Phil, you may not have bought into it, but the sentiment was certainly that long-hitting young players would dominate professional golf. Tom Marzolf, a top Fazio associate, told a group of us that their shop's working theory was that golf would become a "young man's game" like tennis and that these players would not have long careers because of the stress to their bodies from swinging so hard. He didn't say he knew he was right, just that it was a premise they were working under.
Wally Uihlein was quoted as saying that there were tons of young players that would dominate professional golf. (I sent him an e-mail questioning this, he replied, and was kind enough to send me a dozen Pro V1 that arrived when my son was born. I have a picture of a sleeve of those in his crib when he was only days old.)
There were others which I could cite if I spent more time thinking about it.
Pavin drives it an impossibly short 259.9 average. I watched him bunt several on the Bay Hill range and knew he'd be at least 20 yards behind any good Division I college player on every hole, with twice that or more short of anyone considered a little bit long. The man turns 50 in a couple months...most Tour pros don't make cuts past 45. Where was Chip Beck? Where is Brad Faxon? The list goes on and on, and I'm talking about Ryder Cuppers. He has made about 70 cuts in the past five seasons. Correct me if I'm wrong, but last place is usually around $10,000 and the Tour puts at least $7,000 into a players retirement plan for each made cut. He's doing quite well. Admit it: you (like everyone else) wrote him off around 2002 and figured you *might* see him again on the Senior Tour. He's plodding along awfully nicely. 290 on the longest Major setup ever? That wasn't supposed to happen.