The WeekEnd Golfer

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Nicklaus urges golf ball to be "rolled back" - There's a very interesting article by Jack Nicklaus in the March issue of Golf Digest called "I've Been Thinking." One of the points he usually makes in articles like this is that, in his opinion, the modern ball goes too far and has changed the game for the worse. As he says in this article, "My greatest concern, because I believe it has the most effect on the most parts of the game, is the golf ball."

According to Nicklaus, after about 60 years in which the game (and equipment) stayed pretty much the same, in the 1980s and 90s the game of golf started to change dramatically. In the 80s it was the introduction of metal headed drivers and "woods", and in the 90s it was changes in golf ball technology. Both changes let players hit the ball farther.

Golfers at all levels like to have their egos stroked, but the truth is, a guy like Fred Funk does not add 30 or 40 yards to his drives by working out or by improving his swing. These increased distances are mostly a result of "technology" changes. It is a familiar refrain, but for guys like Nicklaus who design courses this has meant the classic old courses aren't long enough anymore.

We lesser mortals have come to take these ongoing "improvements" for granted because we think it levels the playing field between good players and not-so-good ones -- it makes us think we can become better golfers by simply buying new clubs or using a different ball.

The irony is that just the opposite has happened. It is a well-known fact that high handicap players do not get the same benefit out of technology improvements as do better players. While a pro might be able to hit different balls different distances, your average hacker doesn't see these increases because he or she doesn't have a consistent enough swing and can't generate the club head speed required to take advantage of the new balls.

It is a bit different with clubs, since larger metal heads and game improvement irons mean fewer duffed shots. But I suspect this advantage is again over-estimated for higher-handicap players. For a bogey golfer playing a 380 hard hole driving the ball 200 yards rather than 180 still won't produce very many pars. Why? Because he still can't make the 180 yard approach shot. So he's just as far ahead using a 5 iron off the tee.

So technology improvements have actually widened the gap between the pros and the schmos. And to add insult to injury courses are now being made tougher and longer to accommodate the 5 or 10% of golfers who are "big hitters."

At the root of the issue is the way golf is driven by marketing at all levels from recreational to professional. The inability of the golfing poobahs at the USGA and R&A to control the "improvements" has meant that golf has become a consumption driven sport like no other. And the chance of this changing in the foreseeable future are slim to none.