METAL WOODS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BANNED IMMEDIATELY!By GILLIAN STEWART
I was testing a new driver recently. I’m very much a traditionalist as regards equipment. I still use a set of blades, Mizuno blades. I have had a try at the Callaway and the heel-toe and all that but I’ve gone back to the blades. And I got this driver out yesterday - the kind of driver Peter Alliss has recently described as being like “a bungalow on a stick”, i.e. a huge titanium head. I’d never really had a go with this kind of club before. I just never got into the titanium thing. Because of the bigger head, they have to have longer shafts and I didn’t want a longer shaft because I felt it was far too unwieldy. But, I hit this thing and the ball went considerably farther than my steel-headed driver and it also went a more consistent distance. There is maybe 40yd difference between my present club’s worst and best drives. But with this titanium driver there was maybe only 15yd difference between the poorest and the best hit. I have to accept that if I’m going to play at all, to compete these days, I’ve got to have one of these titanium drivers. CAN’T BE RIGHT From this huge head the ball just takes off. The thing that struck me was that I could not tell the difference from the flight of the ball, or the feel off the clubhead, what was a good swing and what was a bad swing. And I was thinking “This cannot be right because I could feel, for instance, when I put a poor swing on it and yet the ball has still gone out there. The way things are going I think the skill of the game is being eroded away. The titanium driver is quite legal (It is not affected by the recent ruling of the R&A to fall in line with the USGA to ban the ERC11 from January 1 next year for professionals and for amateurs five years down the line). But I don’t think the titanium driver should be legal. WHEN METAL WOODS CAME OUT, THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN BANNED, STRAIGHT OFF. Do you remember when Dennis Lillee came out with his aluminium cricket bat? When he came back into the pavilion, he was told in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t use it again. I’m sorry that didn’t happen in golf. Metal woods should not have been allowed. If we had stayed with the wood woods, the more skilful players would have continued to prevail. I think with the equipment changes we’ve had in recent years, there’s been a great levelling out of the abilities of players - because you can get away with so much more. I couldn’t believe it when I tried the Titanium driver. I was thinking it’s great but it’s not right. I want a bad swing, a bad shot to feel like a bad shot and to produce a bad result. BIG MISTAKE I hate the way golf is going with equipment. The introduction of metal woods was a big mistake. I cannot see players of the Seve Ballesteros mould emerging in future with the equipment that is now permissible. And I think that’s really sad for the game of golf. Seve was a “feel” player who could shape lots of different shots with different clubs and was so exciting to watch for that reason. Nowadays you’re not required to shape or manufacture shots nearly as much - The modern courses do not require you to be able to do that and the equipment reflects that. Or is it that the courses reflect the equipment? I think that’s the truth. It’s not progress. When you look at courses like St Andrews, when they held the Open there, it’s just a caricature of what it used to be. Jack Nicklaus says that a ball should be introduced that does not fly nearly as far as the present ones do. They have got to do something. It’s all very well giving high handicap amateur golfers enjoyment, and for pros too it’s great to be able to hit the ball for miles but let’s keep the bigger picture in mind – Is this good for the game of golf long term? NO 1 CLUB You never see a two-iron in anybody’s bag these days. The girls’ bags? They start at five-iron. They have maybe six woods in their bags, there’s no place for the two, three-and four irons. The lob wedge has now become the No 1 “must have” club in most tour players’ bags. The women’s tour does not tend to go to the traditional seaside courses where you get the wind in your face and would need a long iron to keep the ball down under it. The events are mainly on inland courses that are becoming very heavily watered and manicured. The priority is “through the air carry” to holding greens. In my opinion we’re getting away from what golf should be about. The skill is being taken out of the game. Here’s a radical thought for you – if we had wood woods only, smaller heads on both woods and irons, larger golf balls – all this would definitely demand a higher skill level. The traditional courses would become relevant again, their defences having been restored. And don’t you think the most skilful player would come out on top more - for sure! Oh -and you’d definitely know if you hit a bad shot “Ouch!” READ MORE FROM GILLIAN STEWART IN THE AUGUST EDITION OF GOLFVIEW ++If you want a copy of “Golfview” posted to you monthly (every month except January), please send a cheque for £15, made payable to Golfview Ltd., to cover postage and package and administration costs, alongwith your name and address to: Golfview Ltd, Post service, Printagraph Ltd, Berryden Business Centre, 12 Berryden Road, Aberdeen AB25 3SA. |
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