“Golf thrives on intelligent conversation. We need to talk more about where the game is headed.”

Mark Brooks talking to Golfweek's Jim Achenbach:

The big campaign for Brooks is the golf ball. He, along with many traditionalists who enjoy working the ball and creating a multitude of different shots, would like to see spin put back into the ball.

Among other consequences, this would reintroduce the slice to golf. With today’s low-spinning, dead-straight golf balls, the slice has disappeared from the game. Sure, shots still go to the right because they are pushed or blocked, but they fly straight right rather than slicing out of control.

“It would put more emphasis on shotmaking, which would be a good thing,” Brooks said. “I’ve been screaming about it for some time, but it hasn’t done any good.”

It hasn’t done any good because the U.S. Golf Association failed to control the golf ball. For all the positive achievements of the USGA, the organization flatly failed to comprehend the ingenuity of the golf ball companies.

Along the way, golf turned into a straight-line game. A new philosophy emerged: Aim it at your target and swing like hell.

Brooks contends that an element of skill was removed from the game. Controlling the ball became too simple.

“It’s very frustrating,” Brooks said. “Shotmakers are artists. They are highly skilled at moving the ball around. Now suddenly you see a bunch of guys who never think of playing that way. The reason they can swing so hard and hit it so far is that the ball is so easy to control.”

Brooks still loves the game. He still will support the USGA, although he will lobby for change whenever he gets the opportunity.

When you shoot 66 in an important tournament, you have the opportunity.

“I’m not going to shut up,” Brooks concluded. “Golf thrives on intelligent conversation. We need to talk more about where the game is headed.”