Question:
In baseball, if the equipment technology improved so everyone hit it out of the park, would they make the ball parks bigger?
I believe they did so in the early days. And Coors Field is bigger because of the altitude. Baseball is way ahead of golf. They have already put limits on the equipment (no aluminum bats, no corking, one ball for all)
That’s Major League Baseball. Everybody else uses aluminum bats, and doesn’t produce the same quality of players as they once did. That’s one reason I’m glad there aren’t many governing bodies for golf.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The USGA is worried about the older courses becoming obsolete with the technology of the ball and clubs. The solution is simple, they need to grow the fairways so the ball doesn’t roll out as much. Um, no, wouldn’t work. The carry distances are huge nowadays? I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards. Why not? Don’t you see how arbitrary this all is? What if 200 yards was a really long shot? Do you realize that I can hit a homerun with a pitching wedge in any major league baseball stadium? The distance of the golf ball should be maxed out at about 200 yards or less. You are kidding right?
Why would he be kidding? Then courses would be shorter and cheaper to maintain, the real estate to build them would cost less, golf would cost less, a round of golf would take less time, there would be less pesticide use, etc.
Precisely.
Response:
In baseball, if the equipment technology improved so everyone hit it out of the park, would they make the ball parks bigger? Baseball is way ahead of golf. They have already put limits on the equipment (no aluminum bats, no corking, one ball for all) In golf we should standardize the ball, limit the driver technology, and if you want to hit it far, jeopardize your life with steroids.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards. Why not? Don’t you see how arbitrary this all is? What if 200 yards was a really long shot? Do you realize that I can hit a homerun with a pitching wedge in any major league baseball stadium? The distance of the golf ball should be maxed out at about 200 yards or less. You are kidding right? Why would you think I’m kidding? You still don’t see how arbitrary these distances are? When a golf hole is designed a certain way, the distances are not arbitrary. Par 3 hole that is 220, and the ball only goes 200. Or a par 4 hole that is 485 and 2 shots would put you at 85 yards out. Golf courses were designed for approach shots to be played from a certain general area. tim
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards. Why not? Don’t you see how arbitrary this all is? What if 200 yards was a really long shot? Do you realize that I can hit a homerun with a pitching wedge in any major league baseball stadium? The distance of the golf ball should be maxed out at about 200 yards or less. You are kidding right? Why would you think I’m kidding? You still don’t see how arbitrary these distances are?
When a golf hole is designed a certain way, the distances are not arbitrary. Par 3 hole that is 220, and the ball only goes 200. Or a par 4 hole that is 485 and 2 shots would put you at 85 yards out. Golf courses were designed for approach shots to be played from a certain general area. tim
Response:
Watch Tiger’s drive, sometime. The ball barely rolls at all when he really corks one. It makes plenty of sense. The air has far less friction than the ground does, so every bounce costs you distance. Better to put all that energy into a trajectory that ends up with the ball dropping out of the sky dead from exhaustion.
It’s true that bounces cost distance, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that you’re better off with a higher trajectory. My PW drops out of the sky dead with exhaustion, but it doesn’t go as far as my driver, which rolls 15 yards. Put a ditch at 310 yards on every course.
Yeah, that’s about all that will help.
Response:
I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards. Why not? Don’t you see how arbitrary this all is? What if 200 yards was a really long shot? Do you realize that I can hit a homerun with a pitching wedge in any major league baseball stadium? The distance of the golf ball should be maxed out at about 200 yards or less. You are kidding right?
Why would you think I’m kidding? You still don’t see how arbitrary these distances are?
Response:
Amen. Don’t know why the guys at Augusta and other courses went to all the expense to lengthen their courses (and make them harder for their members) when all they had to do was narrow the fairways at 300 yds from the tee, let the rough grow to 8 inches there and/or put in some pot bunkers…
They did that too. Made for some fabulous shots from new bunkers this year. –Blair "Next year: A windmill!"
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The USGA is worried about the older courses becoming obsolete with the technology of the ball and clubs. The solution is simple, they need to grow the fairways so the ball doesn’t roll out as much. The fans will still see the big boys blast it off of the tee, but the approach shots will be longer into the green. I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards. I’ve seen balls run 25-50 yards in some cases. However, I think that the balls and clubs shouldn’t go any further than they do now. Grow the fairways, narrow the fairways in spots. Not every week, but in certain situations. tim
Good points. I think some of holes on the Tour that by design lend themselves to ridiculously long drives (I’m thinking of a hole now that Hank Khuene, Mickelson, maybe others drove balls to around 380 yards, across a gallery path, the hole goes downhill to a green fronted by water, can’t think of the venue right now) simply can’t be fixed *fairly* without penalizing most players. Let’s not do the Ballesteros thing and grow rough across a hole at 290 yards so certain players must lay back. I disagree with that. Conditions should be such that players can choose to hit a 2-iron, 3-wood, or driver if they feel good about it. I think you’re right, in that the fairways should not be mown so close, and they should be narrower (but fair, without impossible situations like balls running from the far left all the way to the right into rough), and there should be more bunkers at 300 to 320 yards as well as 260 to 280 yards. I don’t think the rough should be any ‘rougher’ at 320 yards than it is at 260 or 270. Equally, the fairway should be no narrower at 320 than it is at 270. A player who busts it 320 and splits a 15 yard-wide fairway *should* have an advantage over a player who safeties it up there about 265 in the middle, because he succeeded in hitting a better shot. So, the long ball really isn’t the problem. It’s the PGA Tour allowing the setup conditions that often favor longer hitters. Ron
Response:
The USGA is worried about the older courses becoming obsolete with the technology of the ball and clubs. The solution is simple, they need to grow the fairways so the ball doesn’t roll out as much.
Watch Tiger’s drive, sometime. The ball barely rolls at all when he really corks one. It makes plenty of sense. The air has far less friction than the ground does, so every bounce costs you distance. Better to put all that energy into a trajectory that ends up with the ball dropping out of the sky dead from exhaustion. The fans will still see the big boys blast it off of the tee, but the approach shots will be longer into the green. I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards.
Growing the grass won’t help. Growing the *trees* might. Moving the bunkers will. Put a ditch at 310 yards on every course. I’ve seen balls run 25-50 yards in some cases.
Mis-hit balls. However, I think that the balls and clubs shouldn’t go any further than they do now.
The clubs especially. If they get out to the center of the lake, they’re harder to retrieve. Grow the fairways, narrow the fairways in spots. Not every week, but in certain situations.
Every week. What you could do is grow a rough across what would otherwise be close-mown fairway, in the right spot to act as a bunker. But guys like Furyk and Els and Tiger laugh at "rough". So plant some trees for the week. –Blair "Outfielders. Golf needs outfielders."
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The USGA is worried about the older courses becoming obsolete with the technology of the ball and clubs. The solution is simple, they need to grow the fairways so the ball doesn’t roll out as much. The fans will still see the big boys blast it off of the tee, but the approach shots will be longer into the green. I don’t fans want to see Tiger/Phil & co. hit a limited flight type of ball 265 yards. I’ve seen balls run 25-50 yards in some cases. However, I think that the balls and clubs shouldn’t go any further than they do now. Grow the fairways, narrow the fairways in spots. Not every week, but in certain situations. tim
Courses don’t need to be lengthened; there are too many other alternatives. Try long grass (or environmental areas) from 260 to 330 yards out, ditches, lakes, a row of bushes.. Don’t bugger them all up though.. It’s still fun to see pro’s and long hitters occasionally drive a short par four, or cut a corner to a par five in two. — Joe =o) ___ o ` & /