Cumulative Scoring from This Year's Major Championships

[Thomas Dai]

I've come to the conclusion that the clubs have been designed for courses with zero or near zero run. That seems to me to be a case of club design changing to suit course conditions (presumably in the US ?).
Niall

I go along with you Niall. Not just drivers, fairway metals and hybrids either, irons and wedges seem to now be aimed at the 'hit it high and land it soft' method of play what with them having more bounce and flange width,  and not just the big headed game improvement or semi-gi irons/wedges either. Even new blades or semi-blades including wedges on stores shelves seem to have wider flanges and more bounce than clubs made in prior years. Okay they may be fine and dandy for lush, grassy conditions but perhaps not so appropriate for a non-irrigated fairway course when it gets a bit dry and firm. Time to have two sets maybe, a soft conditions set and a dry conditions set?


Atb

[Niall C]

Niall -

Have you gone back to the person who did the club fitting for your driver and asked about the loss of distance due to less roll?

DT

Not yet, but I will be having a chat with him some time soon.


Niall

[Jay Mickle]

Here is a good dissertation on the factors affecting distance both in the air and on the ground: http://www.tutelman.com/golf/ballflight/ballposition.php
Of course as one of my favorite sayings goes. " In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they are not."
 

[Doug Siebert]

The face of a modern driver is so much larger than the old ones. This gives the golfer more confidence that he/she will hit the ball cleanly.

From 1979 when metal headed drivers were introduced to 2001 when the large headed Ti drivers were introduced was barely 20 years, but in that time the driver went from the most difficult club in the bag to hit to the easiest. There is so much more margin for error with a driver than a 3 wood, let alone a long iron, that most handicap golfers are better off hitting the driver any chance they get.

[George Pazin]

I use a driver that is state of the art...circa 1997-8. Taylor Made Tour Ti 300, 8.5 loft, stiff shaft. Still goes plenty far.

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Imho, admittedly as one of the biggest Tiger guys on here, Jordan's season, while fantastic by the standards of mortals, isn't even close to Tiger 2K. It may as close as we'll ever see, for a long while anyway, but still not close. Spieth barely eclipsed Tiger, while all of his rivals roundly trounced Tiger's.

My observation is that Spieth represents Tiger's steady, iron willed, grind them to death with robotics and short game side, while Rory represents Tiger's flashy, 6 iron stiff out of the bunker, pummel the opposition while running away with a tourney side. It will be interesting to see over the new few years which side reigns supreme.

My heart is with Rory, but my brain says Jordan.

Neither side says Day or Dustin Johnson, but who knows? Fun time to watch golf.

[Doug Siebert]

Comparing "how many under par" between seasons is pointless when you aren't playing the same courses, in the same conditions, or using the same equipment.  I guess this year two of the courses were the same, but just the difference between playing ANGC after a lot of rain the week before with no wind versus the cold and windy conditions of 2007 is worth 10-15 strokes.  Let alone the difference between Pebble Beach and Chambers Bay.

The most important thing is that Tiger won more majors in 2000 than Spieth did in 2015.  That's the only stat that really counts.