So big tip of the hat to Golfchick for finding a fascinating piece noting that a new world record hole-in-one was recorded at the 18th hole at Ko’olau in Hawaii. While the distance is listed at 448 yards, the short cut Bret Meson took was surely shorter as he carried to cross-hazards to take the direct line instead of the measured path to the fairway and then tacking to the green, which is how distances are triangulated for scorecards and official distance records.
Nevertheless, this sharply underscores how the USGA and PGA have severely changed the way we play the game by sleeping on the equipment advances. Going after U-grooves now is 20 years too late. It should be time to either rollback/cap the size of the face and material of the faces of the drivers or institute a “baseball rule” where, like baseball, when you graduate to the pros, you get your wood bats out.
Ha! Just try to get the equipment manufacturers…who have the industry and USGA by the wallet…on board with that. Just try!
But don’t take my word for it. In my coming interview with Pete Dye, he discusses several problems the new equipment is causing golf course architects and course developers. We may distance the game right out of the wallet of ordinary consumers because 8,500 yards golf courses can’t run on $80 greens fees…which is too expensive anyway.
Nice find Kristen! You tracked down an interesting and important piece.
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