DougS:
Your reply #80 is a very thought provoking post---but let's just say on first reading of it I not only don't agree at all, it sounds to me like a fairly off-kilter and dangerous direction and philosophy. I think your sentiment in that post, though, could very well be worth it's own thread.
In my opinion, that Hurley/Duffy match in Nebraska last summer was just about the most perfect example of the old tortoise and hare analogy that used to be applied to both golf and also perhaps architecture in the old days.
That's one reason I was so fascinated by the match and not the least reason being it's outcome. The other reason is the way Duffy played is the way I played my entire career as well, or tried to. The successes I had with that kind of game I'm very proud of and I certainly don't regret anything or blame golf ball and equipment technology if I got outdriven by the likes of a Sigel by up to 75 yards sometimes.
Obviously he and Hurley are on a slightly different level than I was since Pat Duffy apparently went to USC and although I've not heard of him he may've been a fairly well recognized college golfer, perhaps even an All American type. He's also very much a mid-amateur now---a businessman golfer.
But his match against Hurley was one that was the ultimate in intelligence and course management in and of his own game and what he obviously understood were his strengths and skills and his intuitive understanding of what Hurley's (who was only 18 years old) Achille's Heel may have been. As it turns out his intuition was very accurate and also effective in golf.
It is certainly my understanding and experience in that tortoise and hare analogy in particularly match play golf that it is very much the part of the tortoise (shorter player) to play safe and somewhat conservative golf not just to avoid mistakes on his own part but also to take advantage of the errors of exuberance of the high risk taking hare (longer player).
To me as long as there is a fairly linear distance increase proportional to swing speed increase I can certainly live with being out-driven and out-hit and I feel anyone should understand that difference and both live with it and accept it in golf and particularly competitive golf. I feel to think otherwise is nothing more than some artificial and perhaps even selfish desire to allow technology to somehow close the effect of this obvious difference resulting from even physical strength which in my opinion is a potential athletic talent in golf. Not many possess Hurley's physical talent in strength and power that way and I don't think they should rely on technology to try to reduce its potential effect and result in competitive golf.
John Hurley is still a teenager and even though his game is remarkable to watch in its length he is a smart young guy and he does realize that kind of strategic and course management approach only won't lead to the kind of consistent success he's looking for. He loves the idea of overwhelming a golf course and sometimes he can do that and obviously sometimes he can't. He clearly overwhelmed Wild Horse in the Nebraska Match Play championship when he set the course record of 64 in one round.
I asked his parents as I followed that match with Duffy if John was going to try to make the US Amateur at Merion. They said he was and he did make it by winning his sectional qualifying site to take the one spot offered. I tired to line up a good caddy for him to give him course management advice at Merion but as I feared it would that course just caught him up in its web and for him he shot a million at Merion although he did fine at Philly C.C.
To me all this is reasonable and the way golf and architecture should be for a golfer like that. He does realize if he works on those things that are not his strengths and skills right now---shorter shots and a more sophiisticated approach to risk etc he will be a much more complete golfer and I think if he does that he can be successful on the PGA Tour which is where he wants to go.
I also aske Pat Duffy who is app twice John Hurley's age if he was going to try for the US Amateur at Merion and he said he wasn't because he needed to get back to work.
I believe he may be a lawyer.
It was one of the greatest matches I've ever seen for a whole host of reasons and I would just hate to see technology in any way attempt to close the gap between what Duffy and his skill sets brought to that match compared to Hurley's.
Duffy won that match with intelligence and execution knowing full well the realities of Hurley's game and today's technology.
And in my opinion, that's the way it should be.