never, ever lose.

[Hawkeye77]

I’d watch and would like to see it at St. Andrews, but the loft dialed back a bit more and limit the number of clubs. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Hawkeye77

[straightshot7]

Not a bad idea but I think a 3 club challenge would be more fun to watch. 
 

To see the different variety of choices..

 

what would be the most common?

 

driver, 6 iron, 56 degree? Or would they bring a putter?

 

most players would probably never agree because it would be too difficult and require too much change to their typical game. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by straightshot7

[Naptime]

I’d like to see them play with 5 clubs + putter. One of the clubs must be a 1-iron.  I’d bet on Tiger.  

Edited March 25, 2023 by Naptime

[golferdude54]

One tournament, no cut line, persimmon woods, wound balata balls, 7000 yards set at par 70. Whoever is playing graphite shafts in their irons and wedges can keep them along with their mallet putters. Narrow the fairways, grow the rough, make the stimp run at 8.

[ThinkingPlus]

It would be a bombers only tournament. High CHS players are the only ones with a reasonable chance to win. You need high CHS to hit long irons with enough apex and spin to be effective. Lofted fairway woods and hybrids are the equalizers that allow players with slower swingspeed to compete.

[ChipNRun]

I say, let's hit them at both ends of the bag.

 

In wedges, the highest loft they could have is 56*. Interesting to see how they would play without lob wedges.

 

Hint: Us Boomers were hitting close-in cut shots with SWs for 20+ years before the LWs emerged.

[BombinJim]

Would love this. We would see some incredible stingers and 1 irons into par 5’s would be so amazing.

[Chunkitgood]

In hindsight it’s obvious they never should have allowed hollow clubs.  A hollow club is not a real “club.”

[Dave230]

One of my favourite videos on YouTube is the one club challenge from St Andrews. Seve and Trevino, shotmaking magic. Seve better with one club than most pros were with 14.

[isaacbm]

4 hours ago, ThinkingPlus said:

It would be a bombers only tournament. High CHS players are the only ones with a reasonable chance to win. You need high CHS to hit long irons with enough apex and spin to be effective. Lofted fairway woods and hybrids are the equalizers that allow players with slower swingspeed to compete.

Yes but  they’re all high CHS players. Tour average is 115 mph now so everyone can get 1-iron to 105 mph. There’s basically no way that you’ll ever have a situation where the long hitters don’t have an advantage. But I’m just asking if playing a 7300 yard golf course, while  basically decreasing the driving distance by 30 yards, would be entertaining for people. 

I would be quite interested in watching a tournament like this at least once. 

[isaacbm]

2 hours ago, ChipNRun said:

I say, let's hit them at both ends of the bag.

 

In wedges, the highest loft they could have is 56*. Interesting to see how they would play without lob wedges.

 

Hint: Us Boomers were hitting close-in cut shots with SWs for 20+ years before the LWs emerged.

If people want to see more “shot making”, then agree that a max loft rule could be fun as well. 

56 still too easy. How about 52 for this experiment? 

[slprince67]

give them 8 clubs to use.... that will bring back shotmaking!

[ThinkingPlus]

52 minutes ago, isaacbm said:

Yes but  they’re all high CHS players. Tour average is 115 mph now so everyone can get 1-iron to 105 mph. There’s basically no way that you’ll ever have a situation where the long hitters don’t have an advantage. But I’m just asking if playing a 7300 yard golf course, while  basically decreasing the driving distance by 30 yards, would be entertaining for people. 

I would be quite interested in watching a tournament like this at least once. 

Only the real bombers swing irons like they do driver. There is a reason most players don't carry 2 irons or even 3 irons anymore.

[lefty1978]

Must be sold single piece steel head, no hollow, foam filled, multi-materials etc....I'm watching for sure.

Edited March 25, 2023 by lefty1978

[black bnr32]

1 hour ago, ThinkingPlus said:

Only the real bombers swing irons like they do driver. There is a reason most players don't carry 2 irons or even 3 irons anymore.

Because the greens are rock hard and the balls spin less?

[ThinkingPlus]

5 minutes ago, black bnr32 said:

Because the greens are rock hard and the balls spin less?

Because they can hold the firm greens better with hybrids and lofted fairway woods than they can with long irons.

[ShortGolfer]

Min Woo Lee teed off with a driving iron at TPC Sawgrass a few weeks ago in his final round paired with Scottie Scheffler.

He finished at -8, tied for 6th.  Not bad for someone 24 years old who has never won a PGA event. 

He is 47th on the OWGR so we may see him again this year in the Masters.

Edited March 26, 2023 by ShortGolfer

[3whacker]

You would see them carry ONE driving iron.....the long iron is becoming obsolete in pro bags because they can all carry their five irons 225-250...a mid iron to a pro is now a 7 iron

[Obee]

I would LOVE to see this. 
 

you would also see a big discrepancy in how far guys to hit their two irons. Some of the guys who can hit a low, stinger hook would hit the ball as far or farther than guys with more speed and who prefer a higher ball flight. 

[stinger_gc]

They'd still light it up, but it would be so cool to watch the shotmaking

[isaacbm]

Score increase 2 shots per round?

 

more?

[Hawkeye77]

As long was we are fantasizing an event (which I've already said I'd enjoy watching) why not go all "Battle of the Network Stars" and solve the @ThinkingPlus concern with a set of "up" tees with ball speeds being the discriminator?  Would the "short knockers" embrace?  Publicly say they'll take on anyone from any tee because they are all pros, while having their agents beg for it behind the scenes? 

[jdl]

15 hours ago, lefty1978 said:

Must be sold single piece steel head, no hollow, foam filled, multi-materials etc....I'm watching for sure.

You must hand forge your own club from a single piece of steel.

[ThinkingPlus]

24 minutes ago, jdl said:

You must hand forge your own club from a single piece of steel.

And carve your own grooves...with a spoon.

[jdl]

10 minutes ago, ThinkingPlus said:

And carve your own grooves...with a spoon.

No cheating and using a spork.