St Andrews governing body has been seriously looking into the issue for six years after they announced they were conducting a joint report and three years ago their “Distance Insight Project” concluded that the ever-increasing length pros are hitting it is “detrimental to the game”.
Since then, the USGA and R&A have been consulting with the industry about the problem which they declared is beginning “to undermine the core principle that golf should require a broad range of skills to be successful”.
That is just one concern in a debate that has been raging for decades. Classic courses are in danger of becoming obsolete as players such as Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm routinely launch drives of 350-yards plus, reducing the test, in some cases, to a drive, pitch and putt.
Longer courses are required, resulting not only in the nature of layouts being stretched sometimes beyond recognition and then there is the obvious rise in maintenance costs, with the necessity for extra water and chemicals fueling environment worries. Rounds are inevitably taking longer to compete, even in club competitions.
Did the R&A and USGA just log onto our ABS Site last week?
Gee, they could have saved a lot of money expended upon undertaking these multi year studies only to find out what we have been saying for 15 years… had they consulted us on these new realizations and findings…
I love this line:
"the problem which they declared is beginning “to undermine the core principle that golf should require a broad range of skills to be successful”.
Or:
“Classic courses are in danger of becoming obsolete as players such as Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm routinely launch drives of 350-yards plus, reducing the test, in some cases, to a drive, pitch and putt”.
As if this hasn’t happened yet? Ok… I’m going to bed now…
It’s hard to put a golf course together. It’s absolutely incredible that so many great courses were created, designed and cared for… some of the best are nearly 100 years old now.
Try and secure some land … maybe 150 acres… in a downtown metropolitan area, or along the coastline and build a golf course. Financing, permits, inspections, soil tests, protesters…
Golfers should feel a deep appreciation for the efforts of some really great people in the past that have left these legacy courses.
The key to a great course beyond just a beautiful setting… is the layout of the holes… and those holes need to be situated in a logical flow across the land while demanding the player be tested across their entire game. Driving accuracy, distance, using all the irons into par 4 approaches… long, mid, short. Long and short par 3’s. Par 5 holes that offer an exciting heart pumping risk - reward situation to temp and tantalize the golfers bravado, fear and imagination.
Lines, angles, options, to major pin placements and with concern for predominate weather situations and the unusual as well.
A great course is something REALLY thought out in great articulation and detail.
Anyone can just map out some random holes across a property without much thought. … but that is not what a great course is all about.
The great courses are next level stuff. Someone cared, someone really went the extra mile to pursue greatness.
I am often more impressed with a great golf course architect than a great golfer.
But what we have to keep in mind is that these great courses need to be understood, respected and appreciated. They were designed with a specific parameter in mind… things like how far the ball can be driven, and how much spin can be applied to the ball to stop it, or shape it right to left or left to right. The topography and the creation of angles and in the context of creating a wide palate of shotmaking requirements and options.
Courses designed to be played across with 250 yard drives should still be played with equipment that allows that to happen… so the lines, angles, options remain intact with the original intentions. It’s simply a disgrace and disrespectful to think of it otherwise.
Too much energy, love and passion from the past generations to run them over with technology just because you can.
The equipment and the courses need to work in harmony. The preservation of skill sets from one generation to another should be one of the beautiful things about golf.
The older courses are way more interesting, they were built on land naturally suited for a great golf course. The modern courses here are built either farmland or old coal mines and have been engineered flat and lacking in natural features, dull and boring.
I hate to think that the old classics really aren’t played as intended with a frying pan and new ones are just shit.
The course I learned the game on, Paraparaumu Beach GC in New Zealand. Ranked consistently in the world top 100, par 71, 6400 yards! A true links style course that requires precision off the tee to create the best angle to attack the flag, a shot makers course. No room for expansion. It’s a shame to see great par 4’s that were a driver, 3 or 4 iron for top players, become driver, 9 iron/wedge holes. The great bunkering and shaping of the greens require great shot making when approached with long and mid irons, but are irrelevant to a high spinning wedge. This course, like all the great older courses, is designed to be played with persimmon and blades.
Nice to see Jacklin putting his hat into the ring here for the persimmon game. Great to see one of the legends of European Golf speaking up and against the grain. It’s disappointing that Palmer, Player, Nicklaus didn’t take a hard line on this early on.
Jacklin is 100% correct here. It’s NOT the ball so much as the driver itself. Irons can be anything… they should be made for accuracy concerns only and distance CONTROL.
The driver is the problem…
This sums up modern equipment
My goodness. These people are completely out of their fu@*in minds !
Interesting how the USGA was up in arms about the ball going two and a half yards farther in the early 80’s…
