Hey, it is good to be back, been awhile.
My blog is Between the Ears, but it looks like the ” keepers of the game” have nothing between theirs.
It looks like the USGA and the R and A are trying to mess up the game of golf once again. Few years back they band anchoring the putter but allow you grab and hold the shaft against your forearm. Isn’t that the same thing? In there world it is different probably because one of the decision makers probably uses that method.
The powers to be will be announcing shortly a 5% roll back on distance because the touring pros are hitting the ball too far. So, what do they do , they penalise the entire golfing population. So guys like me who carry it 220 yards will now be carrying it 209 yards off the tee. My 7 iron which I carry 150 yards now goes 143 yards. So a hole that plays 370 yards now , will now play 386 yards.I guess that means my course will need to be re rated because my 6000 yard golf course that I now play, will be playing 6300 yards with the new ball when this change occurs. The answer that they will give us is move to another set of tees. That is what I did three years ago and everything was going fine and now you pull this crap because less than 1% of the golfing population hits the ball too far. Give me a break! Sorry, your job is to make the game harder rather than more enjoyable for the 99%.
To look at this in another way if some jerk of a driver drives a car 200 km an hour, do law makers put governors on all cars so they only go 100 km an hour? No.That is why we have speed traps and speed cameras to catch this 1% of drivers while the remaining 99% enjoy the drive.
I have never been a big fan of either governing body, but this just takes it to a whole new level. They are dealing with 1% of the golfing population at best and kicking the other 99% in the who haws. If they want to make the ball go shorter, just make the clubs less forgiving. Make the sweet spot smaller. Put an emphasis on hitting the centre of the club face. If the athlete does that and the shot goes 300+ yards, more power to them.
What I also see happening is players tweaking there equipment. For example it may say 7 iron on the Club, but players D loft it and make it a 6 iron. Down the road no telling what the creative golfing public will come up or the Club manufacturers to gain back what was lost. Could this be encouraging cheating, in a game that is self policing?
Hmm.
So, it off to my local big box store to buy remaining boxes of my current ball so I can enjoy the game for at least one more year!
Until next time!
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Between The Ears 