More Tiger Talk

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More from Tiger's Masters media day:

Q. I wanted to ask you about moving to new technology, getting more distance, is that a reflection of what was happening on Tour the last couple of years versus what you could see was going to happen with guys like J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson coming up?

TIGER WOODS: Well, the guys -- I know I didn't use technology, the advances in technology for a couple of years. Guys were sacrificing some of the spins that they would normally have for distance, and they have gone longer and lighter in shafts, bigger, hotter heads and obviously higher launching and less-spinning golf balls. All of that equates to a lot more yardage. What I've always told the guys at Nike is that I've always wanted a golf ball that would spin around the greens. So can I actually hit the ball further? Yeah, there's no doubt about that, if I went to the golf balls that other guys are using. I decided to use technology in the driver only and not necessarily the golf ball. I've got more of an overall-performing golf ball than some of the other guys because my ball does spin a little bit more, but I am able to hit it further than the old golf balls I used to play.

Tiger On Distance Measuring Devices

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Tiger Woods, Masters media day, February 8:

Q. Last year on 17, you had hit a tee shot that went pretty far wide right and it took a little while to figure out the distance. Some people have argued now with the laser rangefinders being allowed that you might have been able to figure out that distance a lot quicker and just get on with it, so to speak. Just curious to know what your thoughts are on the laser rangefinders and whether you think they should be allowed on the PGA TOUR?

TIGER WOODS: No. Never, ever should be allowed on the PGA TOUR. I think that playing the game, since it's you and your caddie, and I think it puts the onus on the caddie to be efficient; you're out there as a team together. The laser advantage, the laser takes away an advantage of a caddie doing his homework and understanding what to do out there. I don't think that's right. I believe in what Stevie does, and certainly he's done some great things for me, and I think that rangefinder would certainly I think make up for some of the guys being a little bit lazier out there.

Is the Tour on Board?

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After enduring the expected moaning from Blue Blazer over my characterization of the Jim Vernon speech, Blazer and another USGA observer wondered why more attention was not paid to the potential political significance (or lack of) with this graph:

I also want to acknowledge the support shown by Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour.  They repeatedly have acknowledged that the USGA and the R&A are the appropriate rule-making bodies for regulating golf equipment.  They have publicly supported our research efforts, particularly our ball project—and have recognized that it is only through that research that we can define what options are available to regulate club and ball performance and can make educated assessments of the effects of those options. And they have given us full access to the data generated by their new ShotLink System for every shot at every tour event. As a result, we have a far clearer picture of how the game is being played by the best players.  Actual data has replaced speculation and opinion because of ShotLink.

I will use this moment to register my usual complaint about the USGA touting ShotLink but not using it at the U.S. Open. Okay, moving right along...

Blue Blazer pointed out that the USGA in all likelihood went public on this new and somewhat bold stance  with the PGA Tour's blessing.

After all, the two organizations may have no choice but to join at the hip should a manufacturer decide to file a lawsuit over equipment regulation.

So if a manufacturer decides to sue, here's how the Tour may become a co-defendant: if there is a rule change and the Tour just says "we play by USGA rules," the suing plaintiff may point out the Tour once banned U grooves on its own and suggest that the Tour could do whatever they want.

Keeping in mind the recent mention of PGA Tour-USGA meetings by David Fay (while being asked about private jet travel), there appears to be a coordinated defense of some kind. If they could include the Hootie and the hapless R&A, their position could be very strong.

Something else that the the Vernon speech may signal: the Executive Committee contingent clinging to the hope that the problems would go away, may now be in the minority.  

Pebble Here We Come!

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Thanks to everyone for the email alerts about Walter Driver and Fred Ridley joining the same old has-beens in the AT&T Pro-Am field. (Who is Thomas Gibson anyway!?)

For those thinking that the new president of North America's governing golf body might have cashed in a few USGA hours on the Citation, I must say I'm shocked that you would assume that playing 6 hour rounds with some of America's most needy important people is somehow not USGA business?

If that kind of bonding wasn't enough for you, do remember that Pebble Beach is the 2010 U.S. Open site. It is a largely unproven venue that surely requires architectural upgrading. And who better to have there than experienced meddlers like Driver and Ridley?

And don't forget that they need to inspect Cypress Point for the "Closed Open" golf event that the Executive Committee will host for itself during 2010 U.S. Open week.

So I'd say such a trip to the AT&T qualifies under the line in the USGA's jet use policy: "Private aircraft may be used only in connection with travel reasonable and necessary for the furtherance of the business or affairs of the USGA."

That said, Driver is now a man of the people after risking bodily harm upon stepping down from the Grand Hyatt to talk to the octogenarians and assorted worshippers assembled for his initial speech. So I'm sure he'll be flying commercial the next year to mingle with his constituents.

But just to put all of you cynics at ease, I'll contact the USGA's Marty Parkes, who I'm sure will be happy to confirm that everything is on the...oh wait, that's right, the jet trips are privileged...information.

Nugent: Tiger Could Play In the NFL

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If you are a Golfweek subscriber, you may have noticed that publisher Jim Nugent has written several columns on the distance issue. Perhaps none of his writers will take his anti-USGA/anti-common sense regulation stance, or times are tough and his staff is spread thin. 

Either way, he has made the unusual move of stepping away from his role as Publisher to write a series of op-ed pieces. And the resulting work would be funny if it weren't actually damaging the credibility of his otherwise fine publication. He writes in an online exclusive:

There is little debate that the ball travels farther today on Tour than it did when Nicklaus and Palmer ruled the fairways. But myriad factors have caused this to occur.

Jack and Arnie were never mistaken for NFL linebackers; Tiger Woods and some of his contemporaries could start for a lot of pro football teams, such is their athletic prowess.

What, as place-kickers? On semi-pro teams?

Yes, this is definitely the better athletes argument gone farther awry then ever before! 

The rest of the piece goes on to talk about how there is no evidence that the game has suffered, the golfers will never stand for it, etc., etc., etc...

Distance Astounds Couples

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From The Australian:

"It's amazing to me," said Couples, who is in Australia for the first time since 1997 to compete in this week's Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth. "I played with Adam Scott in Florida in the off-season and we were talking about a couple of things. He's got another gear when he drives it a long way and a couple of times I got it up with him or past him and we were laughing about it because I'm twice his age.

"But I saw this kid (Holmes) at Tour school and I physically saw him hitting some balls in Phoenix and it's hard to believe.       

"You know, to sit here and try to explain it - well, how far does he outdrive you? Fifty yards. Fifty yards. I don't know if I've even ever semi-missed a drive and then been outdriven by 50 yards. And this guy is going to do it most of the day.

"And there's another guy Bubba Watson, who hits it further than him. I can't quite figure out how to hit it that far. To me it's just goofy. He hits a three-wood 280-290 yards and a seven-iron 210. I have no idea. It just doesn't make sense. I hit a seven-iron maybe 155 and sometimes up to 170."

USGA: There's Life in the Old Bear Yet

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I can already hear the moaning from reader Blue Blazer for that headine. Yes, one of my favorite USGA insiders wasn't wild about the USGA annual meeting address by Jim Vernon.

Chair of the Equipment Standards Committee, Vernon's address is now online for all to read. And it is a must.

If you have any interest in the equipment issue or the way the game is played, it's a landmark moment for the current USGA regime.

Blue Blazer doesn't understand my enthusiam and wonders why the USGA is now stating that there have been drastic changes since the issuing of the Joint Statement of Principles, and yet, they need more study to address the issues. Fair point.

However I, being the never-jaded, always-positive blogger, will try to show him why this speech is significant. Vernon says...

The underlying philosophy is to set forth outlined in detail in the Joint Statement of Principles adopted by the USGA and the R&A in 2002.  In short, we are to remain vigilant to ensure that improvements in technology do not diminish the skill necessary to play the game.

I know you've heard this before. But there were concerns that they were going to be re-defining the Joint Statement at this meeting. Not so. 

Last April, we asked the ball manufacturers to participate in the project by developing and submitting to us reduced distance golf balls that would comply with an ODS of either 15 yards or 25 yards shorter than the current standard. All the major manufacturers agreed to participate.  Currently, we have received two sets of such balls.  We expect to receive at least seven more sets of balls within the next two months. We understand that creating new balls with playing characteristics that will be acceptable to today’s golfers takes time and we appreciate the thorough job ball manufacturers are doing in support of our research.

Okay, I agree with Blue Blazer that this was kind to the manufacturers, especially since one of them managed to produce a ball and distribute it with sarcastic stampings.

Distance And The de-skilling Of The Game

Yes, that was the title of the third and most important section of Vernon's address. Sure, he buried the lead, but the USGA is not in the business of publishing. Well, not really. 

We know that the way the way the game is being played by accomplished players has changed dramatically in recent years.

This is a major, major moment for the USGA.

Remember, until this point, there has not been such a clear and concise acknowledgement that the distance increases were anything but good old fashioned progress. In fact, the USGA has shrugged off nearly all criticism or observation that drastic changes have taken place.

All the research I have described has given us a much better idea what has made that change possible. It is not just that driving distances have increased among elite players. What I am suggesting is that we need to re-frame the discussion of how the game is being changed.  

Average driving distance on the PGA Tour continues to increase, but the increases have leveled off the last two years — 1.0 yard in 2004 and 1.6 yards in 2005.  At the same time, there has been a clear increase in the number of Tour pros who average more than 300 yards.

Blue Blazer was disappointed that Vernon ignored the "significant" distance increase since 2002 when the Joint Statement was issued (and the line was supposedly drawn). But the optimist in me didn't care because I was absolutely floored by the next statement.

We know from the ShotLink data provided by the PGA Tour that driving accuracy has ceased to be a factor in predicting success on the PGA Tour.

Ceased to be a factor. Shoot, even I haven't gone that far in even my most melodramatic rants on flogging.

We know from other data that Tour pros are swinging their drivers and faster, and that the larger, higher MOI drivers allow them to hit the ball farther even when they strike the ball well off the center of the clubface.

We know that the groove configurations and surface treatments on modern irons, when accomplished players hit their drives into the rough, they can generate more spin out of the rough, allowing them to hit more greens when they have missed the fairway.  The same spin generation features of today’s iron clubfaces increase accomplished players’ probability of recovering when they miss the green.

Again, major admissions, strong language. "We know."  Blue Blazer may be right to say, "if you know these compromises to skill have occurred, then do something about it."

But hey, this is a big step forward. No, it's a leap.

Our task this year is to continue to evaluate all these factors and to determine whether new regulations would be appropriate to require the elite players in particular to regain some of the skills that were more important in the past. The task is complicated, or course, by what I said at the beginning of my remarks -- we regulate equipment for all golfers of all skill levels, not just PGA Tour pros.
The Equipment Standards Committee has set an aggressive agenda for 2006, and we believe it accurately reflects the state of the industry and the game. Underlying all our efforts will be the philosophy set forth in the Statement of Principles: we will remain vigilant to assure that technology does not diminish the skill necessary to play the game.

 Let the skill debate begin!