Going the distance

2/23/01

Last week we introduced the subject of distance, and the USGA’s efforts to preserve the integrity of the game by putting the brakes on equipment advances. But let’s play devil’s advocate: What would happen if all the distance related standards for balls and clubs were simply eliminated?

Will people be hitting drives 400 yards in the next decade? Will St. Andrews be obsolete? Will the game as we know it come to an end?

It is true that the driving distance on the PGA Tour from 1968 until 1995 averaged about a foot per year. That’s 27 feet in 27 years. It is also true that from 1995 to 1999, the increase averaged almost seven feet per year. That’s 28 feet in four years. Nothing notably changed except the introduction of the large, titanium-headed drivers, most of which exhibited a "Spring-Like Effect."

In 1998, the USGA adopted its compromise standard, limiting the amount of Spring-Like Effect to the state of the art -- the clubs on the market -- at that time. This limit was roughly halfway between zero Spring-Like Effect and the maximum that the laws of physics will allow (see my column two weeks ago for a fuller explanation of this).

The difference in distance produced by a club with no Spring-Like Effect and one with the maximum possible Spring-Like Effect is at best about 15 to 20 yards. So let’s say the USGA decides to remove the limit on Spring-Like Effect. At most, this will result 7 to 10 more yards of distance for the best players.

And let’s say, on top of this, all the ball standards were removed from the rulebook. The maximum possible increase in distance would be another 5 to 10 yards. (Trust me: It’s physics.) So the facts are that without any distance limits on clubs and balls, the average driving distance on the PGA Tour could only increase about 15 yards more than the current rules permit (not counting increases in distance due to other factors such as better-conditioned golfers or faster fairways). That means it would go from an expected 278-yard average for 2001 (a result of the wholesale migration to the multi-layered ball), to about 293 yards. This is not even close to the feared drives of 400 yards.

Further, this increase would only be achievable at the highest skill level, on tour, where the ball and the center of the clubface meet most frequently. The rest of us mortals would only realize about five extra yards or less, on an average basis, with the occasional Full Monty of 15 or more yards when we happen to produce a good swing. (Of course, when that happens, bragging rights will be elevated, and the tales of the monster drive will grow like the proverbial fish that got away.)

So why on earth are we making such a fuss about the Spring-Like Effect standard? Why are we making such a fuss about any distance-related standards for balls and clubs?

Why? Find out next week.

This column appeared on golfdigest.com where Frank contributes on a weekly basis. Check it out every Saturday.