He has the ability to to say the right thing in completely the wrong way.Yes ,everyone agrees we need to stop lengthening courses and the ball seems the obvious solution.
But if the Masters wants to continue as the first MAjor of the year, they can not start laying down the law on factors that effect golf everywhere. The arrogance is diluting the quality of the message. If he did ban all ballls except his approved ball ,it would do far more damage to golf than good.Most players are contracted to play a certain ball, often wearing hats/badges to appear on TV for their ball sponsor. They would have a field day with Hootie,with the only winners being lawyers.
He has the ability to to say the right thing in completely the wrong way.Yes ,everyone agrees we need to stop lengthening courses and the ball seems the obvious solution.
But if the Masters wants to continue as the first MAjor of the year, they can not start laying down the law on factors that effect golf everywhere. The arrogance is diluting the quality of the message. If he did ban all ballls except his approved ball ,it would do far more damage to golf than good.Most players are contracted to play a certain ball, often wearing hats/badges to appear on TV for their ball sponsor. They would have a field day with Hootie,with the only winners being lawyers.
I completely disagree. The Masters is an invitational tournament and a "Masters Ball" is completely within the realm of possibility. If players don't want to play with the Masters Ball they don't have to play. Players may be contracted to play a certain brand of ball but none (that I know of) are contracted to play a specific ball among that brand.
How would a Masters ball do damage to golf? It's one tournament a year that has the leadership the USGA lacks. I say more power to them! That's more power to Hootie and the boys.....not the players and the ball manufacturers! Augusta National is stretched to it's limits and at the rate things are going the old girl will once again become the pitch and putt course it was before this last lengthening makeover. The only other alternative is to trick up the course ala the USGA's US Open venues. Do you really want to see that?
The only other alternative is to trick up the course ala the USGA's US Open venues. Do you really want to see that?
I guess that depends upon your definition of "trick it up". IMO, Augusta has been tricked up for years with its greens running @ 12+, areas surrounding the greens shaved down to nothing and fairways that run like airport landing strips. I wouldn't consider growing the rough and tightening the fairways to be tricking it up, but making everyone play some sort of range ball would turn it into a joke.
it would be cool because then we could see how players stack up against each other w/ the same ball. then when they go back to their real ball we could crunch the numbers and see who is getting what with what ball.
Very interesting article.
Very interesting issue.
This strikes me as a little odd though, I mean all the PGA players are playing different balls which is suited to their individual preferences. With the different swing speeds, spin rates, & launch angles I think it would be cool to see which type of player this Masters ball would be best suited for. It would also be interesting to see if the players would have a particular bag set-up to play this ball & if the masters would even let the players check one out to specifically design a driver-shaft combo to maximize the distance with this ball.
In my opinion, rather than the one ball for all, maybe they should limit each player to 5 clubs per bag, make the player carry the bag, ban the use of tees on the teebox, make the hole smaller, remove pin sheets & yardage markers & make the players wear restrictive garments such as straight-jackets. With all these new changes I am sure that the PGA pros of today would have a harder time breaking par at Augusta.
With the winning scores being so low last year they have to do something. (sarcastic)
I guess that depends upon your definition of "trick it up". IMO, Augusta has been tricked up for years with its greens running @ 12+, areas surrounding the greens shaved down to nothing and fairways that run like airport landing strips. I wouldn't consider growing the rough and tightening the fairways to be tricking it up, but making everyone play some sort of range ball would turn it into a joke.
Augusta National has always been known for lightning fast greens and pristeen conditions. The have all but eliminated the "runway fairways" with new mowing techniques and with the severely undulated greens, growing any rough would prevent anyone from hitting it close. I could live with a bit more rough and Augusta has leaned that way in the recent past but we'll see a Masters Ball before we see 4" rough there.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that Hootie has simply thrown the thought of a Masters ball on the table and hasn't said it was imminent. If you ask me, Hootie's thrown the ball right back into the USGA's court...literally. He will do whatever it takes to preserve Augusta National. If that means dialing back the distance a ball will travel on his course...so be it.
The winner and the history books don't care what ball is used.
In his interview today (see masters.org), Hootie was pretty clear that his hope is that the golf governing bodies will address the golf ball issue and thus solve the problem he sees as affecting all golf courses. Of course, he did leave the possiblity of a "Master's ball" on the table.
I am old enough to remember an article by Jack Nicklaus-20 or 30 yrs ago, saying exactly what Hootie is saying. He wanted a ball that only went a certain distance because he was concerned where golf was heading. His fears were not unfounded as we have seen 350+ drives become almost commonplace. How far is far enough?
And johnny trance, I have played with the old persimmon woods and,when hit properly, you got all the distance you needed. But they are not near as forgiving as todays clubs..maybe we need PGA clubs and amateur clubs. But in the not so distant future, if nothing is done, we could be looking at 8000yd golf courses.
Augusta National is stretched to it's limits and at the rate things are going the old girl will once again become the pitch and putt course it was before this last lengthening makeover. The only other alternative is to trick up the course ala the USGA's US Open venues. Do you really want to see that?
Let me take Hootie's tact and say this: If Augusta National can't keep up with the modern state of golf, perhaps their days of hosting The Masters are coming to a close.
What they are talking about is a "limited flight" ball which can be made simply by altering the dimple pattern. Some ranges already have limited flight balls which you don't notice as much distance fall off until you get into the longer irons (6+).
Let me take Hootie's tact and say this: If Augusta National can't keep up with the modern state of golf, perhaps their days of hosting The Masters are coming to a close.
Wake up droogy33! You must be dreaming! Augusta National is the Masters and whether it's Hootie, or his successor, they'll always call the shots in their Major. :nodsmiley
April 6th, 2005, 02:47 AM
Augusta National is stretched to it's limits and at the rate things are going the old girl will once again become the pitch and putt course it was before this last lengthening makeover. The only other alternative is to trick up the course ala the USGA's US Open venues. Do you really want to see that? 
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