Is the notion of "testing the driver" obsolete?

[George Pazin]

Reading the most recent Merion thread, several had commented that, do to the length of its holes, it no longer truly tests the driver.

My question is, does any course, at least in the sense of 20 or 30 years ago?

Many of here now say they hit their driver as straight as any club in the bag. I know when I started playing, like most, I played with hand me down clubs from a friend. That old wooden driver was TOUGH to hit straight.

There used to be a real cost/benefit tradeoff to clubbing down. Now it seems like the only time people club down is if a driver would leave them in an awkward spot on the course.

I know I will be accused of being a Luddite, but I can't help but feel we've lost something from the game.

[A_Clay_Man]

George, there have to be others, but Desert Forest is such a course. As a matter of fact, when lefty wants to practice hitting fairways, he goes to DF.

[David_Elvins]

George,

I think most course these days test the driver.  They test who can hit it the furthest.  Which is a great skill.

[Jordan Wall]

I here theres this guy named Bubba that can hit it fairly far.

 

[Kyle Harris]

A good solid, long par 3 would solve that problem.

[PThomas]

for the most part on Tour, yes

but for the 99% of golfers, I would say no

[Jim_Kennedy]

George,
Accuracy is still tested. The best player on Tour hit the fairway 74% of the time, quite a few hit it in the mid 60% range and the worst hit it in the mid 40% range. The average is 9 fairways per round at the Tour level.    

.

 

 

[Patrick_Mucci]

George Pazin,

For the PGA Tour, YES, it's almost completely obsolete.

High-Tech has made the "test" so much easier.

Huge club faces, low torque shafts and balls that fly straighter have undermined that examination, especially over the last 10 years.

The premium on driving accuracy is mostly eliminated, especially with the advent of flogging.

I've favored returning clubhead size to circa 1960, and limiting shaft length to 44 inches.

Fairways have become so narrow, that it's diminished and almost eliminated alternate angles of attack into greens.

The examination of one's driving skills used to include "working" the ball.  An art that has gone the way of the dinasaurs.  Today, there's only one way to go.
Launch that ball like a howitzer and get it as close to the green as possible.

[TEPaul]

This post is over on the Merion thread but it may have some interest regarding the subject of "testing the driver" considering that Merion still seems to be viewed as short for the long hitting crowd.

"Mark:

From my recollection, here is what perhaps the longest player the USGA has ever seen hit on all the tees at Merion East during his US Am qualifying round.

1. 3 iron
2. Driver
3. 5 iron
4. 3 wood
5. Driver
6. Driver
7. Long Iron
8. Long Iron
9. 8 iron (from 209 yds!)
10. 3 wood
11. long iron
12. Driver
13 SW
14. Driver
15. Driver
16. 3 wood
17-4-5 iron (247 yds!)
18. Driver

Sometimes he looks in on this site so if I'm off somewhere he might say but that looks like seven drivers to me. The interesting thing about many of Merion's holes is even if a player of this length does not hit driver on some of the holes, on a remarkable number of them the temptation is still eeriely there for one reason or another. You'll notice he hit driver on #15 and for his length that is very risky and matter of fact it began a very unfortunate chain of events. But that's just Merion East, particularly the famous last stretch."

[George Pazin]

It looks like Pat understood my point, but maybe others didn't.

Also from the Merion thread,

chipoat,

What assortment of clubs did they hit off the tee. Was it a good test of driving skill -- or mainly fairway woods and long irons?

This is what I mean. What difference does it make if one is testing the fairway woods and long irons versus the driver, considering how much easier it is to hit the driver these days?

In the past, there was a real question as to whether or not it was worth the risk, as long irons and fairway woods were much more accurate (admittedly, my perception, don't know if it bears out statistically).

Now it seems you only put the driver away if the distance corresponds to a choke point, hazard, etc. The "tradeoff" no longer exists.

I think Pat's right - the relative straightness of today's driver, whether it's due to the club, the shaft or the ball, is as big or a bigger problem than the length. It allows one to go all out with much less trepidation.