He’s won Masters. And designs courses. Here are Ben Crenshaw distance thoughts | News

Ben Crenshaw, speaking like a golfer, hits the ground running.

“I can tell you how I played with the guys I played with on Tour, and I know their distances, what they can do,” the two-time Masters winner he said, “and occasionally we had someone who could hit as well as Tom Weiskopf. I mean, he was long for his time. I remember one year where Dan Pohl led the hitting stats – I think it was 275 or 280.” head on the Tour.

“Now these guys carry the ball 320. They bring the ball 320″.

Then there is Crenshaw the course designer.

In view of the golf distance boom, his duality makes an interesting observer, and his thoughts on Wednesday, ahead of the PGA Tour. Austin Championshipmade for interesting comments. Now, the increase in distance is well established – using the year Crenshaw won the Masters as another example in addition to the one given above, the Tour’s driving distance leader. in 1984 it was Bill Glasson at 276.5 yards a drive; this yearu lower the average among 168 golfers measured was 282.8.

But there are questions, of course, the main among them are: is the boom a problem? The consensus seems to think so, and in 2030Golf organizations plan to mark the length of the golf ball – and possibly do more. One of the arguments for doing so is that while the golf courses have tried to grow in response to the increased distances, they have either run out of room to continue, or they cannot find anything in which to begin.

More questions. Is the gear to blame? No one would dispute that technology in clubs and dances has improved over the years? But is reigning in the crew the answer? Could golf course design tweaks be an answer instead? Also on Wednesday, in a press conference before the DP World Tour Championship, Jon Rahm I said so much.

“I think a lot of the courses that stand the test of time are tight, short golf courses where you need to put the golf ball,” he said. “I use the example of Valderrama. Valderrama hasn’t really changed much since I remember watching him, and it’s so difficult every time you play him. Colonial, before they redesigned, was one of those. Harbor Town, if it’s not windy, the scores are low, but this past year, it showed how difficult it was.

“I think there is a discussion to be had in both cases. I think there is something that can be done with the design of the golf course and the configuration of the golf course. And it could also be a fun idea to change or limit the clubs or the golf ball, but I am not a proponent of this. I think that this type – I think that there is so much freedom in the design in golf that you can make golf courses that are antidistance”.

What does Crenshaw the course designer say then? Also worth noting, Crenshaw and his design partner Bill Coore were the brains behind some the biggest courses in the world.

On Wednesday, Crenshaw said one of the design ideas is to make the courses playable for both pros and non-professionals — “but it’s stretched now.” However, he said that the legendary St. Andrews suits everyone better than anywhere else. “St. Andrews,” Crenshaw said, “is still one of the examples that you can host the best players in the world and entertain beginners or someone with less skill.”

But if you are not Sant’Andrea?

“That’s where the dangers are,” Crenshaw said. “If you don’t have so many transport hazards to make it really difficult for a short player and still – and it has undulations and it has a hard ground like this table that spreads everything, which is unusual. Not all courses in the world have these capabilities.

“So it’s very, very difficult.”

Crenshaw and others will now wait until 2030. In the meantime, keep watching.

“So it’s very interesting how it all comes together,” Crenshaw said. “I know there have been discussions about the ball and the ability and if you slow the ball down or anything – you will hear more conversations about that.

“I know a lot of people wouldn’t like the ball to slow down because it’s spectacular to watch and see those stats. I mean, the ball can only go so far.”

“>