Opinion & Analysis
Barney Adams: Ball rollback isn’t the right move to combat “The Golfer of Tomorrow”
The announcing crew at the 2020 U.S. Open seemed obsessed with “the bombers”—players who drove the ball extreme distances with little regard for the occasional tee shot into the rough. TV has selected Bryson DeChambeau as their representative, given his length and victory.
I thought I’d wait a bit to see what the industry sources had to say. I can’t say it’s unanimous, because I haven’t seen everything, but the theme is: “Get Ready for The Golfer of Tomorrow”
- 350-yard carry
- Clubhead speed which tears through the rough allowing the ball to launch high and carry to the green
- The ‘new’ instructor who teaches distance be it ground up or whatever new method is used
- Gym sessions producing athletes who look more like football players
- And last, a whole new shelf of steroids for golf
At the same time the USGA and its organizational allies are planning meetings focusing on not if the ball will be rolled back, but when—clearly, influenced by visual evidence from a great Winged Foot course in our national championship.
Let’s look deeper!
A hypothetical: go back a few months. You are on the planning committee for the U.S. Open to be held at Winged Foot, one of America’s great venues. This year because of COVID-19 there will be no galleries, something never experienced at a USGA major golf event. I repeat, your committee is planning for the U.S. Open. That implies “Open Rough” a term that is significant on its own. You don’t play from Open Rough, you escape…maybe.
The nature of Open Rough is a thick chunky base with long tendrils reaching skyward. These make it very difficult to find your ball in the best of circumstances and when attempting to advance these tendrils wrap themselves around your hosel closing the face, sending your ball deeper into hostile territory. That’s if you can even find it, Open rough has “disappeared” many balls over the years and done so within full view of gallery spectators aiding course marshals. The rule of thumb for competitors has always been to find the most reasonable patch of fairway and get out.
But this is the year of COVID-19. No galleries. Marshals, but relatively few because of no galleries. Now, considering that normal U.S. Open rough will produce many searches where marshals are important, the shortage of them will cause endless searches—which don’t make for great TV viewing. So, a decision is made, cut the rough down so shots can be found. Still in the rough but sitting on the chunky base and very often can be played. A tough call for the purist but an objective economic evaluation leaves no choice.
The announcers regale us with astonishing distances and swing speeds that allow escape from Open Rough that used to be impossible! The golf publications jump on this theme and predict that the Golfer of Tomorrow will be “DeChambeau-like” not sweet swingers but physical hulks rewriting the book on distance strongly influenced by no fear of the rough.
My point here is those publications and instructors, jumping on the “longer and slightly crooked is better” bandwagon have added 2+2 and gotten 5 when using the 2020 U.S. Open as a premise.
DeChambeau is a great and powerful player, however, I don’t think he’s known for his putting. Now I may have dozed off but I don’t remember him being widely praised for his putting. He should have been, it was terrific, probably influenced his score! He is our National Champion, an unsurpassable honor. But his style has me betting that the USGA is working on dates to discuss changing the golf ball, as in making it shorter.
I’m 100% against such a move. Golf is a game where amateurs can go to the same course play the same clubs and given a huge difference in skill achieve some measure of affiliation with the pros. A birdie is a birdie, not a long or short ball birdie. From a business perspective, the overwhelming majority of those golfers financially supporting golf are over 50. And we want them to hit it shorter?
Well, Mr. Adams what would you do? I know zero about golf ball manufacturing, but keeping the distance the same I’d change the dimples to increase curvature—just enough so it doesn’t affect slower swings that much but very high swing speeds so it’s in the player’s head
More thoughts. As an admitted TV viewer, get rid of those yardage books. Fine for practice rounds but when the bell rings it should be player and caddie, not an “on green” conference. What’s next, a staff meeting?
I’ll conclude with a note to the PGA Tour and, importantly, an admonition. To the PGA Tour: The minute a tee goes into the ground on #1 every player is on the clock. Stroke penalties, not fines, will get their attention.
To the rest of the golfing world: Let’s not blindly pursue the Golfer of Tomorrow concept without considerably deeper study.
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.
For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.
The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.
The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.
*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*
Past Winners at LIV Adelaide
- 2023: Talor Gooch (-19)
Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami
Green in Regulation
- Richard Bland
- Jon Rahm
- Paul Casey
Fairways Hit
- Abraham Ancer
- Graeme McDowell
- Henrik Stenson
Driving Distance
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Joaquin Niemann
- Dean Burmester
Putting
- Cameron Smith
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Matt Jones
2024 LIV Adelaide Picks
Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)
When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.
At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.
The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.
Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)
Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.
In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.
For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.
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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
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19th Hole2 weeks agoTiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
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19th Hole1 day ago‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
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Larry
Oct 26, 2020 at 3:20 pm
Ultimately is there an audience for what is basically a Pitch & Putt match. Without fans professional golf will vanish.
John
Oct 26, 2020 at 5:28 am
The PGA have, for years, tried to put the shackles on the big hitters by lengthening the courses when, in fact, all they are doing is playing into their hands. The solution is simple and blindingly obvious – make the courses shorter and and trick them up so that skill and imagination is rewarded rather than sheer brute strength.
8thehardway
Oct 25, 2020 at 3:32 pm
Gentlemen, allow me to suggest a solution that burdens neither courses nor manufacturers of equipment; one that eliminates a pre-existing bifurcation and draws us closer to our favorite players as they traverse difficult courses; in short, I propose ruling bodies eliminate the caddy.
A moment’s reflection suggests that the energy required to lug a tour bag over 18 holes, searching for errant drives by yourself under time constraints, raking traps, cleaning clubs and confirming yardages reduces both the ability and incentive to launch 400-yard drives while holistically involving each pro in the more complete and authentic process we experience daily.
geohogan
Oct 25, 2020 at 1:37 pm
“Gym sessions producing athletes who look more like football players
And last, a whole new shelf of steroids for golf”
Seems Bryson has a lock on the last two points, that go hand and hand.
Karsten’s Ghost
Oct 25, 2020 at 3:23 am
No equipment bifurcation. If you want to, make 80-compression a maximum for everyone. Then your amateurs don’t get dumped on.
ray arcade
Oct 24, 2020 at 11:49 pm
Don’t do anything to the ball. Limit clubhead speed. Every tournament has a launch monitor on the tee… Anything over some PGA/USGA defined limit is penalized.
Ur legit insane
Oct 25, 2020 at 3:03 am
Lol what buddy
Larry
Oct 24, 2020 at 10:33 pm
Just cut the max club length for PGA events to 42 inches and we will see only a few 320 yard drives.
Speedy
Oct 24, 2020 at 2:47 pm
Rock on, Barney, you’re always a good read.
WiggyM
Oct 24, 2020 at 2:08 pm
Some golf holes could have an “offside/hazard” line that runs across the hole at a certain yardage, be it 380, 400 yards, whatever it may be on depending on the actual strategy of the hole. One stroke penalty if your ball crosses that line with your tee ball.
It would still reward distance but it would make you put some thought into your tee shot if you were a long bomber. It would never be a factor for 99.9% of amateurs so no need to roll back any equipment…. Or they could just not play golf courses and hold long drive contests on a Trackman every weekend.
Jack
Oct 24, 2020 at 8:21 am
Yes, Mr. Adams, you obviously “dozed off”. Sort of like Rip Van Winkle. Over the past few years, DeChambeau has transformed himself into one of the best putters on tour. Perhaps you should drink more coffee.
Brad
Oct 24, 2020 at 11:29 pm
Unfortunately, Jack, II think you may have “dozed off” during English class. Mr Adams was correctly making the point that Bryson is not KNOWN for his putting, but that he SHOULD be. The opposite of what you are implying he said.
“…I don’t remember him being widely praised for his putting. He should have been, it was terrific…”
Paulo
Oct 24, 2020 at 5:37 am
I’m sick to death of this debate. Golf is a sport and like any sport the athlete pushes themselves and the champion is the one who breaks the ceiling. When the first sub 10 second 100m was recorded they didn’t make a 100m longer. So what if we keep going and going until 49’s are winning ? As long as there’s separation keep pushing the boundaries until everyone is tied. Well done Bryson. WhT he’s doing now isn’t different to what tiger did to the likes of Tom Kite abd Colin Montgomery back in 97.
Rich
Oct 24, 2020 at 2:19 pm
Several holes in that logic:
— Running faster doesn’t make the track obsolete, but hitting the golf ball so much farther has taken some golf courses out of the scene for professionals
— Sports like track (and tennis and baseball and football and basketball) are competed against other competitors, not the course or venue. That’s why NBA players can be much taller and stronger, yet the court can stay at 94 feet and the basket can stay at 10 feet. Golf is played against the course. As we know, courses have gotten a lot longer–and some made obsolete–because of the distance phenomenon.
This has been an issue since a long time before BDC, but it still hasn’t been addressed. I’m in favor of returning the risk/reward factor in distance. Distance would still be an advantage, especially when coupled with accuracy. But when distance totally trumps accuracy, you have little more than a long-distance contest….and those are really boring.
My solution: change the ball and clubs in ways that hamper the pros and yet do not really affect the weekend duffer. Spinnier balls, lower COR, and less-effective grooves would be where I’d start.
Paulo
Oct 27, 2020 at 11:56 am
You’re completely wrong. Players play against each other on a course. Lowest score wins , so worst if somebody shoots 57,57,56 etc etc to win. Lowest score wins . I just don’t get your logic here at all
Bear
Oct 24, 2020 at 5:27 am
The opinions posted here show how small minded the amateur golfer is. Roll back the ball 20%. Deal with it. Its not about punishing any one player, its about returning the game to a spot where courses aren’t obsolete. There will always be a bomber on tour but the golf ball of today goes 20-30% further than in 1930 regardless of who’s swinging the bat.
Jbone
Oct 24, 2020 at 8:28 am
20% is absurd and will never happen.
Let’s be serious and not even try to appeal to somebody like this.
Barry
Oct 24, 2020 at 10:27 am
No, not absurd, very doable. Probably a necessity at this point.
Would be good for golf at every level.
Bad for a ball manufacturers for a few months, but they’ll go back to making the same profits as before when they realize “wow, people still need these.”
Bear
Oct 24, 2020 at 10:44 am
20% Is absolutely accurate and should happen. People will quickly get over it when they realize they are still the longest hitter in their foursome. If you can’t reach the green in two Jbone, maybe its time you moved up a set of tees or took up croquet.
Jbone
Oct 24, 2020 at 8:34 pm
It won’t ever happen so what’s the point in arguing. It is absurd imo. People like you can continue to be pessimistic about the state of the game.
Not dumb barry
Oct 25, 2020 at 3:04 am
You’re really really dumb
Matt
Oct 24, 2020 at 12:11 am
2 piece golf balls only. Want short game spin you also get high driver spin. Want low driver spin to hit long bombs you sacrifice short game spin and feel. Core and cover thats it. Simple fix.
Hogan Mike
Oct 25, 2020 at 2:23 pm
This is actually a cool idea! It will also make golf balls more affordable
Rwj
Oct 23, 2020 at 10:14 pm
Ban metal spikes. Most Local clubs have for everyone else. Make stability an issue
Rwj
Oct 23, 2020 at 10:02 pm
Im a fan of banning green reading books. Green reading should be a skill.
Yardage books are okay, just not fully detailed.
Make bunkers true hazards. Long teeth rakes, not beautiful smooth beaches that are easy to play from.
Plant trees
More “out of bounds” stakes and areas
Out of box ideas for pro tournaments:
Make the hole smaller
Limit # of clubs
Limit the maximum club length
Required grooves on entire driver faces
Rich
Oct 24, 2020 at 2:20 pm
Grooves don’t affect driver spin.
Rwj
Oct 24, 2020 at 9:38 pm
Alright. Good job ?
Rich
Oct 23, 2020 at 8:57 pm
No manufacturer–like the author–wants bifurcation. The only other sport that bifurcates (other than some accommodations for women, like forward tees or a smaller basketball) is MLB with its wooden bat requirement. No sport commonly played by adults is bifurcated.
But I like Barney’s thinking around making errors at high speeds more dangerous. (Like NASCAR?) Or changing other characteristics–driver length comes to mind, or limits on wedges’ lofts or grooves–that professionals and top players can take advantage of that most weekend duffers cannot. As Barney says, perhaps the ball can be changed to make it more dangerous at high speeds–frankly, the way wound balls with balata covers were at one time.
Jeff Allen
Oct 23, 2020 at 8:57 pm
Because I want to see Usain Bolt running in Jesse Owens’ track shoes to protect Track & Field par. athletes and people are bigger, stronger and faster. Even with all that WRX just published an article that said the average single digit index hits the ball less than 225 yards. I say bombs away
Chadd
Oct 23, 2020 at 7:44 pm
How about going back to V groves? We no longer see flyers coming out of the rough. And I would second the comment above regarding wedges not exceeding a certain loft.
The dude
Oct 23, 2020 at 8:59 pm
This gets ZERO consideration
The Truth Jr.
Oct 23, 2020 at 7:21 pm
I enjoyed this article. Not sure why people are so bent out of shape with BAD. He won a few tournaments, so what. Throughout history some of the best golfers were long hitters. I’m sure Bobby Jones pounded the ball in his day. Remember Tiger Woods? He hit the ball super far too.
Don’t change equipment, don’t modify rules to limit ball flight. Let BAD play the game his way, that’s what’s cool about golf. Let the sport evolve, let people hit it far. Hitting it far is a skill, its really hard to do and its every golfers dream to hit bombs. If someone says they don’t want to hit the driver farther they are lying.
Lets move on and enjoy the ride! The pros who are complaining need to step up their games or loose their cards.
Bobby44
Oct 23, 2020 at 6:13 pm
Why does everyone blame the ball?
Amateurs are not hitting it any further.
And why is Bryson hitting it 30 yards further, the ball?
Hell no! He went to the gym, put on 40 pounds and focused on one thing; speed!
I’m pretty sure he was using the same ball pre-Bryson 2020 so it’s not the damn ball.
If you wind back the ball, the guys that hit the gym and do the work will have an even bigger advantage.
Let’s say no Bryson hits SW into a par 4 that other guys are hitting with a 7-iron.
You think they’re gonna do better if he’s hitting 7-iron and they’re hitting 3-iron? I doubt it!
There are always guys that come and go that are super long, but most aren’t prolific winners or winners at all because they can’t chip, pitch or putt like Bryson. So it ain’t just the length, it’s the short game that goes with it.
Last time this happened no one complained! There was a kid who was hitting it 20 yards past everyone, with his 2-iron no less, and he had a short game that matched too. He was incredible and no one complained that he hit it too far, which was due to his superior technique and physicality.
His name was Tiger Woods.
Jeff
Oct 23, 2020 at 5:09 pm
Get rid of yardage books and lines on the ball. Also you are only allowed to mark the ball once on the green unless you are in another golfer’s line. Finally get rid of the alignment line on the ball. Nothing worse that watching these guys fiddle with the ball trying to line up the hole with the line on the ball.
Barry
Oct 23, 2020 at 4:59 pm
Breaking news! “Equipment industry lifer against additional equipment regulations.” In related news…sky blue, water wet.
Just as turkeys will never vote for Thanksgiving, those with a financial stake in manufacturing and selling equipment will never support anything that threatens the illusion that “we play the same game as the pros” because it is financially beneficial.
In another surprise, readers of GolfWRX, a website of the hardest core equipment junkies known to man, think anything that might even cost them two yards off the tee is unthinkable. We are talking about people who regularly drop $500 on a driver shaft that maybe provides a 1% performance gain. Yeah, another shocker folks here are dead set against a rollback.
Mr. Adams, you say you are 100% against a ball rollback, I am 100% for it. I think it’s entirely possible that this could be accomplished in such a way that 99% of golfers would never know the difference. It’s by far the best and most sensible idea because:
1)You cannot regulate athlete size, physical training, or coaching. You can barely regulate the performance enhancing substances modern pros put in their bodies (and that is highly suspect).
2)The golf ball is for all intents and purposes a consumable commodity. It is by far the easiest item to regulate and adjust and keep the game in scale.
3)PGA Tour golf is first and foremost an entertainment product. Watching pros go driver lob wedge into every hole is as boring as golf can get. Seriously, why bother putting? Let’s just go full LDA because accuracy doesn’t matter at all in the modern game.
4)All non-insane sports realize that some adjustments to rules are necessary to keep a product entertaining over time as athletes improve. When something gets out of balance, you test a few theories, then you try some things to restore balance. You don’t sit on your hands for 20 years saying “This is fine” because you’re deathly afraid of an Acushnet lawsuit.
5)Preparing a golf course that presents a comprehensive test of a golfer that carries the ball in excess of 350 yards with driver is an absurd and unnecessary use of water, land, and energy. Golf needs to be becoming more ecologically aware, not less.
Do we really want a game where you can’t play the Open at St Andrews? We are in such a poor state of affairs because the USGA and R&A have been asleep at the wheel on this issue for decades.
Bear
Oct 24, 2020 at 11:22 am
I think we’d get along Barry. No BS. You should try the hickory game! Its a breath of fresh air although these turds are finding ways to slowly ruin that too.
Darnie
Oct 24, 2020 at 10:36 pm
Correct. “that carries the ball in excess of 350 yards with driver is an absurd and unnecessary use of water, land, and energy. Golf needs to be becoming more ecologically aware, not less.”
The ball limits were wrong, the COR limits were wrong and the driver size limits were wrong.Where does it end? 20% increase in 1980’s PGA courses would put them at over 8000+ yards. They are playing courses that would be equivalent of a person hitting it 275 playing the up tees at many courses. It just illogical for this to continue.
Barney Adams
Oct 26, 2020 at 4:36 pm
I had to re read my article. There it was , change the spin , makes the tee shot much more challenging ! A perfect solution ? Nobody knows but it’s a relatively painless way to start.
Dave
Oct 23, 2020 at 2:57 pm
Barney, why do you assume the ball has to roll back also for the weekend duffer? You kind of jumped the shark there…
Dave
Rich
Oct 23, 2020 at 9:34 pm
Because golf manufacturers are absolutely against bifurcation. They thrive on the illusion that the equipment you buy is the same as the equipment the pros use.
They also conveniently ignore the fact that professionals play an entirely different game. Their courses are immensely more difficult, they have a personal assistant with them who knows their games intimately, etc.
Mike
Oct 23, 2020 at 2:39 pm
Dechambeau, over 4 days, averaged 1.5 strokes under par per round & his short game / putting was fantastic. That’s 1.5 strokes per round, & I don’t think anyone else broke par over the 4 days. Sorry, looking at those scores, I don’t see the ruination of golf as we know it.
Jbone
Oct 23, 2020 at 2:06 pm
Persimmon, wound balata, no graphite, 56* limit wedge.
Travis
Oct 23, 2020 at 5:36 pm
Should they also play in full wool suits and knickers too?
The dude
Oct 23, 2020 at 9:02 pm
Funny
Trav's Mommie
Oct 25, 2020 at 1:50 am
Your mom does
Carolyn
Oct 23, 2020 at 1:16 pm
Just adjust the COR on the driver face to give less or NO rebound…90% of players do not swing fast enough to get any benefit anyway…so with out rebound effect the 350 drive becomes 325..better.
Jason G
Oct 23, 2020 at 11:58 am
Bifurcation is the answer to rolling the golf ball back. College football players play with a slightly smaller ball than the NFL and it is much stickier than the “Duke” that is played in the NFL. Junior High basketballs are smaller than high school. The 3 point line in high school is closer than the NBA. NASCAR had the “car of tomorrow” that was required for particular races and ended up teaching us a lot about how to better protect drivers.
Jbone
Oct 23, 2020 at 12:44 pm
Ridiculous comparisons that just do not translate to golf
Moosejaw McWilligher
Oct 23, 2020 at 2:12 pm
The apt comparisons in golf would be that shorter players use shorter (and lighter) golf clubs, and that there are multiple sets of tee boxes which you can choose based on strength and handicap. AND, there is the handicap system.
Bifurcation in golf changes one of the core premises of golf – that we are all playing the same game.
There are also MANY questions unanswered about what a golf ball “rollback” would mean: a “single” tour ball? Is that fair? Would this ball affect the longest hitters disproportionately? Is that fair? Will the current short hitters drive the ball even less far – and would that eliminate their chances anyway?
Like Tiger said, it’s pretty hard to put the genie back in the “bag”.
Joey5Picks
Oct 23, 2020 at 3:26 pm
Excellent comparisons. There’s already bifurcation in golf. Professionals play 7200+ yard courses. We don’t. Pros play on 12+ stimp greens. We don’t. Pros play under the “one-ball” rule. We don’t.
Who cares if my score wouldn’t be directly comparable to a Tour Pro because they were playing a “tour ball”? It’s already not comparable because:
1) even if we play the same course, it’s not in PGA Tour tournament condition
2) we’re playing a course that’s ~1,000 yards shorter
Again, it’s already bifurcated. Shave 5% off the Tour Ball
Moosejaw McWilligher
Oct 23, 2020 at 7:49 pm
You can take %5 off the ball all you want. Pros will find a way to get that distance right back with their fitting, their fitness, etc. That’s what has happened in recent years – the “ball” has not continued to fly further. Everything else has gotten better as well. You would need a seriously limited “tour ball” to achieve any significant reduction in current distance. And if that happens – will it remove XX% across the board? Will longer players be “penalized” more than shorter hitters? Is driving distance not at all part of the golf skill set? Maybe just make drivers illegal – let everyone tee off with hybrids and long irons.
Jbone
Oct 23, 2020 at 11:50 am
Good thoughtful article.
The rollback of the ball is such a shortsighted and elitist view.
Roy
Oct 23, 2020 at 3:18 pm
“The rollback of the ball is such a shortsighted and elitist view”
And that why it scares me what the USGA might do about it…..