[Alex_Wyatt]

It's very simple. And since all the announcers are paid by equipment companies, they can't say anything.

The reason Westchester at 6800 yards and Winged Foot with graduated rough and moderately fast greens were so tough for the modern pros is.......

THEY CAN'T SHAPE SHOTS.

These courses ask for turns of the ball to put oneself into proper position. Today's equipment has been engineered to prevent unwanted turning and so, desired turning just doesn't happen. We have dumbed down the game.

Kudos to Ran on the Ballyneal writeup. Looks like a 10 on the Wyatt scale.

[JohnV]

Given that the manufacturers make special balls for the top players like Tiger, why don't they make a ball that they players could shape for the courses that require it?

Phil can obviously shape it right to left with his current equipment.  

[Dan Kelly]

Phil can obviously shape it right to left with his current equipment.  

He can shape it right-to-left-to-right, too -- provided there's a hospitality tent somewhere in the neighborhood!

[JESII]

I agree with you 100% Alex. I made mention on the "more difficult in '74 or '06" thread that a course like Winged Foot might be easier to get the ball in the fairway with a balata than a ProV1 for the very same reasons you state. Some courses place a very high demand on being in the fairway, interestingly (and this is what Mike Malone misses when he says WF is lacking off the tee), is that the fairway is so important because of the challenge on and around the greens.

This is also where i have to defend the USGA for its very narrow fairway set-up. Ideally I do not like that configuration, but these guys are so good at "their" shots that if you give them 35-40 yard wide fairways they never have to create a shot. The consensus opinion on GCA.com is that if the fairways are wider it will make available a greater variety of approach angles which will then encourage more creative shot making into the various hole locations on greens such as Winged Foot West. What is missed is that these guys do not have to create any shots when they are in the fairway. Balls and clubs enable these guys to stop a ball very quickly with low lofted clubs so the only defense would be rock hard greens at high speeds. That can never be guaranteed (and this year was not delivered until Sunday) so preparations need be made to challenge as many aspects of the game as possible.

[Alex_Wyatt]

Isn't there a profound implication here for architecture? If JES and I are right, isn't the only way to gear down the equipment to make the courses ask for equipment that SPINS MORE (and flies a shorter distance)? We don't have to legislate this awful equipment out of existence, but just make it sensible for pros to turn the clock back themselves.

So, that means the USGA, via its inaction, has taken away the fun of wide courses for professionals, but c'est la vie.

And, by the way, I just did a quick count. There were 58 rounds in the 60s in the 97 PGA. I was there. It was a very hard set up. Davis shot 3 66s! The greens are the same. The rough wasn't graduated. It was a small amount shorter, but the big difference is they could still turn the golf ball ten years ago.

[Garland Bayley]

Trees, trees, more trees!

If the hole is such that the optimal drive should turn left, plant trees just off the tee to prevent a straight shot directed to the left from being played instead, and vice versa. Where is Hootie when you need him?
 

[TEPaul]

Sully:

Your post #3 is right on the money but I doubt most will recognize it or understand the significance of it. To really challenge tour pro caliber golfers to consider a wider variety of options and strategies basically starts with firm green surfaces. Occasionally we are seeing it these days and the fact that we are beginning to see it in various places all over the world is indicative.

One tour pro who apparently completely understands this important factor and who has been mentioning it publicly for a while now ironically is Geoff Oglivy. This is made more ironic by the fact that a commentator or two during the US Open marveled how Ogilvy seemed to hit the same type of shot with the same swing time after time at WF. I guess top flight golf is a bit strange sometime but the the prize probably goes to the golfer who can understand best when to adjust, why he needs to adjust and how to do it best.

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