THE DISTANCE DEBATE – FRASER’S VIEW

For a player not statistically among the long bombers, what’s your take on the distances being hit these days? “I’m not one of the biggest hitters out there, but then again, I don’t exactly do a lot of gym work, so I can’t really begrudge that! When you have access to all the information, and all the technology and gym programs and equipment that we have access to, it’s like any sport, there will be progression. That’s what happening to sport at the moment; we have access to so many things and all this different technology that helps you maximise every time you walk onto the golf course.” Has ‘defending courses’ from big hitters made it more difficult for the shorter hitter on Tour to survive? “Absolutely; no question. A lot of these guys are using a sand iron and I’d be using a five iron so ... I’m not jealous in any way, good luck to them, they’ve designed their game that way to suit the way the game is played this way. I’ve been lucky enough – golf is exciting to watch because these guys are athletic, they’re hitting balls a hell of a long way, and they’re going at it pretty hard. I think golf’s a great spectacle at the moment; it’s pretty impressive.” Are there events/courses you simply wouldn’t go to because you know they will play too long or you know it’s a bombers course? “In Portugal, it’s quite narrow off the tee up until about 270 yards, and then it becomes a football field after that! I can’t carry that distance. That’s just the way golf courses are designed the majority of the time these days, it’s all about length. I think it would make more sense if you actually increase the number of hazards you have and tighten the courses up.”