The Distance Debate

Time to add my two cents to the raging debate that is the length the modern tour professional hits the ball.

As is well known, the modern player hits the ball further than ever before, with half of PGA Tour professionals now averaging a 300yard+ drive.

It has become commonplace for the television viewer to witness a player smash a drive some 340 yards or so and then hit a wedge into a 480 yard par 4 which was clearly intended to be approached with some sort of medium to long iron.

There are obvious contributing factors in some cases. Holes which play downhill or downwind for example or fairways which are firm and kick the ball on another 40 yards. It does seem common actually that more of the longer holes on tour seem to play predominantly downhill to flat than uphill, for instance the 1st or 17th at Wentworth. It is certainly a rarity to see any of these monster par 4s play significantly uphill.

This aside, I believe it is hard to argue against the fact that the increase in distance now means courses are being played differently to how they were intended to be played. Fairway bunkering, doglegs and green complexes were all built in accordance with the distance top players were hitting their drives back then, one hundred years ago in some cases. This means what was once a demanding par 4 of 420 yards, intended to be reached with a good drive and a medium to long iron is now easily reached by the top players with a driver or even three wood and a wedge.

Par 5s as well, intended to be reached with a driver and three wood or not even reached at all, are now frequently hit in two with a drive and medium iron.

I say this is bad for the game as it means the challenge of golf has fundamentally changed from what it was meant to be. Golf courses were built to provide the golfer a full array of challenges, to be completed using all of their clubs. Holes were designed to give the player an assortment of approach shots, ranging from wedges to fairway woods. Now, on certain golf courses especially in America, it would seem approaching the green with anything other than an 8 iron or less on a par 4 has become uncommon.

I have always been interested in the game’s legendary ball strikers and about a year ago discovered the Canadian player George Knudson who is unanimously considered one of the best swingers and strikers there ever has been. He is the tied winningest Canadian on the PGA TOUR  alongside Mike Weir although the common view was that he should/ could have won far more had it not been for a truly awful putting stroke*

George Knudson in action.

Shortly after discovering Knudson I found some excellent footage of him competing in a ‘Shell’s Wondeful World of Golf’ match on Youtube from the 1960s. Aside from watching in awe as he rifled shot after shot down the flagstick, it became apparent what a completely different game they were playing back then, compared to today. First of all, although the average length of holes was generally shorter, there were still plenty of 400-450 yards par 4s and 200yard+ par 3s, and par 5s of 550 yards or more. As such it was not uncommon for a player to approach a long par 3 or 4 with a wood, or a 2 or 1 iron. An average length par 4 was approached with some sort of mid iron, and a short one with a wedge or 9 or 8 iron. But, crucially, there was a mixture of holes and the equipment back then allowed the player to use the full spectrum of clubs in their bags to approach the green, and this was really obvious watching Knudson in that match.

After acknowledging this it becomes obvious why there is a ‘problem’ with the modern game: the golf courses are broadly the same length as they were 100 years ago however the top players are now hitting the ball 50 yards further with their drives. Certainly, any efforts to lengthen courses appropriately fall short of the increase in driving distance. The test of golf is now fundamentally different to what it was when the game was first conceived.

Personally, I find this ‘bomb and gauge’ style of play highly un-entertaining as a viewer. When I was first getting into the game as a boy I remember going to Wentworth and experiencing the thrill of watching players hit piercing iron shots into greens, and beautifully controlled fairway woods and drivers into the fairway.

Contrastingly, I recently watched a highlights reel of Sam Burns shooting -8 on some indistinct PGA TOUR course and was left unimpressed when I saw he hit a wedge into every single par 4 and was reaching every single par 5 with an iron. Several of his wedges were from deep into the rough too as a result of his contorted thrash of a driver swing the intention of which was clearly to hit it as hard and as far as possible.

Sam Burns in action. Who wore the moustache better? I think I know!

As scathing as it may seem, I do not have an issue with Burns himself, for his example I think demonstrates a final point I would like to make.

Perhaps the most difficult part of this debate is in the idea of a solution. With the advent of golf statisticians, of which there are many now successful enough to make that their full time profession, I do not believe there is any equipment change that is going to stop players chasing distance and speed. For it has now been proven categorically that the further you hit it the more money you will make**. As a player then you would be foolish not to get on the distance bandwagon.

Should the powers that be deem a roll-back to be the answer I think it may actually create more of an obsession with distance, as averaging 300 yards with a reduced ball would be even more of an advantage than it is now, right?

I think more can be done with course set up. Bottlenecking fairways and graduating rough would be two suggestions, and making the greens firmer where hitting from the fairway then must become a priority. In my opinion, there needs to be a chance that you can actually lose a ball with a severally offline drive, so much longer rougher, bushes and foliage would all help this become a possibility. Adding fairway bunkers on Tour venues, the necessary length (285-320) from the tee would also help re-instate some of the challenge of the game.

I will be interested to see what if any changes are made in order to restore the game to its original state. Golf was supposed to be a varied test requiring the use of all of the clubs in one’s bag and at the moment distance with driver and short approach shots are dis-proportionally important.

*A disdain for putting has been shared among other legendary ball strikers in Ben Hogan and Mac O’Grady, the former being quoted as saying putting should only count for half a stroke, the latter opting to putt left handed such were his issues with his standard stroke.

**Golf statisticians have unequivocally proven false the popular saying 'drive for show, putt for dough'. In fact, it is actually the complete opposite.