"Fans want to see big great scores and everything but they want to see people hit the long ball. That's one of the big draws of golf."

Thanks to reader John for The Age's Phil Lutton who quotes J.B. Holmes, who has this to say about about PGA Tour course setup:

Holmes, 25, is ranked third on the US PGA tour in driving distance behind Bubba Watson and notorious ball thug John Daly, averaging 285m every time he unleashes the driver off the tee.

Now his driver is starting to amass cobwebs as tournament bodies and courses shape their layouts to trap up the long hitters, narrowing fairways in strategic areas and carving out bunkers to entangle the heavy swingers.

Holmes says the moves, designed to make courses a more level playing field for the shorter hitters, robs fans of one of the great entertainment factors in the game.

"A lot of fans go out there to watch somebody hit it a long way. You get on some golf courses and it just takes the driver out of your hands. You don't want to disappoint anybody but then again, you're playing a golf tournament and can't just wail away on the driver every time," Holmes said.

"I'd like to see it opened up a little bit. Some courses out there you can do that. You just don't see people hit it 340 yards.

"Fans want to see big great scores and everything but they want to see people hit the long ball. That's one of the big draws of golf."

Comments

[Phil the Author]

Just hit it straight...

[Chuck]

Let's see here...

Wrong, Right, Right, and Wrong.

No, gentlemen, they aren't making changes to courses to make it more advantageous for shorter hitters. They are making changes to golf courses to combat technologically-produced distance gains.

And yes, a lot of fans "go out there" to see "the long ball." But isn't the long ball relative? Wasn't it the case that at one time "the long ball" meant 280 yards? Is "the long ball" an ever-increasing number? Should we, say, tie it to the rate of inflation? Or maybe the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmospehre? How about the Fortune Brands stock price?
Why does "the long ball" have to be 375 yards, pushing toward 400?

JB would like to see it opened up a little bit. Allow him to hit driver more. I say great! Hit driver, JB! But let's do it with a ball that you won't be able to hit so far. Let's scale it back so that your game fits the golf course. Then you can have at it.

And those fans that "are out there" to, yeah, see great scoring and everything but who really want to see the long ball. When they are "out there," where is "there"? The TPC at Levitra Highlands?

[Steve Jones]

J.B., see Aet Sellinger and his long drive world championship.

True (educated) golf fans like to see professionals using every club in their bag because we amatuers do. Watching you hit 248yrd 4 irons into par 5's doesn't bring us joy, instead despair. It shows us how far behind we've been left with the last 7 years of technology. Its done nothing for our games and has made a mockery of the game Jack, Tom and Greg excited us with.

[jim beckner]

I couldn't agree more with Chuck ans Steve. Let JB go to the long drive competition, if that is what his fans want, but make the pros play the clubs in their bag, roll the ball back to 285 max. I have joked that the USGA is trying to compete with NASCAR but it is hard not to think that is what they are doing when I read statements like JB's. Put JB and the long drive competition in the oval on the race course - and let's allow the rest of us to get back to golf. And now that Driver is out of the USGA presidency maybe that body will get serious again.

Jim

[Lynn S.]

This discussion seems timely when during December (The) Golf Channel revisits older championships. Last night watching those guys in the 1975 British Open, you can't help but marvel at how well they play. Fast swings with small clubheads, trying to control balata balls. "Those guys were good."

[Hawkeye]

Yeah, Lynn S., but check out Jack Newton's reverse pivot with a 75-degree shoulder turn and figure how long he COULD have been even with that equipment... Those old films are wonderful to watch, but they are also proof that better knowledge of biomechanics and launch conditions have, in fact, been a big factor in the distance increase.
While we're at it, let's not retroactively over-estimate the difficulty in controlling a balata ball!

[M. Tolleson]

jim b. you aren't advocating enough of a rollback. You need to have the competition ball max out at 260 for a high swing speed pro. You have to allow for future gains in distance; I think you'll be seeing driving _averages_ over 350 within 10 years.

But you can't just attack one part of the problem. You have to seriously curb the club technology. Get rid of graphite shafts, titanium, square grooves, and "wood" club volumes over 200cc. All this would have the effect of adding about 50-100 yards per hole on tour courses, which would bring back shot making.

I don't think we rely on what some punter wants to see, whether it's long drives or 62s. _We_ decide what the game should be, what's correct, and whatever fans we get, whoever wants to take up the game, fine. It's not a democracy, it's not tyranny of the majority. It's more like a republic, where an enlightened leadership steers the ship where it should go.