A&Q: Read An Unusually Terrible Global Golf Post Interview On The USGA Distance Project

With news of the USGA and R&A allowing everyone to submit views on distance, this is obviously cause to rage against the machine threatening to take five yards away from angry golf scribes.

It's never a good sign when a writer's rhetorical questions battle the answers for word count supremacy. Nor is normal for a journalist to flood the conversation with so much rage, particularly since the issue involves how far a little white ball flies.

But this unique blend of hostility overtakes Steve Eubanks interview of the USGA's Rand Jerris about the "Distance Insights Project."

The Post: Everyone’s perspective is based on their own life experiences. For example, there’s nobody left who can tell us what the distance impact was like when the game transitioned from hickory to steel shafts. And there was very little data accumulated at that time. So, how do we have this overarching discussion about distance without a legitimate, verifiable and texted data set?

Pausing here to let you ponder the joys of reading the words "texted data set." 

Jerris: There are various sources of information at which we can look. One is aerial photography thanks to the United States government. We can look at the evolution of the footprints of golf courses around the country over long periods of time, not just in terms of length but in terms of breadth and how much space they’re taking up. Because we can look at the times of those changes, hopefully we can determine what elements of those changes are directly attributable to distance. 

The Post: That last point requires a logic leap. Yes, you can see where the footprints of courses have changed over time. But how do you make the leap, based on that evidence, that those changes were attributable to distance? 

Maybe because no one has ever said, the game goes by too fast and we need to drag this out longer.

We must--MUST--spend more time walking back to tees and taking up more space so we can spend more money on maintenance. Now!

Jerris: That’s a fair point.

You are too kind, Rand. Too kind.

The photography will be just one component of the comprehensive data. We will couple that with input from as many external, legitimate sources as we can find. Teachers have been collecting data from their students. Avid golfers have been collecting data about their distance. Then it’s a matter of analysis. That’s where we get all interested parties together and say, “Here’s what we’re seeing in the data. Now, let’s talk about what it means.”

The Post: Going back to the report that we receive in February, the changes in distance have been remarkably small. The incremental increases, and in some cases decreases, surprised a lot of people. A lot of that was confirmation bias. Everyone you see seems to be hitting if farther, so we believe that there must be these huge jumps in distance. But when you look at the data we’ve seen so far, that doesn’t appear to be the case. To launch this program under the aegis that ‘We know distance is an issue,’ doesn’t that fly in the face of the data you’ve already collected and analyzed?

Now that's some confirmation bias!

State Of The Game 77: Geoff Ogilvy On Trinity Forest

Geoff Ogilvy talks to Rod Morri and Mike Clayton about Trinity Forest, host of this week's AT&T Byron Nelson Classic. 

I Guess We Have To: Governing Bodies Launch "Multi-Pronged" Distance Insights Project

Here goes another year in the distance discussion, all because the two PGA's have decided they want to be in the rules business. I'm pretty sure we know what the input will look like ("Don't blame the ball! "-Wally, Fairhaven, MA). 

Anyway, if they must, but Senator you can have my answer now: do something.

The USGA and The R&A Launch Golf's Global Distance Insights Project

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. USA AND ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (May 15, 2018) - The United States Golf Association (USGA) and The R&A have launched a comprehensive project to analyze distance in golf and gather perspectives from the worldwide golf community.  

The Distance Insights project will examine distance through a multi-pronged approach that includes global stakeholder engagement, third-party data review and primary research. Focus groups and discussion forums will play an important role in the project, to secure a broad range of perspectives throughout golf.

Beginning today, anyone interested in the topic can provide feedback by visiting usga.org/distanceinsights or randa.org/distanceinsights or by emailing either association directly.

“The topic of increased distance and its effects on the game have been discussed for well over a century. We believe that now is the time to examine this topic through a very wide and long lens, knowing it is critical to the future of the game,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA. “We look forward to delving deeply into this topic and learning more, led by doing right by golf, first and foremost.”

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Distance in golf is a complex issue which is widely debated at all levels of the sport. It is important that we collate all of the relevant data and hear the many different perspectives on this issue that exist in the international golf community. We intend to conduct this process openly, comprehensively and promptly and will work with all of the key stakeholders to ensure we have a fully rounded view of distance and its implications.”   

Stakeholder groups invited to participate in the project include amateur and professional golfers, worldwide professional golf tours, golf course owners and operators, golf equipment manufacturers, golf course architects, golf course superintendents and others. 

Among the many topics to be explored, the organizations will seek distance-related data on pace of play, golf course construction and maintenance practices, the evolution of equipment, golf course design and player enjoyment and participation.

The USGA and The R&A will engage various golf industry stakeholders through 2018, with plans to deliver a report in 2019.

Silvies Ranch: Caddying Gone To The Goats!

The Oregonian's Lizzy Acker the innovative caddie goat program at Silvies Valley Ranch in Seneca, Oregon, which is a working goat and cattle farm with three golf courses. The program was developed by ranch owner Tygh Campbell who called on Seamus Golf's Akbar Chisti to help with the saddle bags used by the goats. (Thanks reader Art.)

The process of getting a bag that would stay on Bruce, the first goat selected for caddie duties, was iterative.

"The first time we kinda failed because the clubs would fall out," Chisti said. "We took those experiences and improved it."

The final bags don't just hold clubs. The also hold a six-pack of beer and, as a treat to the goats, Chisti said, "each bag had to have a pouch for peanuts."

The Gauntlet course will these noble creatures will carry your clubs opens July 10. Here's a fun video from Seamus:

Watch An Elite Golfer Demonstrate Role Of Athleticism In Distance Gains

For those insisting athletes and not engineers have done the heavy lifting over the last 20 years...

A Trackman comparison between a persimmon wood/balata ball and a modern driver/Pro V 😳🤔😜 pic.twitter.com/rOFU0rx3ZJ

— Jonathan Yarwood (@JonathanYarwood) May 7, 2018

Bob Ford On The Ball: "I would be very surprised if it doesn’t roll back."

Thanks to reader Chuck for spotting Robert Blumenthal's Golf Conversation with longtime Oakmont and Seminole professional Bob Ford, who covers a range of topics.

But given that he's been associated with two classic courses, the comments by Ford related to distance and the ball stand out.

GC: Speaking of Jack, Tiger has come out for scaling back the distance of the golf ball for the pros. The head of Bridgestone Golf said the same thing yesterday.

BF: For the elite game? I would tell you that in the last three months, I’ve never heard more comments about it and more people are getting on the bandwagon to do it. Mike Davis is a member here. He’s like, “My goal [by the end of] my career here is to get the ball rolled back.” So I would be very surprised if it doesn’t roll back.

So there's that. And more.

GC: Do you think anyone understands what “bifurcation” means?

(laughter)

BF: I hope so. It’s been a bad word. I don’t quite know how they’re gonna do it. You and I don’t want our ball to go shorter, we know that. Believe it or not, they have developed a golf ball that at our speed, it doesn’t change. At the speed of 108 or more miles an hour, it starts to go down.

I just want to see this supposed ball in action. In our lifetimes. Once.

Or, maybe roll them out at the Crump Cup or the Hugh Wilson or some other old school event and get some feedback? 

Another Golf Podcast Worth Checking Out...Hugh Marr's Talking Golf

I was tipped to this new golf interview podcast with an emphasis on growing the game, but the discussions cover everything and make for very enjoyable listening. Paul Casey's episode was taped pre-Masters but is still an engaging listen about a nice array of topics, including Augusta National's architecture.

The R&A's Martin Slumbers goes into far more depth than normal, though he stops short of expressing his views on distance. The R&A Chief does, however, express his view that most architecture is too difficult for the every day game and has some excellent thoughts on some remedies. Though he's also very determined to see every club have WiFi for the kids so they can look at their phones. 

Check out Hugh Marr's Talking Golf wherever you listen to podcasts.

For anyone with an interest in growing the game of golf the latest Talking Golf Podcast is well worth a listen. Hear Martin Slumbers of @RandA talk about where he sees the future of golf. https://t.co/ka9CFTfMqE

— Hugh Marr (@hughmarr) May 1, 2018

Nobilo: "The professional game has never been more divorced from the amateur game. I think that is extremely dangerous."

Frank Nobilo talks to Golf Australia's John Huggan about a range of topics, but his comments about fearing for the health of golf due to cost, length and a growing divide between professional and amateur games. He wants to slow down the ball.

That sense of connection is always mentioned by anti-bifurcation types looking to protect the golf ball, yet all playing the same ball the divide is growing. Nobilo sees and doesn't like the lost connection, which he even sees between the most recent generation of greats and today's major winners.

We have equipment that is really designed for the recreational player, but which produces unhealthy distance for the elite players. I remember playing in pro-ams and occasionally being out-driven by an amateur. Now that never happens. Now the pros hit their 5-irons past the amateur’s drives.

The professional game has never been more divorced from the amateur game. I think that is extremely dangerous. I’m not one for bifurcation though. One of the beauties of the game should be that everyone can play. But if we went to different equipment we would lose that. The game wouldn’t be what it is supposed to be.

As with most people, it all goes back to the Old Course...

When they started messing with the Old Course at St. Andrews and adding yardage, the R&A lost me. Can you imagine if the All England Club did that to Wimbledon and made the centre court smaller so that the game would be more difficult? In tennis they slowed the ball down. I think we need to do the same in golf.

I know many people do not place value on this, though it's never for a reason beyond personal financial gain:

I am amazed when I go to Wentworth now for the BMW PGA Championship. It isn’t the course I remember playing. So any comparison between now and then has been lost. Martin Kaymer, for example, should be able to compare himself with Bernhard Langer. But he can’t. He isn’t playing the same game or the same courses.

Have New Course, Need Sponsor: Memorial Park In, GC Of Houston Out

As the Houston Open tries to remain on the PGA Tour schedule where it's been since 1946, Golf Club of Houston is out as the host venue.

The Houston Business Journal's Jack Witthaus reports on the potential move to the downtown muni going forward. (A Memorial Park change in operator to the Houston Golf Association has been proposed.)

The move to Memorial Park would return the PGA Tour to a course it last played in 1963. Even if no sponsor is found for 2018, let's hope this leads to a long term goal of saving the event and carrying on the Houston Golf Association's efforts to refurbish the Houston city courses.

Hansen: Closing Of Blanchard Golf Course A Sad Sign Of The Times

With the WGC match play having left we don't often get the pleasure of reading Greg Hansen these days, and his latest is by no means uplifting. Still, Hansen bids farewell to Blanchard Golf Course in first class fashion, with no shortage of important points about the role courses like it have played in producing golfers and as a landing spot for veterans or First Tee graduates who go on to careers in golf. 

With Arizona's skyrocketing costs and the courses's place behind Air Force base gates, even an increase in annual rounds and improved maintenance could not stop the 56-year-old course from going under. Sitting next to an airplane boneyard, Blanchard is now less than two weeks from shutting down for good. 

It’s sad, because Blanchard is what the old Randolph South course used to be: flat and friendly. You could walk BGC in 3½ hours, eat a reasonably priced hot dog at the soon-to-close Eagles Nest restaurant, and not lose a sleeve of golf balls in a wash or the desert or anywhere.

Golf’s demise in the 21st century was triggered because the game is too difficult, too expensive and too time-consuming. Blanchard was a step back to the 1970s.

So now the 56-year-old golf course will be repurposed as a recreation area and forgotten.

A few days ago, Moreno played in a group with former Blanchard “cart kids” Sean Mullen and Brent Lingel, who went on to become golf pros in Tucson and in Texas, and now run Tucson’s Rolling Hills Golf Course.

“It was a memorable day, and in fact we made it 27 holes because we didn’t want it to end,” Mullen said. “I grew up at Blanchard. It was my first job and basically my second home. My dad, J.J., still works there. I have nothing but positive memories.”

Arccos: Average Golfers Declining In Driving Distance

GolfDigest.com's Mike Stachura reports on Arccos data of more than 10 million drives suggesting that average golfers have seen flat or declining distances since 2015.

Stachura queries some industry types to understand why all of the Hot List winners might not be delivering distance. There is Nick Clearwater at Golftec, who naturally wants more people to get better fittings from places like...Golftec. But Clearwater also says this about lightweight clubs actually working against the average golfer:

“The average golfer uses too much spin loft with all of their clubs, so increases in tech still show minimal improvement in the quality of the shot,” he said. “The shots still start to the right, spin too much, and are mishit.

“There is not much equipment/ball can help with. Also, as much as clubhead tech has improved, shafts are getting lighter and longer from the OEMs and the consistency of the strike is compromised as a result.”

This regarding the disparity between pros and amateurs would be fun to contrast with twenty years ago:

The Arccos research also provided data on average 7-iron distance across age groups and handicaps. The overall 7-iron average was 143.3 yards, compared to 172 yards for a PGA Tour player as measured by Trackman. That data suggests average golfers are playing a dramatically different game than elite tour players. Combining the average golfer’s driver and 7-iron you get a 364-yard par 4. That might be 120 yards or more shorter than how a PGA Tour player might play a driver, 7-iron hole.

Having made the case that today's equipment rules are being circumvented by elite players via fitting, while making clear the data is pointing to little game improvement for average players, it's hardly a call to go out and shop. A good fitting yes, but shopping?

So long story short, average golfers might not be getting better, but they clearly have the potential.

Click on the following links to shop the latest drivers Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy.

It's not often you get hard data telling you what you've bought is failing you, followed by links to buy clubs. 

Ironically the piece is a fantastic case for bifurcation where equipment rules can be adjusted to help the average golfer, while making clear we need to tighten up a few loose bolts for the pros. 

Horschel Wants More "Great-Designed Courses" Like Harbour Town

Titleist ambassador and former FedExCup champion Billy Horschel repeatedly takes the company talking points on the distance issue, so it was no surprise to see him call on architects to do more "great-designed" work instead of changing equipment to breathe new (old) life into architecture.

From this week's After Further Review from Rex Hoggard, which is incidentally followed by an item on how fun it is to watch Brooke Henderson drive the ball despite her small frame. 

First, in Horschel's world, he's hoping we get driver-killing "great-designed" courses so the golf ball is not restricted, ensuring on-going payments to his and other golf pro accounts:

"I think the architects in today's game should come here and understand what this course is and why it's still challenging,” Billy Horschel said. “ Too much nowadays we're playing big, wide-open courses that really aren't great designed golf courses.”

If architects could import massive overhanging trees that restrict ball flight they might, but it's kind of hard to do that these days. Nor advisable on a number of levels, most notably because there is a desire by many to see the driver remain an important weapon. And even better, to see width presented to provide options off the tee.

All of this makes the second After Further Review item by Ryan Lavner more fun. He writes about the joys of LPGA winner Brooke Henderson and the skill on display as she uses a 48-inch driver.

Or perhaps it’s because she uses a 48-inch driver, drawing every little bit of distance out of her 5-foot-4 frame. She swings freely and aggressively, aims at flags even when she’s nursing a narrow lead and rolls in enough putts to contend in all of the big events.

The 20-year-old Canadian smashes every conceivable stereotype about the LPGA – in no ways a dink-and-dunker who relies on a hot putter. There’s no one in the women’s game I’d rather watch play. 

Sadly, the folks who want to combat distance through Harbour Town-style architecture do not appreciate how the ability to use driver in separating fields has been a cornerstone of the sport for a few centuries now.

Harbour Town is swell and all once a year, but narrow plod-fests that minimize the driver are not the model for the game. Particularly when the message is driven by corporate talking points from folks who've already made millions. "Great-designed" courses are not narrow, tree-lined and light on strategic decisions.  

Players Somehow Survive Masters And Its Low-Tech Course Data

Just a reminder that the world's best somehow managed to play The Masters without green reading books and yardage books feature grade-adjusted yardages.

Sun did the whole rise from the east, set in the west thing each day.

Players had to play by the club's rules and all still showed up. File that away.

As Karen Crouse writes for the New York Times, some of today's best even prefer the freedom to play

Away from Augusta, competitors typically use two books, one with tee-to-green details for each hole and the other, which often has a price tag, focused solely on the greens. The Masters provides a single one, at no cost, that covers both elements, offering rudimentary information. It is left to the caddies and the players to do their own legwork and fill in the blanks. In that respect, the Augusta National book is like the course itself, designed to reward those with the most creativity, imagination and discipline.

“I like it that way,” said Michael Greller, who caddies for Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion. “It rewards people who put the work in.”

Fred Ridley's Momentous Comments On The Distance Issue

Here are the nuts and bolts of Chairman Fred Ridley's comments on the distance issue, which included some prepared remarks and some responses to questions.

As I write for Golfweek, however, this was a momentous day for new chairman Ridley and Augusta National. Because while other chairmen have invoked the words and philosophy of Jones and MacKenzie as a barometer, Ridley took things to another level in saying that the best hole in tournament golf and the best par-5 on the planet, no longer functions as the architects intended. 

The entirety of his most detailed comments in response to a question from Golf World's Ryan Herrington.

Q. You mentioned that you've had -- you've got encouragement from the governing bodies and other golf organizations about the feedback you've provided to them -- or on the distance issue. What has that feedback been, and have you asked them specifically to explore any certain aspects of the distance issue as it pertains to the play of the tournament here?

CHAIRMAN FRED S. RIDLEY: Well, as I mentioned, we do have an open dialog. I'm very familiar with the public statements that have been made recently. You know, our focus initially is on our golf course. We are intent on making sure that we maintain the design philosophy that Mr. Jones and Alister MacKenzie devised. And with the shot values that they thought were important, we have done what we felt was appropriate through the years to maintain that philosophy and that design, those design parameters.

There's a great quote from Bobby Jones dealing specifically with the 13th hole, which has been lengthened over time, and he said that the decision to go for the green in two should be a momentous one. And I would have to say that our

observations of these great players hitting middle and even short irons into that hole is not a momentous decision.

And so we think there is an issue, not only there, but in the game generally, that needs to be addressed. The ultimate decision is going to be, I'm confident, a collective one. It's going to be one where all of the stakeholders sit down and come to some agreement.

From our perspective, we will always do what's necessary to maintain the integrity of our golf course. But as I said in my comments, I don't think that's the only approach to this. So my hope is that every organization, every stakeholder involved will look at this issue from a holistic basis and not only what might be in the best interests of their own organization.

We fully appreciate and want-- do not want any action to be taken that's going to make golf harder. We have an obligation to grow the game, and so we're sensitive to that. So these issues don't always coincide. And like any difficult question, it requires compromise and debate. So as long as we're all talking to one another and looking out for what's in the best interest of the game, I'm confident that there's going to be a solution that's going to work for everyone.

“Augusta can always be defended. St Andrews is in trouble.”

A wise friend says the distance discussion should only be predicated on one barometer: the Old Course. If it is obsolete for the elite player, distance limits or something should be done to keep it relevant. 

So it was enlightening to see Paul Azinger suggest the Old Course at St. Andrews is in trouble within this Steve DiMeglio piece about Augusta National and distance. 

There is of course the usual shallow stuff from golf pros looking to protect their corporate interests over how the game is played, with Billy Horschel reinforcing his steadfast ignorance and Brandt Snedeker suggesting Augusta just plant a tree, ramp up the Sub-Air and call it a day.  

But Azinger's comments stood out since the R&A might actually feel the same way.

“The Old Course at St Andrews, the home of golf, is different, because the course isn’t as long and the greens are pretty easy to putt and don’t have nearly as much slope,” Azinger said. “Augusta’s greens are frightfully fast, and they can stick the pins two paces from the edge.

“Augusta can always be defended. St Andrews is in trouble.”