US Masters 2020

[Dick in Shorts]

Think Bryson is somewhat overpowering Augusta!!!

Not the start he wanted I’m sure. Started on 10 with 3 pars and a double on 13

[david92]

The faldo suggestion was to limit the length of driver shaft and reduce the driver head size...that would work as then only the best players would find the sweet spot

[Gareth]

The faldo suggestion was to limit the length of driver shaft and reduce the driver head size...that would work as then only the best players would find the sweet spot

That is just never going to happen in my view David. Choking back the ball/having a tournament ball is the only workable way here.

[Dick in Shorts]

US baseball have the pro game using different bats  to am game

Squash has different ball for pro game

Just a couple of other sports that have dealt with equipment differences

However equipment manufacturers in golf have shown themselves to be powerful relative to R&A/USGA

[euros]

Just like hogan called it, the game is still the same as it was 10, 20 or 30nyears ago. He said that the bestbputter of the longer hitters will usually wins and a shorter hotter will pop up now and again.

Has anything changed?
Is bryson winning every tournament he turns up at?
If you really want to equal it up then have split fairways with heavier rough. If a long and short hitter are playing their seconds from same spot them the longer hotter will still have an advantage hitting a shorter club from there and should have a higher accuracy with shorter club off the tees.

I'm not saying that this is the ultimate option but think people are stuck onto believing that the ball is the only option. Loads of different options together could lead to making it more risk reward for longer hitters and keep the manufacturers content.

[SkankyShanky]

I don't think the issue is making it equal. As you say, the long hitters will always be the long hitters. To me it's about making the game fit the arena (the courses) such that courses don't continually need to be lengthened (with more resource, more maintenance) and hazards become irrelevant.

Clearly this really only effects elite golf. For hackers like me, existing courses are fine, which is why I'd have thought a tournament ball makes most sense.

[david92]

I don't think the issue is making it equal. As you say, the long hitters will always be the long hitters. To me it's about making the game fit the arena (the courses) such that courses don't continually need to be lengthened (with more resource, more maintenance) and hazards become irrelevant.

Clearly this really only effects elite golf. For hackers like me, existing courses are fine, which is why I'd have thought a tournament ball makes most sense.

Totally agree as the longer the courses they and we play the higher the cost to maintain, the longer the round takes and stupidly more expensive to adapt current brilliant old courses to new distances

[euros]

Courses can change in ways other than getting longer, one is getting tighter at certain distances also with thicker penal rough. Again the tour comes once a year or every few years so that could be taken away once they've gone. This doesn't have to be on every hole, you could let the long hitters enjoy their advantages on certain holes and constrain them/put loads of real risk of penalty on others. Having said this I've seen where they have done this and the commentary makes a big thing of it and its light semi rough which isnt a penalty to them; I mean a real penalty to be in it.

In this im just trying to provide examples of how many things could change to improve things and not having to always hark on about one element.

[SkankyShanky]

wouldn't it become a bit one dimensional to rely on narrow fairways and heavy rough to "protect" the course (US Open?)

I think with a simple change to the ball, courses that have existed for the last 100 years+ would still relevant today, like the old course. Instead of where they are now where the distances the ball travels makes their original challenges reduced or obsolete.

[euros]

wouldn't it become a bit one dimensional to rely on narrow fairways and heavy rough to "protect" the course (US Open?)

As I said, one option that could be used by its own or with others. My point is that its not just the ball, you can use other ways by their own or in combinations to get the desired result.

Other options include (for tournament golf only) reducing cor on driver, making heads smaller, making it irons only, etc.

[Blofeld]

I have liked the different camera angles that have been available this year...some of the low angles really highlight the undulations that face the players.

Also...without the "patrons" you really see how some of the green complexes are just sat in the middle of nowhere...quite featureless if it wasn't for the actual green undulations.  Just had a look on Google Earth as well....how wide are some of these fairways?

Big  for Langer...great to see him doing so well.