[Melvyn Morrow]

The Game has changed, technology has allowed for a much easier game requiring much less skill. Perhaps one day many will start to realise that I am not talking rubbish but actual common sense. Don’t agree then why the need for this newspaper headline in November 1921.



Perhaps in the weeks to come I might post a few more articles relating to the poor way the game of golf has been watered down by those who simply seek the easier life, as not willing to obtain skill in the time honoured manner of practice makes perfect.

Melvyn

[Melvyn Morrow]

Ran

You have a great site offering the opportunity to look and understand golf from the roots up. It’s not that you do not have the members interested in golf, its history of GCA, but mate I feel you are totally wasting your time. I feel that old saying ‘You can take a horse (ops, sorry in this case) mule to water but you can’t make it drink springs to mind when referring to the current Membership.

This article is important in the history of the game, and its affect upon courses design, yet not one individual has commented even when it’s was pushed by the USGA. Or have I hit the nail on the head proving yet again that the game in the mid-20th Century went soft, looked for the easy options. Don’t believe me then wait till I post the article apparently based upon science on the input of walking while playing golf.

Come on Guys; get involved, you must have some opinions. If not then may I suggest you re-examine why you want to be involved with a site dedicated to golf and GCA.

For all of my many faults, I have continued to maintain the Game of Golf at its high quality standards, be it via the Designers, Green Keepers and the humble golfer. To play on weak watered down designs just to allow the player the opportunity to return a low score is not what Golf is all about. Why do we continue to con ourselves for the sake of a low score, are we all that shallow?

There is no tone in this post, only sadness that others do not seem to want to understand the history of GCA and its effect on the modern game. Yet I know many who do care but perhaps they feel intimidated, the thought of even looking to agree with one of my post scares them into silence thanks to the ignorance of just a few bully boys who still prefer to attack and insult fellow Members rather than consider the contents of the thread.

Men or Mice, only you can answer that

Melvyn

[Mike Sweeney]

Melvyn,

I would be curious if you have any information on how and why golf (to my knowledge) has been the only competitive sport where players bring their own balls to the field of play.

Football, rugby, squash, American football, basketball, volleyball......in each and every sport the ball is supplied by the tournament/competition committee. Do you have any knowledge of how or why Old Tom and his fellow competitors never instituted a competition ball?

Why did the R&A and their predecessors set up standards for a ball rather than simply establish a competition ball?

These questions are not asked to poke any fun at Old Tom, it is simply strange to me that golf has always been (to my knowledge) the only game where you bring your own ball to the field of competitive play.

Squash courts went through a huge revamp to wider courts here in the US over the last 20 years. There are now basically 4-6 balls used with Dunlop the largest manufacturer making these four:

_______________________________
From Dunlop sponsor:

Since beginners and intermediate players can not hit hard and have long rallies, Dunlop offer four different type of squash balls. The difference among them is that they will bounce the same without having to hit them hard.

These are the four balls offered by Dunlop:

Pro - double yellow dot (this is the competition standard, and most players use this ball in recreational play)
Competition -single yellow dot (for club players and/or cool courts)
Progress (for intermediate players)
Beginner - blue color and slightly oversized

So start with the beginner ball since it has an instant bounce and will be bouncy even if you do not hit it hard. As you start to hit the ball harder with consistency and accuracy then work on up to the next level ball. This way you can achieve the same bounce even though you are hitting the ball harder.
_______________________________

Many sports use different racquets, bats, sticks so I think it is a tough argument to regulate equipment. The ball is simple for two reasons:

1. It is one thing to regulate.

2. It creates a level playing field when all competitors have to use the same ball on the same playing field.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Melvyn,

What exactly would you wish from each member of this forum? Do you want 1500 (or is it 1200) members to bombard every topic with a lamentation on how technology, golf carts, cart paths, ponds, desert golf courses, tillage land courses, etc. have destroyed the game? Where will that get us?

In keeping with the horse related idioms, where has your flogging of the dead horse got you?

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

 

[Kirk Gill]

Melvyn, with all due respect, the posting of that article tells me one thing - that for a long time there have been people who were concerned about the role of technology in the game, and how to control that. You can read articles now that say that technology needs to be dialed back to where it was in the 90's, or pick your own date.

It's kind of like looking at the history of a golf course that's been altered over time. Is it the very first iteration that was the best? Or was it after so-and-so came in and made changes? Or are the results of the recent "restoration" the best that the course has ever seen?

Melvyn, to you the changes allowed back in 1921 might have begun the deathknell for golf as it should be played. It very well may be that something was lost when shafts stopped being made from hickory and "ribbed clubs" were allowed to be used. That ship has sailed, and you can feel free to mourn its passing. But even though golf may have begun "softening up" back in the early-mid 20th century, for literally millions of people the amount of challenge left in golf still proves to be worth facing.

The membership of this forum is a passionate, interested group of golfers and to assert these folks are "mice" because they don't rise up in indignation against the watering down of the game in response to your post does them a disservice. The points you bring up are, frankly, not new ones. They have been discussed at length on this forum in the past. There may be a large contingent of folks who disagree with some or all of your beliefs, but that doesn't make them soft or shallow. There may be a contingent of people who agree with some or all of your beliefs, but just because they don't post their agreement on your thread doesn't mean that they are intimidated or feel bullied. I've agreed with some contentions you've made in the past and was never insulted or attacked for doing so.

You seem to believe that others don't want to understand the history of GCA and its effect on the modern game simply because their beliefs do not jibe with your own, or because they don't happen to post on your thread. I respectfully disagree.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Mike

I agree that its madness to have individual balls, certainly in our modern times. As for Old Tom and his counterparts in the ball making cottage industry, they were far and few back then. Yet no control once we achieved a consistent ball – why – I just do not know or understand, hence by concern re our governing body – they still do not seem to have learnt much from a 100 plus years being in the business.

I would like to see one manufacturer clubs and ball being used in all major Tournaments, as per F1 usage of a single tyre manufacture, if nothing else it produces a level playing field at the start.

We so desperately need reduction in costs be it build, certainly maintenance but also equipment cost, getting started in golf today is not cheap, but we need our governing bodies to protect the game and our interests, no go out to make money and scared off offending the manufacturers in case they get sued. If they fail to protect then should they still be in charge, certainly their record over the last 100years has been bloody poor.  

Donal

Flogging a dead dog perhaps, as for mice or men, that was not for me to decide, yet taking a horse to water seems very fitting for a blog site. Golf has lost its way, if you are happy then fine but don’t try to compare courses built when golf was a great game with those of today. Design involves real understanding while today technology can destroy great courses because of the long aerial game, what madness, why waste millions designing courses just to fly over them. Skill is aided by technology to the point who is actually responsible for the score, the player or manufacturer.

As for the membership, each has a choice, all I am saying is if you are truly interested in the game would you not want to play it as it was when the world first embraced the game. To have more access to courses like Askernish, Machrie, Machrihanish, and many, many more besides.

Nevertheless to understand what we are doing we need to understand what the game really offered past generations that made them so willing to invest in playing the game.

Many who read GCA.com never looked to GCA let alone understand the significance of it related to the game. Even good golfers have not bothered with GCA, but thanks to Ran and this site they are joining and getting a better understanding. For those who know some of the history should we not open it up, explain what it is about. We talk of the Golden Age courses, many play the American ones but not with the equipment they were originally designed for but use super modern high tech clubs/balls (compared to those pre 1920), so the course is not so great, well not as great as when played with the right equipment, but then lower scores are much on the minds on the modern player than playing for the pure pleasure of it.

Kirk

I hope my answer to Donal has also answered your points.

Melvyn

[David_Tepper]

Mike S. -

The difference between golf and all the other "ball" sports you referenced, is that, in all those other sports, the competitors, whether they compete individually or as a team, share the use of the ball during the course of play. In golf, each competitor plays with his ball only.

In that sense, golf is more similar to archery or rifle/pistol shooting. It would be interesting to know if, in competitions in those sports, the participants bring their own "ammo" or whether all the competitors are issued the same "ammo."

DT

   

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bowling

Each competitor brings their own ball, but, it's a fixed/static playing area

[John Kavanaugh]

Don't people who play marbles bring their own.  I have often thought that golf and marbles are the only sports where at the end of competition you may go home with more balls than you started.

[David_Tepper]

Pat M. -

Yes, bowling is another sport where each competitor uses their ball/ammo only.
It is interesting that bowling, golf, archery, shooting, etc. are all essentially "target" sports.

DT 

[Mike Sweeney]

Forgot bowling.

Here is a very interesting article on John Solheim who is calling for 3 balls and a BDR rating:

http://geareffectgolf.com/golf/ping-chairman-john-solheim-proposes-ball-distance-rating/

"Sol­heim is propos­ing that golf’s rule mak­ing bod­ies con­sider a “Ball Dis­tance Rat­ing” sys­tem (BDR) that would replace today’s sin­gle golf ball limit with three dif­fer­ent ball dis­tance lim­its – one that is the same as today’s stan­dard, one that is shorter and one that is longer. Solheim’s “A Long Term Response to Dis­tance”  explains how includ­ing a BDR sys­tem with a new “Con­di­tion of Com­pe­ti­tion” would give pro­fes­sional events and golf courses an effi­cient way to address future con­cerns about distance."

[Steve Lang]

   Mel,

Balderdash and Cat's Eyes at you..

 

Where would highway safety or golf be without innovation?   

Where are the men of letters these days?  Apparently either hopelessly waiting for walk mail to deliver postal goods or now huddled in front of their computer screens awaiting a response to their lastest posting in an online discussion group. 

Is doing something of personal value for physical and mental health and later extolling its virtue more honourable than play for the fun of it, with whatever sticks and stones are available?   I'd profess that there's no additional need for centralized edicts of standards to stifle the current liberty of golf anywhere as mixed ball competitions are already present.

Leave the classic courses alone, move on, live life in the present tense with whatever passion you can embrace.  Hickory steel graphite composite forged cast blade perimeter muscle cavity leather rubber synthetic polymers are all optional.

Enjoy 2012

[Melvyn Morrow]

The game we have today is not the product of evolution. It is the result of consistent lack of commitment in facing the real challenges of the game of golf. More damage has been caused to the game (and our golf courses) in the last 50 years, just to satisfy what can only be described as the modern player’s refusal to take the game seriously, relying upon technology to take the stress out of developing what was once called golfing skills.

Melvyn

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Melvyn,

I would say that there are a great many on this DG that agree with much of what you write and believe in. Some have an issue at times with how and when you express your opinions.

If one reads the comments of contributors to this forum , it is clear that 99.9% of the contributors would prefer to play Askernish, Machrie or Machrihanish, than the Belfry or Celtic Manor. Take a look at Tony Muldoon's photo tour of Elie; all the responses were positive (perhaps there should have been more critical comments). Many have played Machrie and Machrihanish, but owing to the difficulties in getting to Askernish, fewer have had the pleasure of playing this course. Those that have not made the trek to Askernish should not be criticised. There are many other courses in Scotland that are just as worthy of a visit.

Many are unhappy with the advances of technology. Some (including me) have even invested in hickory clubs, in an attempt to play golf as it once was played. The experience with hickory clubs will never provide that feeling of 100% authenticity, since the courses we play are maintained using 21st century technology and the balls we use are developed using advances in science that are just mind boggling. 

I have never read any comments on the DG praising golf carts or cart paths. The vast majority on the DG prefer to walk. I never knew golf carts were such an issue until I joined this DG. I'm still not convinced that it's such a big issue; certainly not in Europe. Some people prefer to use a golf cart; they are losing out on the benefits of walking. Some people prefer to drive drive 2 miles to work rather than walk; thay are also losing out. It's human nature. All we can do is try to educate people about the benefits of walking, but not in a talk down manner.

In my opinion, you're preaching to the converted.

[Bill_McBride]

Melvyn,

I would say that there are a great many on this DG that agree with much of what you write and believe in. Some have an issue at times with how and when you express your opinions.

If one reads the comments of contributors to this forum , it is clear that 99.9% of the contributors would prefer to play Askernish, Machrie or Machrihanish, than the Belfry or Celtic Manor. Take a look at Tony Muldoon's photo tour of Elie; all the responses were positive (perhaps there should have been more critical comments). Many have played Machrie and Machrihanish, but owing to the difficulties in getting to Askernish, fewer have had the pleasure of playing this course. Those that have not made the trek to Askernish should not be criticised. There are many other courses in Scotland that are just as worthy of a visit.

Many are unhappy with the advances of technology. Some (including me) have even invested in hickory clubs, in an attempt to play golf as it once was played. The experience with hickory clubs will never provide that feeling of 100% authenticity, since the courses we play are maintained using 21st century technology and the balls we use are developed using advances in science that are just mind boggling. 

I have never read any comments on the DG praising golf carts or cart paths. The vast majority on the DG prefer to walk. I never knew golf carts were such an issue until I joined this DG. I'm still not convinced that it's such a big issue; certainly not in Europe. Some people prefer to use a golf cart; they are losing out on the benefits of walking. Some people prefer to drive drive 2 miles to work rather than walk; thay are also losing out. It's human nature. All we can do is try to educate people about the benefits of walking, but not in a talk down manner.

In my opinion, you're preaching to the converted.

Melvyn has been preaching to the choir for approximately five years.   I hope he never stumbles onto BombSquadGolf.com, the shrieks would be audible across the Atlantic!

[John Kavanaugh]

I have never read any comments on the DG praising golf carts or cart paths.

I love golf carts and cart paths.  Today I am going to leave work at 11 am and drive an hour and thirty minutes to the course.  Grab a bite and tee off at 1 pm.  We will play 18 holes of match play where I would guess three or four holes will be forfeited before we both reach the green.  I could not play today if we walked and carried.  I could not play today without continuous cart paths. 

Carts are much better for match play late in the day 18 hole rounds.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Bill

The Black Sheep of GCA.com perhaps, but still a true golfer, not a lazy sod, like some I could mention.



Melvyn

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

I have never read any comments on the DG praising golf carts or cart paths.

I love golf carts and cart paths.  Today I am going to leave work at 11 am and drive an hour and thirty minutes to the course.  Grab a bite and tee off at 1 pm.  We will play 18 holes of match play where I would guess three or four holes will be forfeited before we both reach the green.  I could not play today if we walked and carried.  I could not play today without continuous cart paths. 

Carts are much better for match play late in the day 18 hole rounds.

John,

Your excused! Finishing an 8 hour working day at 11 AM would take its toll on even the fittest of athletes.    Besides, you'll need the cart in case you doze off somewhere around the 14th.

[John Kavanaugh]

A sheep makes a sweater no more than an opinion makes a golfer.  

[Melvyn Morrow]

John

You should bottle yourself, but then thats only an opinion. Don't drink and drive, thats a suggestion

Melvyn

[Bill_McBride]

Bill

The Black Sheep of GCA.com perhaps, but still a true golfer, not a lazy sod, like some I could mention.



Melvyn

Ha ha, well played sir!

By the way, I walked 8-1/2 rounds in seven days last time your way, I trust you aren't lobbing your aspersions my way!

[Mark Chaplin]

Life gets easier, unless your good lady has a scrubbing board and mangle, you travel by horse and cart and you borrow a computer to post then you've made many aspects of your life easier. Sport is an extension of life and therefore technology has supported it.

Golf got easier when the player could jump into a motorised vehicle and drive to the club.

Learn to accept it even if you do not embrace it.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Wow Mark, how profound, in a very pacifistic post, tell me how long have you been a golfing conscientious objector?

Well you live your life as your conscience dictates, as for myself I will live it my way. As for Golf, for some mad reasons I feel obliged to honour the game of golf as it was taught to me. That being playing it unaided so any skill is genuine resulting from the time honoured way of walking while absorbing the GCA as I navigate around the course. The fatigue factor of walking combined with the body’s increased oxygen levels due to the excursion factor feeds the brain allowing the golfer the ability to think more clearly thus offering up the shot from a warm and relaxed body. As any good athlete knows preparation is the key to an enjoyable experience.

The very idea of participating in a game is surely to rise to the challenge that sport offers. Golf as we know has always been about walking and thinking, it’s the heart of the game, so to change a sport by bring in toys to make life easy is not sporting nor is it desirable as it changes all the previous work undertaken by others for the glory of the game – i.e. the quality of the great courses, the ability to aim, match or beat past records in ones quest for perfection or should I say satisfaction. Rule changes should be for the good of the game certainly not to aid the lazy or uncommitted.

I wonder if you feel the sacrifices of others both in the present day and past are justified, after all had they taken the easy route then one wonders if we would be free to play golf as and when we wish.

Of course I understand you opinion, but for me that’s defeatist talk which IMHO has no place on a site dedicated to GCA and understanding the history of GCA. It comes across as a total betrayal of all current and past generations because some just want it easy.

Mate, life is not easy and the good things in life are worth fighting for IMHO. I am saddened that you do not seem to agree, but then we are talking about sport, right.

Melvyn

[John Kavanaugh]

Melvyn,

How many rounds of golf did you play in 2011?  I know that I played well over 100 and walked at most 10.  Would you want my other 90+ rounds taken from the game?

For many of us carts do not make the game easier, they make it possible.

[Melvyn Morrow]

John

If you were honestly interested in this site you would know the answer to your question.

If you need a cart for medical reasons to get around a course then that sound fair, but use a cart to play golf if able bodied then that is a betrayal of the whole idea of the game. If you can’t see why then one has the right to question your commitment to a game called GOLF.

Ride, don’t ride that’s down to each of you but call it what it is, cart ball or golf if walking, just don’t say you are playing golf if you use a cart, because IMHO you are not and have by doing so betrayed the very principles of the game thats been around for over 600 years based upon walking.

Melvyn

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