Haven't seen a thread discussing the governing bodies' distance report that came out recently. They've made it very clear that some changes in equipment are coming down the pipe. Curious to hear the Golf board's thoughts on it, both as a fan of the professional game, and playing the game yourself. Reason I say both of those is because I personally have varying thoughts from those two perspectives.
As a fan of the professional game, I think these changes are way overdue. Players of their ability don't need equipment to make the game easier. I would even argue that we have (to a degree) seen only a portion of the talent these guys truly possess. Golf could be so much more entertaining getting away from bomb-and-gouge. I don't think equipment is entirely to blame. The types of golf courses they play and course setup has also made this style of play the one that is most rewarded on a weekly basis. There are only so many courses on the Tour schedule where creativity and shot making are at a premium... which is why I love watching the majors.
As a fairly avid player, I'll be curious to see how the changes will impact our level of play. I'm young enough that I've never played anything but this incredible technology (started playing seriously in 2012), so it's hard to tell how much of my game's shortcomings are truly majorly masked with what I'm playing now. I'm currently a high, single digit (fluttering back and forth between 8 - 9 index), but I have a feeling that will most certainly go up with reduced distance. Thinking I'll really need to start working on my short game a lot more once these come to fruition (I should be working more on it now, even with the good stuff in hand). For me, the game is already tough enough for those of us who maybe play once or twice a week, and rarely have time to practice. We do it for fun. And while challenging yourself with making it more difficult can be fun too, I hope they don't go overboard.
What say you?
As a fan of the professional game, I think these changes are way overdue. Players of their ability don't need equipment to make the game easier. I would even argue that we have (to a degree) seen only a portion of the talent these guys truly possess. Golf could be so much more entertaining getting away from bomb-and-gouge. I don't think equipment is entirely to blame. The types of golf courses they play and course setup has also made this style of play the one that is most rewarded on a weekly basis. There are only so many courses on the Tour schedule where creativity and shot making are at a premium... which is why I love watching the majors.
As a fairly avid player, I'll be curious to see how the changes will impact our level of play. I'm young enough that I've never played anything but this incredible technology (started playing seriously in 2012), so it's hard to tell how much of my game's shortcomings are truly majorly masked with what I'm playing now. I'm currently a high, single digit (fluttering back and forth between 8 - 9 index), but I have a feeling that will most certainly go up with reduced distance. Thinking I'll really need to start working on my short game a lot more once these come to fruition (I should be working more on it now, even with the good stuff in hand). For me, the game is already tough enough for those of us who maybe play once or twice a week, and rarely have time to practice. We do it for fun. And while challenging yourself with making it more difficult can be fun too, I hope they don't go overboard.
What say you?