Which is more of a modern day dilema,

[Patrick_Mucci]

ease of control or distance.

Yes, the ball goes farther.

Is that the by-product of:  We can swing away as hard as we want because it's much more difficult to produce errant/eratic ball flight.

If spin rates were dramatically increased, how would that influence distance ?

If the size of a driver was greatly reduced, would that impact distance ?

Same for COR ?

[Ronald Montesano]

I'm guessing this is a by-product of bomb and gouge...I'm not a gouger, so I have no interest in being deep in gunga, 25 yards closer to the green. If it's light rough, no big deal. I want to be in the fairway, so I'll take the ease of control over the increased distance.

In that case, is it the ball or the club that gives us ease of control? Is it most noticeable with the driver? The driver is a funny beast~on the one hand, it has the flattest face and the least amount of error. On the other, it has the original cheater line, the tee (be it sand or peg), an enabler that enhances by a good portion that small margin of error. Has any club been softened more than the driver in the era of technology? Has any club needed to be?

Do we equate accuracy with distance, mistakenly? Does a long drive in the fairway "feel" longer than a longer drive in the rough? When courses are fast and firm, doesn't the fairway offer more bounce and roll than the rough?

[Jason Topp]

My guess is that spin rates would not do it.  Players would hit drivers with less loft and take the spin off.

Outlawing graphite shafts or requiring a shaft weight equal to a steel shaft would have a significant effect on distance.  I have seen studies on that point but cannot point to one.

I think smaller club head size would work and moving the COR back to the COR of a good persimmon driver would also have an effect - not sure how much.

These moves would all commodotize golf clubs which would be good for the game but cause fierce opposition from manufacturers.