Undercover Tour Pro: ‘Ball Rollback Talk Is Nonsense’

The always informative Undercover Tour Pro on GolfDigest.com is one of my favorite reads. This time, an anonymous major winner speaks out whether the worry over ball distance is credible or a waste of time.

First, forget any numbers you’ve read about driving distance. They’re all nonsense. The PGA Tour doesn’t tell us which holes they measure. They say they choose holes where most players hit driver, but for all we know they could be uphill, downhill or to tighter fairways where not everybody truly lets out the shaft. Statistics can be made to show anything. Governing bodies, in golf and every aspect of life, have used statistics to justify predetermined decisions since the dawn of time. Why sift through decimals when the reality is so obvious?

Yes, we’ve gotten a lot longer. Anybody who’s been inside the ropes the past two decades can tell you that. A drive that went 300 yards used to be every element coming together—a strong guy nailing the sweet spot with good timing and getting a nice, firm first bounce. Now a guy can neck one, turn away in disgust, and the ball flies 320.

So what? Distance is all relative. If you hit it past your playing partner, you’re happy. If you don’t, you’re sad. The feeling is the same whether the drives go 200 yards or 400 yards.

This big jump was inevitable. Sports science has led to a lot of world records across many sports. Athletes are bigger, stronger, faster and armed with more tools to help them improve. A rep for a shoe company out here told me the average size of their tour staff has gone from 9½ to 11½.

The courses are golf’s most valuable asset. Because they’re shown on TV, the courses we play have an undue amount of influence on other courses. Every time we add tee boxes, pinch fairways, grow rough so high that balls can barely be found, tuck pins two paces from the green’s edge—all in the name of getting us to shoot the same scores as Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus—the original intent of a golf course is distorted. What they’re doing to Shinnecock Hills this summer for the U.S. Open is grotesque. Ultimately, we showcase a sport that doesn’t look like much fun.

I say let’s abolish par. Remember, scoring in relation to par was introduced at the Masters in 1960. Yes, it made the various standings of an array of players scattered around a golf course comprehensible, and it was a boon for TV broadcasting. But what has it wrought? Par is an arbitrary number that skews our perception of what’s a good golf course. Par at Oakmont often feels like 76, but if that’s what it was on the scorecard, the winner would shoot 20 under and the world would say it’s a crap course.

The entire read is refreshing and honest. Mainly because I wholeheartedly agree.