When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
AP's Clarke Canfield profiles University of Maine professor David Neivandt's creation of a "biodegradable golf ball with a core made of lobster shells."
I didn't see much coverage of Gary Player's Masters presser last night and only today after a couple of emails and reading Bob Carney's post did I realize why: he sounded alarms no one wants to hear!
And then you saw our era come along and then you saw this era came along and you'll see new era come along, and I've said this on British television on BBC about eight years ago: It's just a matter of time before players hit the ball 400 yards. And this good player and a good announcer said to me, absolute nonsense.
They are hitting the ball 400 yards now, never mind 30 years' time.
And so what we are going to see, we have not scratched the surface of golf yet. We are in our infancy. Unless we slow the ball down, you cannot put the tees back in the streets anymore, gentlemen and ladies.
You can just feel the Twitterers shifting in their seats! Go on...
They have got to their limit now so the next thing is you have to slow the ball down because the golf courses are going to be completely outdated which is happening now. Golf is suffering terribly. You see golf courses just weeds now closing down. You can buy golf courses for a dollar now because it's the maintenance of the golf course. Because they have seen what is happening: These pros hitting a driver and 6-iron to a par 5 so from Timbuktu to Tokyo to China to here, everyone is lengthening golf courses. And the members hate it; and greens are undulating and the members hate it; and the fees are going up and oil is getting more expensive and we are running out of water (laughter)
Just a note from watching the video: that (laughter) was not from Player, who was entirely serious, but from a few in the room. Nice touch lads. Keep laughing.
and so the whole damn game, people are saying let me out of here. They can't afford it. Instead of staying where we were and just slow the ball down. Not for the amateur. We must have technology for the amateur golfer who is the heart of the game.
The pro is a mere tiny part of the game. And this is going to happen; I can promise you, it is going to happen in time because hundreds of millions of dollars are being wasted on unnecessary programs.I know this is a hard one for people to deal with. Yes, courses everywhere, whether they need to or not, are adding length to accomodate a few players. It's going to happen. And that length, means more cost, more maintenance, and there is also a safety component that has changed.
Now, if you do as Player says and change the ball for competition, this comes to an end, and courses might even get a little shorter (doubtful, but possible). And manufacturers still get to sell clubs, golfers still buy golf balls and the game goes on its very way!
Yep, we have another treasonous threat to capitalism and his name is Bradley Hughes! The former PGA Tour player and Australian dares to out himself as no fan of what modern technology has done for the game. And while he has some excellent thoughts on how we should sticking up for our classic courses, I urge you to take a few minutes to read his thoughts on what modern clubs and lie angles have done to the average golfer's game. Hughes is teaching now and has lots to say.
Welcome Bradley to the vocal minority!
Barry Leibowitz explains that "decaptitated" drivers are turning up in suburban Pittsburgh's finer Dick's Sporting Goods outlets.
Investigators believe the couple is re-using the stolen driver heads to make custom clubs - or selling the stolen heads to someone who is doing that. The clubs are marked for retail, but the security code is on the shafts so the couple can leave the stores with the stolen heads without triggering anti-theft alarms.
The heads on the TaylorMade and Callaway clubs are worth $300 to $400 each.
Someone else is getting the shaft.
For all of the talk about the average golfer aspirational golfer wanting to play the same equipment as the professional, we always assume the pros are getting stuff that's fine tuned compared to what's on the shelves of Roger Dunn. As Michael Bamberger demonstrates in this look at feel players, with a focus on Bubba Watson, it's not just the manufacturers who can refine equipment to the tightest specs. Elite players demand differently than most of us. Friday we learned that Taylor Made's Mark King, who just eight years ago couldn't see the makings of trouble down the road now wants a re-write of the rules because the game is not growing.
Now in an online video interview posted Saturday at Golfweek.com he goes further, calling for all-out bifurcation that manufacturers have steadfastly refused to even consider as an alternative best suiting the game (skip to the two minute mark unless you want to hear him hump the new white driver).
Randall Mell talks to Tom Weiskopf about "mystique" and the likelihood that Tiger has lost his after the last year's worth of news. But he also makes an interesting point about technology that in some ways speaks to just how dominant Tiger has been and, as some of us believe, how modern equipment has made his competition better.
Interesting that in Thomas Morgan's Providence Journal obituary of Leonard Decof there is no mention of his role in the PING lawsuit against the USGA. E. Michael Johnson picks up the slack and files an item about Decof's impact on the game.Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
