"The restrictions on square grooves will bring back the old days"

Ron Whitten covers a lot of ground in his "Shape of Courses to Come" feature in the November, 2008 Golf Digest.

I think this passage speaks to the rude awakening some of the folks at the USGA are in for:

Steve Smyers, a veteran architect and member of the Executive Committee of the USGA, believes new restrictions on square grooves in golf clubs, set to go into effect at pro tour events in 2010 and apply to all by 2024, will affect course architecture in positive ways, particularly for those designing courses intended to host championships. (And because most owners dream of owning a contender, that means most new courses.)

"The restrictions on square grooves will bring back the old days," Smyers says. "Elite players will be gearing back on their swings, and going back to golf balls that spin a little more, which will reduce their distance. I've always been an advocate of big, wide fairways, but I think fairways will get narrower. Light rough will again become an integral part of the game. Hitting the fairway will again become absolutely critical. It'll be position golf as opposed to power golf."

See, here's my question. How can you position yourself on a narrow fairway? Just a question!

And if someone can name one noted player who has said he will be gearing back his swing because of the new grooves, I'm offering a first edition, signed copy of Masters of the Links.

Comments

[phil]

Geoff,

I know you didn't hear it, but I just said out loud that I'm going to be gearing back my swing due to the new groove regulations.

And yes, i'm a player. of sorts.

[phil]

also, any other comment Geoff on the rest of that article? i thought there were some interesting things in there.. and some that made me laugh.

[Geoff]

phil,
I meant a PGA Tour player, but come to think of it, maybe I should just mean any player!

The article was great...I will jump on some more soon...news is slow these days!

[Seitz]

Screw that, I'm just going to swing harder. If they narrow the fairways, I'm going to be in the rough more often, and if I'm going to be in the rough anyway, I may as well be 150 out in the rough than 170 out in the rough.

[ReverendTMac]

If Bandon taught me anything about my game, it's that I like being forced out of my element. Make me create something. Let me hit that 60-yard putt, if I want. I probably won't - I'm much more lethal from that distance with a bump-and-run eight - but let me have the option. Give me big fairways, not because I'm wild off the tee, but because I see a better approach for the kind of shots I like to hit. Flat lies, flat greens, perfect manicuring...bah. Give me something close to what my ancestors played on. Make me think.

(please note: my views aren't shared by many and may speak to an underlying mental condition)

[86general]

Geoff says here, and has said before, that narrow fairways take away strategy, because you don't get to choose your angle...they're so narrow, you can only aim down the middle and hope for the best.

I follow this logic. But obviously it isn't a black/white dividing line between a narrow fairway and one which allows strategic shot placement. So, the question becomes, how wide is wide enough? Obviously it depends on the length required for a good tee shot, and the length of the ensuing approach. But how wide is wide enough.

I'm asking--I honestly don't have any concept of this. Obviously, probably upwards of 95% or the world's golfers aren't capable of hitting a certain side of a fairway, unless we're talking 18 at the old course, but I'm thinking a PGA tour pro has the ability the thread some pretty fine needles.

But I think they guy in the story was saying that power is so important in the game today that hitting the fairway at all is irrelevant. So, having to just hit it, anywhere, qualifies as "placement."

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

Blessed art thou, ReverendTMac. Amen.

[Ian Andrew]

Water rights, the coming limitations on pesticide use and economic pressure will surely shape the game more than architects. I was suprised that he did not touch more on those topics. There is a fundemental change in American golf sitting on the horizon whether golfers want it or not.

His conclusion is right - course will have less trees, less maintenance, be leaner and browner.