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A new generation of golfers who hit harder and further than any before them has pushed the sport to an existential crisis.
As the Masters gets underway, big-hitters are getting ready to do battle with course designers once more https://www.wired.co.uk/article/golf-crisis-masters-bryson-dechambeau
As the Masters gets underway, big-hitters are getting ready to do battle with course designers once more https://www.wired.co.uk/article/golf-crisis-masters-bryson-dechambeau
Once a sport of genteel precision, beefier players and high-tech clubs mean that hitting big is now a route to victory. In response, courses have grown. In 1975, Medinah was under 7,000 yards long. By 2006, it had grown to 7,560 yards.
Course designers added deeper bunkers and narrowed fairways, but records keep tumbling. In 1975, a winning score at Medinah was three over par. In 2019, Justin Thomas won with an almost unthinkable 25 under par.
Bryson DeChambeau is king of the big hitters. At Bay Hill in Florida, a huge lake on the sixth hole separates the green and the tee. In April, DeChambeau simply whacked the ball over the lake. In one shot he gained 170 yards over his opponent.
Although big hitters sacrifice a little accuracy, going long still pays off. One analysis found that players who opt for distance over precision gain an advantage of 1.1 strokes per round.
Golf's governing bodies are worried. In 2020, the R&A published a report staying that it wants to "break the cycle" of continuous length increases that threaten to make the most famous and ancient golf courses totally obsolete.
But are rule and equipment changes enough to reign big-hitters in? Or will courses keep getting longer and longer.
At stake is the future of one of the world's most-loved sports https://www.wired.co.uk/article/golf-crisis-masters-bryson-dechambeau
At stake is the future of one of the world's most-loved sports https://www.wired.co.uk/article/golf-crisis-masters-bryson-dechambeau
