It’s a well known made up fact that Player heavily counter weighted his clubs which makes this a doddle.
Here is a good video summary of marketing and how ‘everything’ advertised today is about distance
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SARxGwdDDmI[/youtube]
Here’s my attempt, with some asides:
Funny video Two… 
…and mind you, I’m being honest here, I’m not even sure I got all of it…
Nice feedback 
“killed it though…”
Sixteen second video sums up where the game is, and continues to be headed as young ones grow up watching it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My9YS0bRkJk[/youtube]
That’s right, killing the game. The Tour has turned into one big demo day.
Yep
I don’t care where it goes as long as it goes far…
The Tour could play all their events at one venue. They could take over an abandoned airfield and start at 8500 yards with expansion to 12,000 yards and more. Some of the runways would be utilized as fairways, artificial trees and shrubbery on wheels could be moved about on the course to give different looks. Sand traps could be put on hydraulics and used or hidden at will.
The PGA could upload a series of course design templates to their servers so the organizer for that week could pick a template, email it to the Tour and then the course workers would set the course up accordingly. Permanent camera positions would be established and networks would share expenses by utilizing ‘pool’ coverage. Course interviews could be done remotely so costs on network talent could also be reduced.
Players would like it because they would only have to travel to one venue the whole season, so their travel hassles and costs would be reduced. Fans would like it because they would only have to go to one place to get the ‘PGA Experience.’
Kind of like arena football and the country and western theme park at Branson, Missouri.
To me, length is fine as long as it makes sense with the design of the course, the holes play in a variety of ways requiring players to use all their irons for par 4 approaches, and the risk reward element increases the longer the drive goes.
The courses probably need to be just under 8000 yards, I can understand the need to have them a bit wider with the ball traveling so far… but 15 yards off the edge of a fairway there should be serious trouble… OB, hazard etc. That would make it more interesting… and it would motivate the modern players to learn to swing the club properly.
There should always be a real reward for the laser straight shorter hitter. That keeps everyone in the game… and keeps the dream alive for people of all builds, shapes, sizes, and age.
Watching some of FedEx playoffs past few weeks and I started to think more about the modern game. Specifically how
monotonous it is. Lag is right, the ONLY time they need “long” irons anymore are for Par-5’s (or the increasing number of ridiculous 230yds+ Par3’s on tour). Outside of the par5’s EVERY hole it is just 280+ tee shot and 9,8 or 7 iron in. KILL the tee shot then short iron in. Over and over until they get to a par5, then it is kill tee shot and then 4,5 or 6i in for eagle attempt. The ONLY time I saw a 2 or 3 iron was either off the tee on short or tight par4’s and players were using 3i for a 240y par3 I saw. That is it for whole weekend.
NOW I started thinking some more and this could be because TV favors the top players and/or fan favorites. These are ALL the long ones today. Tiger, Rory, Dustin, Bubba, etc etc. So this is why we see so many short irons left to par4’s. The players TV is favoring all happen to be part of the top hitters on tour. We are not getting a balanced share of short hitters (because they are not producing wins). Chicken/Egg: courses getting longer, longer hitters winning more often, long hitters get popular, TV shows them more. Simple. The Joe Durants are NEVER on TV, I bet he has some mid-long irons left into par4’s.
So watching these long hitters I realize it is NOT the clubs. The equipment may have lofts stronger so it appears these guys are hitting 9i when it really is 7i loft but the clubs I don’t think are responsible solely for ruining the tour. IT is the BALL! And also something no one ever mentions: Modern groundskeeping!
We all here know about the modern ball: straighter, further super balls that also spin enough to stop. I have noticed distance in my own game just from going from used balls 5-10 years of old design to breaking down and buying a new package of latest balls. They are softer and just fly off the face.
But watching the tour it is no question the modern grounds are immaculate. Tiger gets away with his iron ‘stinger’ off the tee a lot because he gets FIFTY yards of rollout on the fairway. Fairways today are as pristine as greens were a few years ago. And the greens are like pool tables. Short grass, perfectly kept and soft enough to stick approach shots. 240y par3 and they are STOPPING 3i’s on the green. This would be impossible feat in Hogans era or even Jacks era. Even Tiger 2000 didn’t have it this good!
Maltby’s comment during one of the rounds last week… “Unbelievable, a 585y par 5 and we have an iron left” as Rory lines up for his approach shot…
Nice shank by Webb Simpson today…
And he has no clue as to why lmao
An interviewer once asked Sam Snead what he thought the greatest technological innovation in golf was. Snead’s reply, “Water.” He was half joking, but he said there was no way he could have hit a balata ball of his day more than 250 yards on modern, heavily watered, lush fairways.
I just sent Tiger a twitter message with a link to advanced ball striking. I have no idea what he is working on with his current teacher but it clearly isn’t working. John can help him straighten out his driver.
Luckily he has a clue as to how to win a US Open… 
Yes, he won the US open. I had to google that, because it was such a boring tournament, i had no idea who won. I guess he out putted em. Watching him for 5 holes in the Ryder cup today, i saw 5 heel god ugly hooks. He has such a horrid swing.
IMO
Steve
Did i hear a commentators say they’ve removed 1200 trees from that course? And there clearly isn’t a blade of grass longer than an 1 1/2" anywhere. I don’t normally get to watch American golf except the Masters, but I can see what the fuss here is about now.
The course takes a back seat for the Ryder Cup. They could play in a cow paddock with 18 holes scattered around and it would still be a good contest
Golden! Great comment…
I turned on the T.V. last week and tuned to the golf channel to watch some golf. Turns out the web.com tour was on, what tournament I couldn’t tell you as I didn’t watch but a few moments of it and after hearing a statement from Jerry Foltz I turned it off immediately.
Seems jerry and a course commentator were discussing how far these young guys hit it today, but of course they miss a lot of fairways, the course commentator made a statement to the effect that when he was learning to play golf he was taught it was important to hit fairways instead of just swinging from your shoes and hoping the ball would end up somehwere where you could only hope to get a club on it. Good Ole Jerry then stated; “hitting fairways is overrated.”
Of course he was joking, but still, in the back of my mind, I’m not so sure he was.
hitting fairways on the PGA tour isnt important. the rough is so low it doesnt even matter. They can take a iron from the rough and get it to spin on the green and check.
I always though the rought was a penalty 