Of course, the reason that Tiger Woods wants to use persimmon and balata is because he's such an old fogey, stuck in the years of his past greatness. He just wants the game to go backwards. He's a Luddite, and he's just scared that a young white player is going to come along and shatter his record of 26 majors. And he wants to protect the shortish design of his 7,600-yard (recently altered to 7,900-yard) signature course in Dubai...

Uh, have I recited that correctly?

Geoff,
Another "classic Tiger profile??" please....this was just one of many puff pieces done over the years on Tiger Woods. It was sort of like listening to Woods in a press conference. He speaks for thirty minutes and says nothing.

The great ones always stand up for what's right. Of course, today's pros are so pampered by easy equipment that I doubt many of them are capable of playing balata. I think in addition to the general roll back, it would be necessary to outlaw the 2 piece distance balls. I wouldn't be surprised if modern pros would actually prefer a top flite rock over a wound balata titleist, if actually forced to change.

Hey Chuck, Are you still flying that confederate flag in your front yard?

JB, What were you reading or should I ask what you were smoking? Obviously, you weren't reading the same article Geoff and I read.

M - they may not be capable of playing balata, but that is becasue they have never had to master the skill. Most NFL players can't pull off a drop goal. It doesn't make the older players better.

Michael - I'm pretty sure Chuck was being facetious. I read the article and although I enjoyed it, I do agree with JB...most of it was a puffed up regurgitation of things we already know. I'm waiting for Tiger to actually say something that isn't completely middle of the road.

How is reverting back to persimmon and balata a "middle of the road" position? Is he going to come out and be critical of the modern ball manufacturers and the distances their balls travel? Last I checked Nike was paying him big $$ to use their golf ball. He, at least, has admitted that the game would be better if the ball didn't go so darn far.

Oh. Michael!
I hoped to not have to write this; that everyone was in on the joke. But this has to be said if even one person didn't get it.
No sir, every word I wrote above was with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
The reference point was a long-running debate involving Jack Nicklaus. Jack has made many statements about the problems with technological advances in modern golf equipment. Jack's detractors are the ones who have responded with oddball comments like, "Jack is stuck in the past. He's just trying to protect his old golf courses and his old records." And the more offensive commenters are wont to throw in the stray reference to race, (as in, "Jack/the PGA/the USGA/ANGC just don't want a young black man to win...) as I did sarcastically.
I hope that clarifies it for you Michael. Humor can be a dangerous thing. Attempted humor even more dangerous.
For the record, If I were to have a "hero" in the person of someone who is actually younger than me, Tiger Woods would be a good starting point. I think that golf is incredibly fortunate to have had its heros as people as wise and as full of character as Jones, Nicklaus and Woods.
Does that help?
All my confederate flags are kept at the duck hunting camp, by the way.

Smols,
There is a big difference between "admitting the game would be better if the ball didn't go so far" and actually taking a firm stance on the issue or doing something about it. It's like me saying that I don't agree with the war in Iraq but then not going to the polls to vote for change. You said it yourself ... Tiger says what he is paid to say. The next time he takes a definitive side on a issue...one that could make him unpopular with even one of the bazillion consumers of the products he represents, will be the first.

Remember as well that Tiger may be dually-motivated to wish for "persimmon and balata".

One motivation might be his desire to play more courses like Merion. (See, e.g., "The List.")

Another motivation, and the one that I suspect is uppermost in Tiger's mind, is that he would be an even more dominant player with 1990's - era equipment than with current equipment.

So with Tiger, he may be thinking more in terms of "personal advantage" and "fun competition" than in terms of stewardship of the game of golf and its historic courses.

Chuck,

My reply was my poor attempt at return humor!

Yeah, I know first hand how risky the attempted humor thing is...
A couple of years ago, I bit on a sarcastic comment by Geoff on a TGC program host who shall remain nameless...
Good that we understand each other. Or at least that we equally misunderstand each other...

;-)

He sure wouldn't change the hat brim always forward rule....

Cheers Tiger.

My expectation is that his simple line about persimmon and balata is going to have a very, very long half-life and we'll be hearing on on all the broadcasts, it'll become a standard question at the pressers, especially ones involving the big hitters, it'll be asked of the USGA and R&A execs -- just watch, this one simple line will get a lot of traction. Everyone in the industry is going to have to take a stand on what golf would be like if Tiger ruled the game. Hopefully it'll demonstrate to the USGA/R&A and the equipment manufacturers that the market would embrace a significant redaction of equipment performance and stimulate some interesting competitive exhibitions.

I've been playing golf for 46 of my 58 years. I always loved the look, feel, sound & workability of real wood. Can't say I used persimmon as a youngster because that was the rich folks' wood. The rest of used laminated woods. I tried metal woods and titanium when they came out because I appreciate the value of hitting the ball long. Never could get comfortable with the sound, feel or appearance of them. Even worse, my first titanium was a Big Bertha first or second generation model whcn Calloway was still using a $6.00 Aldila shaft as standard equipment. After trying all sorts of swing and set up modifications to try to eliminate the slice I always had with the club, a club maker explained that the problem was over-torquing of the cheap shaft. Replacing the shaft made some difference, but I never liked the aesthetics of the clubs. Then, about 10 years ago I saw an ad by Louisville Golf for persimmon woods with state of the art graphite shafts. They promised distance equal to titanium drivers and less dispersion on mis hits. They also offered a money back guarantee, which is not available now. I tried them, fell in love and have used them ever since. Their "Thumper" model has a 280 cc clubhead which is larger than the classic persimmon and provides a larger sweet spot. For a good player with a grooved swing, it is plenty large enough. I get as much distance as I get with any metal wood I still try from time to time and not nearly as much dispersion on mis hits. And the game is a lot easier from short in the fairway or first cut than long in the woods. Even better is the look, the sound and the feel of a shot struck purely with a persimmon. If you have never hit persimmon, you cannot imagine. The folks at Louisville told me, and I have confirmed it with other professional culb makers, that for golfers genereting less than 115 mph of clubhead speed at impact, a metal clubhead will create no springlike effect in a USGA conforming model. Distance--and this is basic physics when you think about it--is primarily a function of the length of the shaft and its flex. Hence, a persimmon driver in the hands of most amateurs will yield just as much distance as a metal wood, provided the shaft is fitted properly to the player. The folks at Louisville are true artisans--their clubs look too good to hit when you first see one. Then you hit a ball and experience something metal just cannot approach. They will talk with you as long as you like to create a club that is right for you. Unlike Calloway, they don't spend gazillions on advertising, so that they have to use inferior quality materials in their clubs. To the contrary, each driver goes through about 100 steps before being turned out as a finished product. Finally, many of the persimmons that Tiger uses are made for him by Louisville. If you won't take my word for how good a persimmon driver can be--and there is no reason you should since I'm just an older golfer who loves the game and appreciates beautiful clubmaking--take Tiger's.

Note that in my last post, I should have said that Louisville does not have to use inferior components in their clubs.

Tiger is a purist, simple as that - we are witnessing a one of a kind in our sport. Michael Jordon, Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods - they are all built to dominate their respective sports.

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