if the tour went back to having a light rough where you could catch aflier with really firm greens and fast fairways,eveyone would see a big difference in the results on who is winning golf tournaments.then giys would have to think there way around a golf course,which in todays game has been lost.
Despite all this Luke Donald, Stephen Ames, Kirk Tripplett, David Toms and Aron Oberholser have enjoyed tour victories this year. Aside from Tiger the only guy that has really "muscled" a golf course and won is J.B. Holmes. At it's essence golf is a game of ballstiking and course management. I don't think that's entirely lost despite how courses have been set up.
I think that everyone talks about how much more power that today's players have and that it just isn't all that much more. Sure fitness is a bigger part of the game now but there have always been people who are just naturally strong. The major difference is equipment and I believe that if the players of yesteryear had today's equipment in their prime that many of them would hit similiar lengths on drives.
A case in point is Palmer who used mainly brute arm strength to swing a club and yet he drove a 315 yard par 4 during a british open and this was with the "old" style balls and a persimmon driver.
I think we can both agree that guys are hitting it longer than ever. What I don't see is that length necessarily translating into better golf or even more winning golf. The guy who had the longest driving average on tour last year Scott Hendt, couldn't keep his tour card. And Hank Kuehne reknown for his driving distance is having trouble this year making cuts.
Driving it long is the sizzle but ball striking and course management skills are the steak. Me, I'd rather eat steak!
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