Faldo...Restore Skill to the Game

scotts33 · 2025-09-21T11:32:23+00:00

Golf legend Sir Nick Faldo believes the sport's governing bodies should ban tees and lob wedges and limit low-degree drivers, instead of rolling back the bal...

Stu1961

Maybe the rollback will force a renewed focus on skill over equipment … no, no, seriously.

Typhoon

Leave the equipment alone… it’s a shame people are in better shape, stronger, living longer instead of chain smoking and playing drunk or hungover ( John Daly not included). Instead , as Trevino suggested, it’s Agronomy! How many of you say, “ I’d like to see a PGA pro play the dog track I play!!🙄”. You’d love see them shoot -9 off your bare fairways , unlevel divot strewn tee boxes… greens that are crap because the week before ATV’s were doing donuts on them.

So look at Agronomy. Grow the rough and narrow the fairways. Narrow them a lot. Use grasses in the rough that make it harder to escape. And make the greens rock hard. Also stop rolling them. They invite low scores by manicuring the courses and making scoring easier. Football is talking about narrowing the goalposts because of the 60+ yard field goals…. So narrow the fairways!!

Stu1961

Typhoon So narrow the fairways!!

Or soften them. I can’t ever recall seeing one of my drives bound down the fairway after landing. Better chance of them plugging 🤪

sdandrea1

Typhoon So look at Agronomy. Grow the rough and narrow the fairways. Narrow them a lot. Use grasses in the rough that make it harder to escape. And make the greens rock hard

Thank you. I've been saying this forever. Problem is it's easier to change the ball than require all these courses to change their conditions.

Par4QC

In 2028, when someone drives the ball straight down the middle of a FW during a PGA tournament, and it goes 357 yds., will they be DQ'd?
In 2028, when someone hits from the rough, over a few trees, and lands the ball on the green 2' from the hole, from 248 yards, will someone run out to test the ball?

Neither of those scenarios could possibly come from 'skill'. Only via cheating.

(This of course, would happen after all the balls having been tested for conformance prior to every round.)

Stu1961

Par4QC Neither of those scenarios could possibly come from 'skill'. Only via cheating.

Of course they could. There’s no cap on total distance, just that a ball can only go 317 yards (+/- 3 yards) with a 125mph swing speed (and other parameters like launch angle and spin rate). Solution: swing faster than 125.
It would be interesting, though, to see shot tracker clock their swing speed at 125 and have the ball land at 330 (without wind or elevation drop as factors).
Currently, the average golf club head swing speed for a male amateur golfer is around 90-95mph. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see ball manufacturers to focus on specific swing speeds (80, 90, 100) with claims/proof that their new ball goes just as far at that swing speed as their previous ones did.

Luc_Van_Daele

Stu1961 I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see ball manufacturers to focus on specific swing speeds (80, 90, 100) with claims/proof that their new ball goes just as far at that swing speed as their previous ones did.

Apparently a lot of the softer balls amateurs play already meet the new distance requirement @125mph. Pro's won't carry 300 yards with a pink lady Top Flite you fished out of a lake either.

Typhoon

Stu1961 I was thinking water the shit out of the rough and fairways but by the end of the all the rounds that day, they will have dried out again. It really only penalizes the first groups out, the bottom of the leaderboard. That’s why I did t post it… seemed like a good idea for a minute😁

azgreg

stroh

How about making the hole smaller? They've talked about raising basketball hoops for years.

Stu1961

stroh
I'm not sure "bomb and gouge" with five putts is what they are striving for ... 🤣

Typhoon

Stu1961 Well what is the USGA bitching about really?? Scoring or how far they hit it? Bottom line is scoring is their issue. Making the hole smaller is the easiest thing to do.

You’re right that it’ll make golf unwatchable but… they complain about scoring average so…..

stroh

LOL!

ode

Would any of these ideas actually lead to same amount of or more fans/sponsorship/$/etc. ?

Stu1961

ode
I believe the rollback as planned will have about as much impact on the sports popularity/enjoyment as restrictions on aluminum bats did in college baseball … which is to say: none.
I think most of us here played in the late 1990’s - when technology at the time only allowed for 4-5% less distance as we get now. Did we hate the game? If the 3-5 yard loss means so much … take a lesson/get a club fitting/workout/stretch.

azgreg

This is what happens when you kick the can down the road. Eventually it reaches a point where it can't be picked up.

Stu1961

Typhoon
I don’t agree that scoring is/was their primary concern - more of a byproduct of skill being reduced in the game, making scoring easier as a result. Their decision to attack the ball was, maybe?, the easiest to implement. I don’t see how they could have, easily, shrunk sweat spots on all clubs (or maybe just drivers?).

Typhoon

If I want to watch short hitters, shitty golf…. I’ll sit out front of our pro shop with. 12 pack.

Typhoon

Stu1961 What could be easier than super narrow fairways, long rough or smaller holes? Any equipment changes like “the ball” need companies to invest millions to comply.

Nicklaus and Faldo, loved them when they played but now they are just grumpy old men.

Par4QC

Stu1961 Their decision to attack the ball was, maybe?, the easiest to implement.

True. Balls are much cheaper for companies to make than any club.

But if anyone thinks 'skill' is going to be reduced, or even enhanced, by changing ANYTHING associated with equipment....they are very much sadly mistaken. These players, depending on ages, started playing as far back as 40 years ago. Then 20+/- years ago they became Pros. They were that good with 20-40 year old clubs and balls!! Skill!!
A human development, not manufactured.

They will still shoot low 60's. Every week. 250 or 350 yard drives notwithstanding. 7500+/- yards courses.

Spuzz

USGA/Faldo/Nicklaus:

stroh

U.S. Open golf is boring. Tiger Woods 2000 not withstanding.

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