USGA Distance Myths, Vol. 4

USGA Distance Myth #3:

Driving distance on Tour is increasing rapidly

False.  While average PGA Tour driving distance significantly increased over the past 10 years, it has leveled off during the past three.  The average increase since the level of 2003 to the current level in 2006 is only about 1 yard per year.

What is conveniently missing here tells a far different story.

In May 2002 the USGA and R&A issued a "Joint Statement of Principles," a year that USGA Executive Director David Fay described as the "benchmark" year for gauging distance increases.

The 2002 PGA Tour Driving Distance average was 279.8 yards. In 2005 it was 288.9 yards, and in 2006 it is currently at 288.3 (8 yards ahead of the average last year at this time when Golf World's E. Michael Johnson mocked "distance ranting killjoys").

So while distance myth memo author Dick Rugge accurately cites small increases since 2003 (admittedly ignoring a mention of last year's 18-rain delayed PGA Tour events), why wouldn't he include the "benchmark" year for their distance study?

Perhaps because that would have revealed a significant increase?

Which brings us to the dreaded significant word. The Joint Statement says:

The R&A and the USGA believe, however, that any further significant increases in hitting distances at the highest level are undesirable. Whether these increases in distance emanate from advancing equipment technology, greater athleticism of players, improved player coaching, golf course conditioning or a combination of these or other factors, they will have the impact of seriously reducing the challenge of the game. The consequential lengthening or toughening of courses would be costly or impossible and would have a negative effect on increasingly important environmental and ecological issues. Pace of play would be slowed and playing costs would increase.

For a breakdown of some significant increases, you can refer back to this post, where the climb among the top 50 in driving distance is really significant.

And also keep in mind how vital the 2002 Joint Statement is. Here is what the PGA Tour said about it on May 9, 2002:

The TOUR is pleased that the principles stress that the general philosophy governing rulemaking is that skill rather than technology shall be the most critical element in performance by a golfer and that golf balls, when hit by highly skilled golfers, should not fly significantly further than they do today as a result of technological advances. Further, the TOUR also fully supports the USGA and R&A's plan to modernize its equipment testing methods.

The TOUR has previously discussed with both the USGA and R&A its opinion that the distance high performance golf balls travel when struck at swing speeds of today's most elite players, using today's most advanced equipment, should be the maximum distance allowable. Given the USGA and R&A's agreement on maximum allowable COR and their commitment to modernized testing procedures, the TOUR is hopeful that the USGA and R&A will be successful in capping allowable golf ball distance at current levels.

USGA Distance Myths, Vol. 3

Myth #2:

Golf ball distance is not currently limited.

False.  Golf ball distance has been regulated since 1976 and golf ball rebound characteristics have been regulated since the 1940s.  In 2004, the USGA updated its testing methodology to more closely reflect the athleticism and clubs of today's Tour pros. All golf balls played on Tour and the vast majority of golf balls sold have passed the USGA’s distance limit test.

I suppose this is a misconception not a myth. Though I don't know of anyone who thinks that players are using non-conforming balls.

Does anyone out there actually subscribe to this "myth?"  

Please Forgive Me...

Tiger issues an apology through his agent does and a definition of spastic. Seriously.

And thanks to reader David for this entertaining BBC online take on the whole non-issue. 

Network Shakeups

Stu Schneider reports in Golf World's Bunker on Mark Loomis' departure at ABC, and the battle between CBS and NBC to get the British Open. Try not to laugh at Dick Ebersol's claim that he and Johnny Miller were talking to Peter Dawson about golf in the Olympics!

Page 2 features Schneider's TV Rewind on the Masters. I thought about waiting to read it when it comes in the mail, but since I'm still waiting on the Golf World Masters Preview, I went with the online read. 

Course Changes Verdict Watch, Vol. 7

The boys SI heaped plenty of praise on Hootie Johnson for his course changes.  It occurs to me that in all of the post event praise (and from the Golf World headline on Jaime Diaz's story, the cheerleading buzz is contagious), no one is considering the ramifications of Augusta's narrowing efforts both for the home of the Masters, or for the game in general.

The overall theme seems to be, "see, it's okay to change the courses to deal with distance increases and some people's determination to not let the players actually progress in the scoring department." 

Anyway, Gary Van Sickle, who will be forgiven for this transgression because he caused a wonderful stir at the Golf Writer's meeting and normally is spot on, writes:

The par-4 7th, 410 yards before the alterations, used to give players a breather. They could lay up off the tee and hit a wedge in. Now it runs 450 yards with trees on both sides of the fairway, so the players are forced to hit driver and hit it straight. Seven's a terrific hole now.

Super...loved the photo in SI. Can't wait to see it when the trees grow up and there is actually no fairway! Oh, and what's wrong with a breather hole after 4, 5 and 6?

Well, he gets bonus points for mentioning this:

Only at the storied 11th was there a questionable change. While the 11th remains the National's hardest-won par -- one player jokingly called the 505-yard par-4 the easiest par-5 on the course -- the more than 50 pines planted to the right of the fairway also make it Augusta's most unsightly hole. Were that many trees really necessary? "Instead of having U.S. Open rough, you have a forest," says Phil Mickelson. "You don't have the ability to hit a shot from there. You can only try to get the ball back in play."

A handful of smartly planted trees, instead of the forest, might have accomplished the same goal and tempted players into trying heroic -- and dangerous -- recoveries. The sideways chip-out, the least exciting shot in golf, has never been a Masters staple, but it's now an everyday play at 11.

Update on 2006-04-14 05:21 by Geoff

Ah, a different take in SI's "Big Play," where teacher T.J. Tomasi writes, "The course changes sucked the excitement out of the Masters. The tournament looked like the U.S. Open, with guys playing scared."

Warren Wind and Augusta

Jim McCabe writes about Ben Crenshaw's decision to observe a moment of silence for Herbert Warren Wind at last week's Champions Dinner, and recalls Wind's ties to Augusta National.

GolfMediaCatfight.com

Thanks to reader Greg for noticing that the Hawkins-Shipnuck catfight is heating up after a response on SI.com to last week's jabs taken over at GolfDigest.com.

Proving that some of you are in way too deep when it comes to golf media, I received some e-mail about a curious item that appeared on golfdigest.com during Masters week. John Heffington of Omaha, Neb. writes,"What are your thoughts about John Hawkins of Golf World talking trash about you in his blog (April 6 entry)? He talked about how you could not get an interview with (Greg)Norman about the 1996 Masters and then proceeded to call you 'Shipwreck.' "

Yeah, Hawkins' little valentine was random, but as I told him at Augusta, if you dish it out you gotta be able to take it, too, so no hard feelings. One thing worth noting relating to his post: Norman called me twice in the last week to explain why he was out of touch when I was writing my piece -- he says he was in the Middle East and then Australia and not in good contact with his office. He also claims to be so bummed to have missed my calls he is in the process of overhauling how his media people deal with interview requests in the future.

As for Hawkins, I loved his dig about needing to hire a detective firm to find LPGA fans. Actually, all he needs to do is leave his insular little world a little more often. The guy has been covering pro golf for GW more than a decade but only a year or two ago wrote a condescending column about the strange experience of reporting on his first LPGA event. As for calling me Shipwreck, they were doing that back at University Park elementary school. That's a pretty good reflection of Hawkins' mentality.

Can't we all just not get along for the sake...hits! 

And Yet More 84 Talk

The shock is wearing off and Gerry Dulac points out the absurdity of a company doing billions in sales and that spared no expense to make the 84 Lumber Classic a significant event, suddenly worrying about the PGA Tour's measely $8 million price tag. Something strange is going on here...

As if a couple million, even $8 million, can even begin to put a dent in $10 billion?

And when did the Hardy family all of a sudden start worrying about a couple of million?

He has poured more than $100 million into making Nemacolin Woodlands the destination of the rich and famous, and that doesn't include the $66 million Falling Rock lodge that is patterned after The Cloister at Sea Island, Ga. After the first year of the tournament, he bought more than 250 acres to build access roads to the golf course and had a driving range constructed that was the envy of other PGA Tour events. What's more, Pete Dye, the architect of Mystic Rock, was brought back so many times to improve the golf course that even he joked, "That's my annuity."

No More Waste Areas...

I'm not sure if this is a victory for the "Play it as it lies" school, or a defeat?  Or none of the above.

Rank and File

Brett Avery's comprehensive Masters stat package is now posted at Golf World, with page two visible here in PDF format.

Talking Points, They Work

Mick Elliott reprints the USGA Distance Myth memo as a column.

Too Many Myths, Vol. 2

So let's look at USGA Distance Myth #1 (which has been endorsed by a posting over at Titleist.com):

Golfers with faster swing speeds get disproportionately greater distance benefits from new golf balls that have been introduced after 2000.

Most have cited the ball as the easiest remedy to the distance issue. However, most would agree that the distance jumps in the last 8-10 years having occurred due to a few circumstances, with ball-club optimization of launch conditions topping the list. Anyway... 

False. Physics, scientific tests, and actual results on the PGA Tour all confirm that faster swinging players have not gained a disproportionate amount of distance from modern golf balls.  An example: Corey Pavin, the shortest hitter in 2000, gained about the same amount of distance from 2000 to 2005 (7.4 yards) as the longest (John Daly at 8.7 yards).

Interesting that these two players were chosen and the myth declared false with so little support.

Also interesting that 2000 was the chosen year when many have actually pointed to 1995 as the year things started happening, and when these two players were in their prime (compared to the other years selected). Factoring in 1995 adds a different twist: 

Player            1995                  2000                2005

Pavin            254.9                 251.3               258.7

Daly              289.0                301.4              310.1 

So in that ten year span, Pavin's increase was under 4 yards, while Daly's was 21 yards.

But back to the "myth" that players with faster clubhead speeds see disproportionately greater distance benefits. You saw what happened to Pavin, who in his U.S. Open winning year was able to drive it 254.9 and was a whopping 3.8 yards longer in 2005. How about some of the longer hitters?

Player               1995                2000             2005

Els                    274.3                278.4            302.9   

Love                 284.6               288.7            305.4

Singh               283.5                279.9            301.1

So just focusing on the 2000-2005 span the USGA cited, Ernie Els is up 25 yards, Davis Love 17 yards and Vijay Singh 22 yards. And on the shorter end of the driving distance spectrum?

Player                  1995              2000             2005

Funk                    256                266.8             270.0

Faxon                  261.2             264.4             274.7

Furyk                  256.2             269.9              280.0

Again, in the 2000-2005 span Funk has picked up 3 yards, Faxon 10 yards and Furyk 10 yards. 

Sullivan on Torrey Pines

The San Diego Union Tribune's Tim Sullivan looks at the snowballing situation at Torrey Pines, where the mayor is now joining the fight over course access and a new clubhouse.

“I would support a recall of the mayor,” Paul Spiegelman said yesterday. “I'm really troubled when a man talks about sunshine and hatches deals in back rooms. I'm very concerned that the process is being manipulated by some very wealthy people.”

Spiegelman, co-founder of the 1,200-member San Diego Municipal Golfers Alliance, says anyone who supports the five-year city golf plan Sanders put forward last week is “betraying the public.” He said his organization is considering recall petitions and weighing whether to request that the United States Golf Association revoke the 2008 U.S. Open from Torrey Pines South.

All this over tee times and greens fees and the machinations of millionaires. Torrey Pines might be the city's prettiest place, but it is also a political mine field.

 And...

Figuratively, at least, Torrey Pines is a spot that has long suffered from political neglect. Contracts have been signed in clear violation of legal settlements and, arguably, the city charter. Private interests have persistently encroached on public land. Plans have been formulated by a privileged few and implemented over the objections of the Average Joe. Cynicism runs rampant.

Among some of Torrey Pines' most frequent players, Sanders' plan is consistent with a pattern in which the little guy keeps getting squeezed for the sake of a grandiose vision advantageous for the adjoining hotels and the Century Club. Those interests, in turn, question the entitlement of entities such as the Torrey Pines Men's and Women's Clubs and, specifically, of Spiegelman, who averages almost three rounds per week.

84 Classic Follow Up

Gerry Dulac has a little more insight into the impact of 84 Lumber's "aggresive three-year business plan," but the end of this emerging event is still a shocker:

The decision came as a surprise to just about everyone because the tournament recently reached a new six-year agreement with the PGA Tour to move the event to mid-June, beginning in 2007 -- a time spot that had long been targeted and desired by tournament host and sponsor Joe Hardy.

What's more, since the inception of the tournament, Mr. Hardy had spent more than $80 million to improve facilities, upgrade the Mystic Rock golf course that hosted the event and make the tournament one of the best late-summer stops on the PGA Tour.

In a statement released yesterday, Maggie Hardy Magerko, owner and president of 84 Lumber Co. and Mr. Hardy's daughter, said the tournament will be discontinued as part of a strategic growth plan in which the company wants to add 125 stores and hit $10 billion in sales by 2009. The firm also plans to close 67 "underperforming" stores; that move would affect 600 employees.

Mrs. Magerko unveiled the financial plan last week and immediately informed PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. But the announcement that the 84 Lumber Classic will cease to exist didn't come until yesterday, when a tournament in Hartford, Conn., sponsored by the St. Paul Travelers Co., was named as a replacement.

"Put that on your soapbox, Mr. Nicklaus"

John Hawkins says the long ball talk going into the Masters turned out to be overrated because, among other things, Tim Clark finished second.

"Put that on your soapbox, Mr. Nicklaus," Hawkins blogs, though wouldn't it be fun to see him say that to Nicklaus's face!

"The course is a better test than ever, modernized to premium effect and willing to reward players of all shapes and sizes."

No mention of the narrowness possibly stripping the course of its identity (and unique place in the Grand Slam concept of differing tests), nor consideration of the overall effort to put players on the defensive to counteract a game out of whack.

I know, picky, picky.