Restricted ball

[subvet]

Well, I thought it was pretty obvious but...

It addresses two of the biggest issues the game faces: 1) duration, 2) difficulty. While many wont like the idea it could, potentially, get new people to the game.

so more golf courses get built. by him, of course. I think there are other ways to do this w/o changing the fudamental elements of the game. Moving to a 12 hole course with 8" cups would be the "arena football" version of golf IMO.

 

[Smallville]

Jack Nicklaus has said one of the problems with golf is the juiced up ball.
He thinks it should be restricted/dialed back.

Curious, if new restrictor balls came out on the market that had the same feel, flight etc just flew shorter.
Would you play them?
Would you also move up to a different tee than your playing to try and get some of the yardage back?

Simply wondering if people would switch to a shorter more controllable ball if it came out.
As far as a rule change, I agree, it is time for pros and amateurs to have more defined rules.
One for us and one for them. True most rules would still be the same, but amend some that don't fit the avg Joe.
Whats more important, sticking to an out of date rule or growing the game with involvement and enjoyment?

In that case, no way.

 

[slodsm]

I don't believe the vast majority of golfers are out there playing courses that can't contain their length. Again an issue of looking at the top echelon of golfers and making a claim based on their abilities.

Truth! If they do something this ridiculous because 150 players out of millions can hit a 200 yard 7i, I'll probably get so frustrated I'll go back to drag racing. Right now I play around 6000 yards comfortably but it takes all my concentration and coordination to do so. On an off day, I cut back to the fwd tees to enjoy the game. If they start restricting ball flight I'll most likely be unable to enjoy it or even have a chance at making GIR's from the fwd men's tees.

 

[threshold350]

As Tom Kite said on Fairways of Life (paraphrasing) "Less people are playing golf. It isn't because the game has gotten harder because the game is easier than it ever has been. The two issues people have are the costs and the time it takes to play." Guess what, restrict the ball flight and it helps take care of this. Less maintenance on a shorter course means the price goes down. A shorter course means it takes less time to play.

I wish it were true here in Chicago where less people play golf.

On the other side of things, I think its fun to play 5800-6000yd course with todays clubs ans balls. Kind of nice hitting driver, wedge on par 4. Using a restricted ball, maybe I'm using a driver 8 or 9 iron. Still not bad. I think the change in ball distance is going to be that noticeable. I think the other part of the problem is that courses have already adjusted for this change in increased distance. So what now gets oboselte is the long courses.

**Tappin' it in cuz I #SeeMore**

 

[Lefty78]

What ever the "legal" ball is, I will play. If they dial them back a little, so be it. When I started playing more than a few years ago, a big hit was 250 with driver. I hate that juiced balls have changed the nature of classic courses. Of course, a return of lower distance balls would make a lot of new courses' back tees obsolete.

 

[slodsm]

A shorter course means it takes less time to play.

Not true at all, if you have shorter courses with shorter balls, the same number of strokes will be required. A great golfer will still get around it in the 70's because the ball is shorter, a hack will still get around it in 115 because his short off centered hits will just be shorter and still off centered.

The rest of us will still get around in the 80's or 90's and be stuck dealing with equipment changes fit around the 150 guys who could get around our home 6500 yard courses in 60 strokes.

Shorter balls aren't the answer because there isn't a problem. Golf is similar to politics, a problem MUST be created otherwise people like Jack, the USGA etc become irrelevant and that kills them. There has always been slow play, anchored putters didn't make everyone putt out under 30, and there have always been a select few who over power the courses they play.

 

[D.farrer]

If its all i can get thats what i will play.

 

[Centre]

I still hate this idea. It would punish the average person because pros hit the ball too far.

 

[Kobey]

I don't understand how they would go about it anyway. Since there are so many balls with different characteristics, how could they limit it? Would they use a robot with a swing speed of say 110 and any ball that goes past a certain limit is illegal? What would that do in regards to distance balls that the pro's don't play anyway? So the only balls that would need a limit would be tour balls.

What would be wrong with making a tour competition list of acceptable balls? There are probably only two or three models from each company that are used on tour, like ProV1, Lethal, B330, Hex Black etc..., so put a limit on those or make tour specific models. Then the rest of us can play whatever we want as we always have and it wouldn't really be that big of a deal.

 

[hcopenhagenh]

Not true at all, if you have shorter courses with shorter balls, the same number of strokes will be required. A great golfer will still get around it in the 70's because the ball is shorter, a hack will still get around it in 115 because his short off centered hits will just be shorter and still off centered.

The rest of us will still get around in the 80's or 90's and be stuck dealing with equipment changes fit around the 150 guys who could get around our home 6500 yard courses in 60 strokes.

Shorter balls aren't the answer because there isn't a problem. Golf is similar to politics, a problem MUST be created otherwise people like Jack, the USGA etc become irrelevant and that kills them. There has always been slow play, anchored putters didn't make everyone putt out under 30, and there have always been a select few who over power the courses they play.

A ball with restricted flight and restricted spin will put more balls in play in my opinion. With the length of the ball and equipment now, everyone hits the ball long. So when the typical amateur slices to the right they spend all day looking for balls. Restricted distance and spin will keep more of those balls in play, I think. It may not be a lot more time saving, but I think it would help a little.

 

[slodsm]

A ball with restricted flight and restricted spin will put more balls in play in my opinion. With the length of the ball and equipment now, everyone hits the ball long. So when the typical amateur slices to the right they spend all day looking for balls. Restricted distance and spin will keep more of those balls in play, I think. It may not be a lot more time saving, but I think it would help a little.

I can see what you're saying, but I wonder if a driver slice is really what kills the time. When I first started, I had a huge swing speed and 0 control, drives went anywhere from 200 to over 300 depending on whether I hit the ball, ground, bounced, toed, etc and all sprayed right like mad. By the third round I knew how far to aim left to correct my banana slice and I rarely ever lost a ball from the tee. My issues with lost balls always came from poor alignment/distance control with irons due to inconsistent contact. One hole a 7i may be 130, the next it may be 160 and fly the green and into the woods behind it etc.

I'm just saying, I don't think a ball will correct the issue. A large portion of the problem comes from everyone feeling entitled to xyz any more. "I payed my money I'll take as long as I want" syndrome. I NEVER played slow, ever, the day I picked up a set of clubs I finished a solo round in less than 3 hours with probably 12 lost balls. If I couldn't find it in a minute or two, I dropped and went on with my day. I was raised to respect other people until they give me a reason not to and it's just a jerk move to stack up a course behind you because you're a hack and can't hit even approaching where you think you're aiming.

Although I see your point of view, I stand by mine. This isn't a golf problem, it's a people problem and will continue to degrade just like everything else in society is at the moment (over the last 15 years actually).