Elite players* are hitting their drives too long, too straight and too often. So what is to be done? How do we stop the golf ball going too far?
Easy, let’s roll back the equipment. Let’s bring back smaller heads on drivers and rein in massively forgiving irons.
I’m not sure it’s really the equipment, though. I think it’s more the ball. If you use persimmon-headed woods and blades with a modern ball you can actually get it round quite nicely. In fact, with a bit of practice, you can even manage with hickory clubs allied to the modern ball. Sure, the timing needs some dialling in, and you’ll realise that it’s all in the hands, but you’ll work it out before too long.
OK, well since it’s the ball going too far let’s not worry about the clubs.
Let’s do something about the ball itself. Let’s make it curve more and go a little less far when propelled at 180-odd miles-an-hour off the face of Rory McIlroy’s driver. The distance he hits it is ridiculous – to build a par-4 that calls for him to hit a driver (320 yards) and a 4-iron (240 yards), you would need it to be 560 yards long. Dustin Johnson reckoned in the 2017 season that the longest club he had hit into a par-4 all year before he got to TPC Boston in the FedEx Cup Playoffs was a 6-iron. A SIX-IRON.
You could do that, but the ball manufacturers might not be too happy – to put it mildly. They’ve spent years, not to mention millions, trying to work out how to get the ball to perform better within the set of constraints applied by the governing bodies. Now they will lose their competitive advantage. In effect, they’ll be penalised for making a great ball that is right on the limit.
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Let’s say we sort that out though. Everyone happy now?
Hang on a minute – so you’re telling me that the unique combination of strength, hand-eye co-ordination, physical fitness and talent that creates big-hitting has just been neutralised?
Well, that’s not fair. Why shouldn’t you get an advantage for hitting it longer than the rest? I seem to remember that power was a big part of Jack Nicklaus’ and Tiger Woods’ armoury. This isn’t something that Johnson has created.
Calm down – the big boys will still be longer than average. It’s just everyone will be moved a little further back. Happy now?
Well, not really because golf is a really hard game and now you’ve just made it even harder for the 99 per cent of us golfers who want all the help we can get.