In the news this week it looks like some of golfs governing bodies are looking into the posssibilty of introducing ways to reduce the distance the top Professionals (that's definitely not me btw!) hit the golf ball. This may include some 'local rules' for the maximum driver length for certain tournaments. You can click here to read the report. To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about this, there are many tournaments and golf courses that, because of the way they're designed these 'elite golfers' can't over power them, Hilton Head springs to mind. It feels like the equivalent to putting in speed humps around Silverstone because the drivers are going too fast. I'd actually question how much of 'problem' this actually is. There is so much data around these days, and as you know I do like a stat...and so how about this one. What do you think the approach distance for second shots on Par 5s was on the PGA Tour last season?...Read on for the answer.
I also worry how these changes will effect the game for us all, after all we're talking about the best players in the world here, I've never had anyone come for a lesson asking to reduce the distance they hit the golf ball. I'd love to be able to hit the ball further. Golfs governing bodies can restrict the equipment all they want but the longer players will still be longer than the field.
And as for those approach distances from the PGA Tour last year, well the highest was 16.0% of players hitting from OVER 300 yards away from the green. The next best was 11.7% of the field hitting their second shots from 260-269 yards from the green. If you believe all the hype from manufactures and the media, I thought all par 5s on the PGA Tour were just a drive and a flick...apparently not.
click below to let me know your thoughts. |