TeamRed

Let’s start with: We’re all forever chasing 10 more yards. Remember the decades of building the longest, hardest, next best test for a US Open? USGA was in on the Chambers Bay and Erin Hills developments, dangling the carrot of a major all along. There was an actual ranking of “the 50 toughest” - now called “challenging,” because, yeah, there’s a masochistic subset of the golf world, developers, designers and consumers, who think that kicks to the nuts and pocketbooks is somehow a sustainable business model (see Sawgrass, Doral, etc). That was the cause. The effect? All together now: “Grow the game!” Thank God Tiger came along. Thank you, @TigerWoods. We all owe you. Tiger grew the game. But the game he grew was too hard, too expensive, took too long. Most who tried it back then didn’t stay. But with Tiger came more eyeballs. And with more eyeballs came more money. And with more money, better athletes. The elite level and college game got a lot better. So did technology. Faster swing speeds. More architecture, but not better. (Thankfully, there was Mike Keiser, who saw through the smoke.) For decades now we’ve been subjected to: “Play faster.” “Tee it forward.” “Make it more affordable.” “Simplify the rules.” “Make golf cool!” We’ve seen the launch of: First Tee PGA Jr. League Drive, Chip, Putt Youth on Course Jr. caddie academies And then… Top Golf! Short courses!! Simulators. White belts. Flat brims. Music. Hoodies. Instagram. YouTube. Golf got cool and inclusive?! And then came a global pandemic. Now what?! Growth in the game like no one could’ve ever predicted, imagined or anticipated. Some came back or they tried it for the first time. And they liked it! Men, but more importantly, women. Boys, but also girls! A more inclusive culture has resulted in a more diverse clientele. Wins across the board! Golf has turned several sharp corners… Record rounds, participation, growth and money. I believe we can point to the 150th playing of the Open as an issue for the governing bodies. On a venue they once played in reverse, in thick tweed coats and balls stuffed with feathers. And they played the 150th in four days of summer sun, almost no wind, fairways rolling faster than the greens, and even though it will go down as one of the more compelling majors since I’ve been following golf, and in spite of the fact that the guy who chipped and putted the best won, the governing bodies pick now to hit the panic button?! The fact is, you don’t hit it too far. And neither do you. Or you. And you, the guy who really rips it (Rory? Bryson? Brandon Matthews? Cam Champ?), you have one major championship since 2014 (Bryson at 2020 Winged Foot because he was 3rd in strokes gained off the tee, 3rd in strokes gained in approach, 2nd in strokes gained around the green and third in strokes gained putting on Sunday.) Sustainability matters. Obviously. But some courses were built where they shouldn’t be and they were used to sell real estate. And again, see trend of short courses. The game, reclaimed water and grasses are evolving. So, I ask you, why now? If you truly love the concept of “golf for all,” then why do anything? Why not celebrate the growth? Provide a respite from the noise that is the professional game. The idea of governing bodies loading the gun and aiming it at their own feet seems crazy. They’re adding to the negative discourse, polarizing the masses and bringing on lawsuits. Put that gun down and get out of the way. If people are clamoring and fighting for a rollback, they can tee it back, play persimmons, shorten their shafts, lengthen their fairway cuts and the rough, tuck the pins, speed up greens and cap lofts on their longest clubs. Meanwhile, we all fight age, time and physical restrictions. There is literally rollback built into the life of a golfer. Father Time is undefeated. Why am I against a rollback to the golf ball? Because it’s unnecessary. And horrible timing.