Can architecture at the green end...?

[JESII]

.....influence people to do their own ball roll back?

How dramatic or severe would a courses green complexes have to be for you to revert to the old Titleist Balata from the current ProV1?

Is there any way that 20 - 40 yards can be sacrificed in tee-to-green yardage and made up around the greens with a better more controllable ball?

If you haven't practiced with an old ball recently, please do it you'll see there is a big advantage.

I understand the tremendous marketing wave I would be fighting, hell I don't think you can actually but any real balata's anymore, but I have always been in favor of market forces driving business, as opposed to regulations.

Any thoughts?

p.s. I am not sure if I'd trade in my ProV1's for a Balata.

[George Pazin]

Very interesting question.

I'm not the one to properly answer this, given my ability level and the fact that I've only really played with cheap rock hard balls, but I'd guess that if more courses were designed and setup like #2 this year, Shinnecock last year, Oakmont every day, probably Merion everyday, too, you see more of a gravitation back to control versus distance.

It's not for nothing that I keep Pat Brockwell's incredibly insightful comment as my tagline! I actually believe it.

[Geoffrey Childs]

Jes

I have a friend who lives at The Governors Club in Chapel Hill who is an 18 hdp at best who can't hit the ball more then 210 yards.  When the club first opened in the late 80's I visited and played with him.  He INSISTED that he absolutely had to use a balata ball because for example he simply couldn't stop a ball with a 5 iron over a cavern (hole #2 for those who know) to a narrow green with a falloff behind and a subsequent pitch back towards the cavern. He was right- it was a terrible design for an average player and I think softened at a later time.

I think its a bad idea because it would hurt poor players far more then good ones.

[tonyt]

A semi skilled player (lets say up to high single digits or even low teens handicap) with modern clubs and modern balls has all within their armoury to stop a golf ball. No changes in design, no matter how much tougher they make this prospect, are going to encourage a change. If I have serious trouble stopping it with a ProV1, then I'll have serious trouble stopping it with anything else. Last time I used an early 90s styled Titleist Balata (manufactured by them this decade as part of providing an ongoing comparison), I lost more distance than the control can make up. And Average Joe doesn't want to change balls after every thin shot or bunker shot.