Willie Dow,
I'm going to disagree with you on this one.
Wide fairways wouldn't have given you the options that you seek.
The rough was benign, and these guys were almost driving many of the greens.
In this years Open they were hitting Sand Wedges into greens that they hit 5 irons into in 1995 and 3 irons into in 1986.
When I first played # 10, about 40 years ago, many players would lay up to the plateau and then hit from a level lie to the green, no easy task. But, when players are hitting into the green from 50 yards, it's a just a different world.
I also remember asking the caddy on # 18 if I could get there with a 2-iron. He replied, "well, you can try", which iritated me, resulting in my hitting one of the best 2-irons of my life to about 10 feet. Last week they were cutting the dogleg and hitting short irons and sand wedges into that green.
The ball and equipment has obsoleted the INTENDED ARCHITECTURE, and a competiton ball needs to be given serious consideration, otherwise, it will only get worse.
They were hitting woods out of the rough into the par 5's.
A competition ball is what is needed.