It’s interesting to see what has happened to golf over the years. I can remember, for example, the time when the only clubs you needed to carry in the golf shop were Spalding, Wilson & McGregor. Those three represented 95 percent of the golf club market. They came in stiff, regular, a shaft (senior) and ladies. A set of woods came with 1, 2, 3 & 4. The 2-wood went into the garage until it was time to get rid of the rest of the set. The irons were 2 through 9 plus a pitching wedge. The only other wedge you carried was a sand wedge. Now you have to have a ‘gap wedge’ and a ‘hybrid’ to replace the 2 and/or 3 iron.
Before, you only needed to carry Titlest, Maxfli and Spalding golf balls. That was also 95 percent of the market. Now, two of those three companies, as we knew them, no longer exist. They have been bought and disassembled in favor of all new, better, more innovative and more expensive products. Now there are so many different golf club and ball companies you can’t keep track of them. What’s worse, many don’t last very long even if they start out as a decent product. It’s all packaging and marketing.
As a result of all of the progress in the equipment, golf courses now have to be 1,000 yards longer to keep up. However, as we get older, the longer golf courses are impossible to play unless you are one of the new young lions that can hit the ball like Tiger Woods. Otherwise, you can’t get yourself around the course in less than 5 hours and 10 stokes higher than you might otherwise score.
I guess this is fun to watch, but what happened to the golf courses where you had to hit different kinds of shots? I’m talking about doglegs and target shots, small greens where straight and accurate paid off, an era when gauging weather conditions could mean the difference. It might be a good idea to take another look at the strategic design instead of the length of golf courses.
Now, golf courses have to be green from front to back and side to side. In the 1950s and before, there was no such thing as an automatic sprinkler, and you had to hit your tee shot about 150 yards over ‘hard pan’ to reach the fairway.
New equipment is always exciting and even I get caught up in the frenzy for just the right set to play better. Technology in golf equipment and golf course maintenance have come a long way.
Golf is a great game and we will be forever looking for the magic wand to help us play better.
Pat Larkin is a PGA professional and tournament director at Ridgemark Golf & Country Club. You can reach him at (831) 634-2216 or at [email protected].
