It's time to regulate equipment.

Equipment is already regulated.

I think though we're seeing the impact of focus on strength and health and as such distances are becoming longer. I remember when NCAA decided to regulate bats with exit velocity and size... although it took a few years, the players caught back up due to the fact they became stronger, quicker, and better hitters overall.

So point being - regulations are already in effect - our athletes are better athletes these days.
 
Yes. Lets please regulate this more. As it is out of control..


Average driving distance for amateur men golfers.

Average distance for all golfers is 217 yards.

Data is taken directly from the USGA Distance Insight Report: https://t.co/mMvp71PfYA pic.twitter.com/wEcq2vICSF
— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) October 11, 2020


This number is at least an improvement on the latest numbers we received from the last USGA report on driving distance three years ago, which saw the average distance for male amateur club golfers stand at 208 yards.



It is interesting. I listened to an interview with Thomas Pegel who is pretty much the head of the whole distance report and gathering the data. He mention how they reach out regularly to OEM and equipment companies to discuss these things.

@JB with your access, have you had any conversation with OEM and how the USGA is reaching out to them? I am not so curious about how the conversation went but as to whether these conversations are happening.
 
I used to play with a group that once a year played with clubs from the 70/80s or earlier. Woods had to be real woods, iron shafts, blades, and a blade putter. A lot of fun, and clubs could be found at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. the guys that usually won still won, and hit some pretty good drives. Everyone commented though about feeling any off center hits. Scores didn't increase as much as was expected - I think mostly more focus on hitting the center of the face and lowered expectations for distance.
 
We are getting a lot of new people into the game or back from long hiatuses with covid. Most of these are probably still struggling with learning the game and they want to make it harder on them. Why? It will just drive people away and will hurt the game of golf.

I’m definitely not saying that I’m against newer equipment and technology for us as amateur golfers. If the tools of the trade need to be more forgiving than those of yesteryear, to maintain interest, so be it... it’s a better option than losing golfers and closing courses.

That said... I do appreciate the equipment from decades ago and what it took to game it successfully.
 
I used to play with a group that once a year played with clubs from the 70/80s or earlier. Woods had to be real woods, iron shafts, blades, and a blade putter. A lot of fun, and clubs could be found at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. the guys that usually won still won, and hit some pretty good drives. Everyone commented though about feeling any off center hits. Scores didn't increase as much as was expected - I think mostly more focus on hitting the center of the face and lowered expectations for distance.
It'd be fun to play an occasional round with the old stuff just for kicks, but I have no desire whatsoever to bag it for every round. I played those clubs when I first took up the game and I remember them - and I'll gladly take as much forgiveness and distance as my modern equipment can legally give me!
 
Sounds like a personal problem, lol.
 
Yesterday, my Mizuno ST190 was a fairway finder. Today, I was all over the course with it. While today's equipment is wonderful, it still comes down to the brave, not the arrow. All that being said, I did speak with my club pro this morning about a Ping G425 Max and I think it hurt the Mizzy's feelings.
 
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At 68 I could say I have lots of swings under my belt. Years ago down at 7 handicap with the old wood woods and steel shaft irons. And included in my bag of 14 clubs was a 1 iron.
Baseball requires balls, bats, and other equipment must adhere to size requirements. Much the same with other sports.
But golf. No. The increase in club face in particular I believe has altered the game in an negative way. Back in the day a 280 yard drive on target with a small faced wooden drivers was a challenge. It meant your swing was on point. But be off just a "hair" spells disaster. Clubs today are forgiving.
I'd love to see a pro tournament where say 1970's equipment is used. Be interesting. Those 470 yard par 4's would be a real challenge.
Bring it on!
Post this and then walk away. Nice. There's an entire society of hickory golfers. Go play with them. Back in the day I averaged 250 off the tee with my 1 iron.
 
@JB with your access, have you had any conversation with OEM and how the USGA is reaching out to them? I am not so curious about how the conversation went but as to whether these conversations are happening.

Yes. I have spoken to a handful of companies in regards to this.
I can’t confirm if they are having conversations with the USGA however.
 
at 68, i am not gonna be worried about 50-somethings and below playing the game with new equipment. i'm gonna keep them off my lawn and play my mavrik sz driver just like i did "back in the day"

 
I listened to an interview with Tom Doak. He mentioned that the majority of his course redesign work is in adding forward tees..

yet we have a distance issue..
 
Modern technology equipment benefits the Tour players the most (a near perfect swing gets better shot results than was previously possible).
As skill level (swing technique) decreases, the benefit to modern technology equipment is less apparent. In other words, a truly bad, faulty swing will get little to no benefit from modern tech equipment.
 
Nostalgia is a powerful drug but never holds up. I’ll go ahead and pass going back in time for worse equipment.
 
:welcome: But I must admit I was chuckling reading the first post because all I could think about was:

 
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I thought the same thing. Way back in the day (40+ years ago) I played the little muscle back blades and persimmon woods. And I was a near scratch player! These days I need every advantage I can get, and am nowhere near scratch!

I've sometimes wondered if those little tiny clubs somehow helped make us better golfers. Feedback from a bad hit was instantaneous and instructive. But then I was young enough, with the vision, strength and reflexes that go along with that. And I was a good athlete. Plus, after I got hooked on the game, I practically lived at a nearby driving range when the weather allowed.
 
I've sometimes wondered if those little tiny clubs somehow helped make us better golfers. Feedback from a bad hit was instantaneous and instructive.

I remember hearing Charles Howell speak in a video (Mizuno marketing?) about how he wanted his young son to learn to play golf with muscle back irons, that the design provided the impact feedback helpful towards learning how to properly swing a club.
 
Play the game that suits you best. If you want to play hickory and feather balls....that can happen. I'm good with forgiving, performing clubs that make the game enjoyable for me.
If I was to go back to an era of the past I would go back to the gutty percha ball. Because who doesn't like saying gutty percha.
 
there is nothing stopping you from playing the gear you mention. if you can’t beat your buddies who are playing the gear you don’t like, either carry a little more cash in your wallet to pay your bets or join them and have fun hitting it farther and straighter, and making more birdies. save the masochism for the bedroom.
 
If NBA Players are making 3's with regularity from the Logo, leave our equipment alone - it's all about distance.
 
I disagree.

Have a good night and welcome to the forum.
 
This is a great get off my lawn start to THP!! It would be fun to have a 9 hole match to see what it would be like but I do not want to go back to playing a driver the size of a 3 wood.
It'd be fun to play an occasional round with the old stuff just for kicks, but I have no desire whatsoever to bag it for every round. I played those clubs when I first took up the game and I remember them - and I'll gladly take as much forgiveness and distance as my modern equipment can legally give me!
I have an old set of laminate woods that I pull out a couple times a year. It is a challenge for sure, but fun nonetheless!
But I agree, I’ll keep my modern clubs for the everyday rounds, thanks!

These are my “fun” woods:

3A62BE3C-2AE4-45D9-80CD-C8C2E482F9B8.jpeg
 
I'd love to see a pro tournament where say 1970's equipment is used. Be interesting. Those 470 yard par 4's would be a real challenge.
Bring it on!

1970's equipment absolutely requires more skill, particularly from a swing tempo-rhythm perspective, than does current modern technology clubs and balls.
 
While it's no secret that equipment has gotten better, longer, more forgiving and I enjoy all that, I would love to see todays pro's play a 36 hole tourney with the 60's-70's era equipment. It would be very interesting .
 
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