Are we part of the problem?

[Phil Benedict]

Someone ought to start a thread about courses you can play naked.

[Rick Shefchik]

Pretty much all of them, after dark.

[Richard Boult]

I have a theory that in the last 250 years only five general areas have improved the lives we lead:
1. Advances in medicine.
2. Ability to forecast weather.
3. Improvement to construction to allow homes and buildings to better protect us from the environment.
4. Ability to cheaply produce books so that all people can afford to obtain almost any book.
5. Improved agriculture.

If one wanted to live in the time of Thomas Jefferson, or even back to William Shakespeare, I think the above 5 items might be the only things you would miss.

There are SO many things in our world that have been improved or invented that really do not make our life better.  Mostly they are just interesting and different.

I'd add improvements in ease of travel and communication to your list as well. Each and every one of your "improvements" were made possible by advances in technology and computing power.

[Jon Wiggett]

Someone ought to start a thread about courses you can play naked.

Great idea Phil, depending on the playing partner mixed foursomes is suddenly much more interesting. (oh, is that sexist or am I allowed to say that?)

[Kalen Braley]

I am still wearing some of my dad's clothes that are over 40 years old.

My car is 14 year old.

I stopped using my laptop for writing and went back to writing on paper.

My TV is 10 years old.

And I do not own a cell phone.

The computer and the internet, even with all the junk, are great inventions.  But other than medicine and science, there are very few "improvements" to the goods we use on a daily basis that truly have made our lives better.

I have a theory that in the last 250 years only five general areas have improved the lives we lead:
1. Advances in medicine.
2. Ability to forecast weather.
3. Improvement to construction to allow homes and buildings to better protect us from the environment.
4. Ability to cheaply produce books so that all people can afford to obtain almost any book.
5. Improved agriculture.

If one wanted to live in the time of Thomas Jefferson, or even back to William Shakespeare, I think the above 5 items might be the only things you would miss.

There are SO many things in our world that have been improved or invented that really do not make our life better.  Mostly they are just interesting and different.

Bill,

I'm not sure why you are wearing Pa's clothes, different strokes for different folks I guess.

As for your car, I guess this means you are turning it in seeing how its not on your list of 5??  
Same goes for your TV, and whatever you are using to post on this website...  

Recent technology has been great for our society.  Sure it means news coverage is worse, but look at all the other quality programming on TV.  Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, TNT, ESPN, The golf channel...its all good stuff cobber.. I would also throw in travel there as well including planes, trains, and automobiles....

But I'm sure the local Amish chapter is recruiting if you are looking to purge yourself of all these modern vices..  

[Ed Gulewitz]

We aren't part of the problem, because non of us have figured out the game yet...
It's true that new tech in clubs and balls have changed the way we hit the ball, and the results we see, but I really don't know many people that I play with that actually can take advantage of the change.
I think that to score well in golf one has to have several things going for them, a repeatable swing, a steady and competitive attitude, and a thinking mind to get them around the shot, hole and course...without those basics, which are NOT delivered by the equipment the game is still tough and unsolvable.
Yes, our strategies have changed a bit, more bomb & gouge, but I still haven't seen many bomb & gougers figure out the green yet.  I think that putting hasn't improved at all, and the giant mallets that most people have are a terrific waste money, and most are pretty darned UGLY.
I'm more purist for sure, my clubs make me remember my Staff Blades and Persimmon woods that I played until the late 90's, in fact I played with the blades until about 2002.  I decided to give them up not because I couldn't hit them, but I didn't play as much and needed a few more yards and forgiveness, so my micro-cavity backs give me feel and security...so what?

My point is that the pros have figured out how to run 4 competitive rounds in the mid-60's, and can trounce the local TPC if the rough isn't up and the green's aren't East Lake oversaturated, but that is really not the rest of us is it?

I hate to see technology eliminate or destroy the competitive nature of the great courses, but I haven't seen many players that can take on the 6200 yard classics with as much scoring finesse as the 7500 yard modern venues....  

I believe that many get lost in believing the myth that just because you can change your course routing with distance on 3 of 18 holes, that the course is obsolete.  Grow and water the rough and I don't care if you have a rusted Vokey or CG14, or some new Callaway (Roger Cleveland) creation, you will still be lucky to get to par!