How Much is Too Much

It seems now, more than ever, technology is playing a key role in the development of golf club construction and development. Golf clubs introduced this year possess spring like effects on the clubface for distance and “shaft spining” will ensure an increase in shot accuracy and consistency.

Golf clubs are hitting mind-numbing distances with unparalleled direction control. As a hobbyist clubmaker and an amateur golfer I have realistic concerns about this boom of technology and the health of the game of golf. Now, the question will soon be, how much is too much technology in the game of golf?

The weekend golfer is in search for the quick, easy cure for a very complicated game. This is the simple reason golf magazines claim that every month their new tip will “cure your slice forever”. (If that article in December really was the cure all, why is it they have one in January too, shouldn’t the one last month be good enough?)

Golf club manufacturers realise that they can capitalize on this quick fix mentality by selling bigger and stronger clubs that hit the ball with greater power and accuracy. Every year another NEW, BIGGER club is introduced. This year, be ready for the Volkswagen clubhead size, oh yeah, its gonna be red hot!!! You laugh now, just wait. Exactly how much and how far will the game of golf change before it is realized that by trying to enjoy the game, we have in fact ruined it?

What drives the mentality of the weekend golfer is to hit the ball straighter and longer than his buddy? However, after everybody gets the equipment for the New Year it is all left up to ability. That is, until next year when the fresh shipment of boomers hits the market and the race and the vicious circle begin all over again.

At what point will the golfer be satisfied with his progress? Does it begin with a three hundred yard drive, four hundred, or maybe even five hundred yards? And why the heck does anyone have to hit the ball for three hundred or more yards? From those I’ve played with, most can’t see the ball past two hundred yards.

A foursome at the tee box salutes the ball then bobs and weaves to gain a vision of the dimpled projectile. After a few seconds everyone looks at each other with a shrug and exclaims, “Any of you see that?” So what good is it to hit so far? You can’t find your ball and spend five plus hours on the course looking. God knows where…I think we’ve all got better things to do.

Not to mention that giving such ability to the average golfer is also inherently dangerous. This means that the landing area will be increasingly harder to perceive. People have constantly bombarded me, along with my golfing partners over the last year with these mega drivers and their long distance shots. A long tee shot gone wrong has hit a few of us and luckily did not cause serious injury. I worked on the grounds crew at a few golf courses for six years. I’ve been hit myself and seen a man lying knocked out cold from being hit by a golf ball. A golf ball hitting the human body at over hundred miles an hour is not a pretty thing. However, by pushing the limits on these clubs we are pushing the risk of numerous needless injuries. The common idiot cannot see, nor predict his landing area at three hundred plus yards because he lacks consistency and the required depth perception.

The duffer sees a group down the fairway, cannot tell how far it is and figures one in a million he could hit it that far. He sets up to the ball; damn well knowing he’s trying to crush it. Then SMACK, hits into the group in front of him. As he approaches the group he drives his heavyset derrière up to the ball, gives a gruff chuckle saying, “Sorry about that fellas, looks like I tattooed that one”. Meanwhile, my buddy lies on the ground with “Compression 90” stamped to his forehead.

The point is that golf and power is a Darwin type concept without technology. Golf discriminates power to those who also have ability. If a person has golf ability, power comes with it. Through the ability development process they will learn the power and respect the power. The golfer will gain consistency and an understanding of when and where to hit a shot. If one consistently hits three hundred yards, he will be used to this and gauge accordingly. Somebody who is inconsistent does not have this benefit.

Giving the average golfer the Big Bashin’ driver is like handing the keys of an SUV to an ninety-year old woman with macular degeneration and telling her to have fun. She shouldn’t be driving that vehicle and Hank shouldn’t be hitting the ball four hundred yards for the same reason, people are going to get hurt.

Eventually, golf will reach its demise with the flush of golf equipment on the market. Indeed, the game of golf will change.

Golf balls will have to manufactured to resist the forces of stronger materials and therefore cost about £65 a dozen. Yeah, those water balls you found will split or disintegrate like those powdery joke balls we all get a kick out of. I’m not making this up, a golf club manufacturer claims that somebody is breaking golf balls with their new driver. Now, isn’t that special. As if you didn’t lose enough golf balls, now you have to have extras, new expensive extras, because your driver is busting them up.

If you are a true golfer, you will undoubtedly enjoy walking a course. However, you will need to be more fit than usual. Golf courses are already designed to take the walker out of golf by leaving a four hundred yard deer trail uphill to the next tee box. Imagine now, with the new distances the average golfer will hit, par fives will need to 875 yards and 550 yards for par fours. You really think that this is crap until you consider that on the PGA Tour they are slowly turning short par fives into long par fours. This will happen on your home course once technology allows you and your buddy to hit as long as the tour pros. I’m only about 70 yards off for the par four distances and there is still plenty of time left.

Now don’t forget, that when the holes are lengthened, golf courses will need to be bigger. This not only means that golf courses need to buy more land, but more land needs to be maintained. More employees, more land, more maintenance all leads to more money from you. All of these changes should jump your average price of a current day round at your local public track to around £100 or more. If you play at a country club, kudos to you, I don’t have a clue how much that is, but expect a significant increase in your dues.

If the average golfer can hit three hundred yards or more, something will have to change. Two games of golf will soon evolve. The one the USGA endorses as the true sport and the second for the hacker who snorts in materialistic pride when he hits the ball four hundred yards. There will be the NFL and then the clone look-a-like arena football. Of course, you will have your choice, just like you do to buy non-USGA conforming clubs today. But who will really like the new game of golf?

Over the past few seasons Major League Baseball has been battling accusations of a juiced up ball. Baseball players are chucking the ball out the ballparks that were designed for a different game. The same thing will happen to golf and golf courses. Does anyone think that hitting the baseball farther has benefited baseball? Should anyone think that hitting a golf ball farther would really benefit golf?

Most of the golfers out there truly believe that hey, I’m only doing it to make the game fun. Is it really that fun to hit the ball three hundred yards when everybody else is doing it? What really makes you any different? Is it really all that fun to watch 30 home runs a game in baseball? Eventually, it will just become dumb and old. By hitting the ball with a juiced driver you are only changing the game you originally fell in love with.

Try practicing and improving your golf game that way, not with a new driver. Spend that £500 not on a driver, but take some lessons and learn the game correctly. Chances are you’ll improve your game more than just a few strokes like you would with a new driver. You can improve your golf game with some lessons, but destroy the game of golf through buying that new driver. The truth is that good golf comes from sound fundamentals, not a driver. The truth comes from people like me with no monetary interest in the golf market. Ads will tell you everything but the truth, so listen to what I say well. By truly learning the game of golf you’ll also feel better about yourself. Won’t that be swell?

Golf is a tough game. That is what attracts new players to the game. Chances are you began playing golf by thinking any fool can play it. Then you found out that golf is actually pretty tough. It is the realisation that you will never have 18 hole in ones in a round that keeps the game exciting. Golf also has its ways, no matter how badly you play, to keep you coming back.

How many times have you shot one hundred something and on the last hole chipped in? This is what the game of golf is truly about. If you recognise this fact and respect the game you will be rewarded with many years of pure golf excellence. For the rest of you who turn the game into a cheap thrill, just remember, I told you so.

Next time you reach for the title to your car and buy that new golf club, ask yourself, is this really a good idea? As long as the average Joe continues to buy the overpriced crap that is saturating the market, the true game of golf is in jeopardy. Manufacturers will continue the unhealthy progress of golf club enhancement and thus degrade golf. It lies within the people to decide how much is too much. It would be better to prevent a tragedy today than rebuild golf tomorrow. Now is the time, more than ever, to determine how much is too much. I believe that we are just about there.