Kiwi veteran Charles wants to cut the power game

Former major winner Sir Bob Charles continues to lament the power game now prevalent in world golf and says technology is ‘‘destroying the great golf courses of the past’’.

Charles – the 1963 British Open champion who won 70 titles in a 50-year career – said he ‘‘wouldn’t want to be starting my career in competitive golf now’’.

The 84-year-old has been a longtime critic of golf’s obsession with the power game and outlined the need to introduce a tees structure based on swing speed in his recent book, Sir Bob Charles – The Biography.

Charles told Stuff the power issue was getting worse with bighitters such as 2020 US Open champion Bryson Dechambeau consistently driving the ball 350 yards plus.

‘‘The game has changed considerably in recent years,’’ Charles said. ‘‘I can’t say it’s changed for the better, in my eyes.

‘‘The sad thing about the golf game is that technology is destroying the great golf courses of the past,’’ he said.

‘‘Two examples come to mind – St Andrews Old Course in Scotland and Merion in Philadelphia, they’ve got nowhere to expand.’’ Both were now ‘‘pitch and putt courses’’.

‘‘Technology, in my view, is ruining the game because the golf ball is going ridiculous distances,’’

Charles said.

‘‘The [British] Open is back at St Andrews in 2022, and there’s at least four of the par-fours there which will be drivable to guys hitting the ball 350 yards-plus.’’

Charles believe it’s time for golf’s authorities to take action. ‘‘In my humble opinion, the powers that be have got to do something about reducing the power of the golf ball to accommodate the great golf courses of the past.’’

He would like to see the ball’s performance ‘‘reduced to the days of Jack Nicklaus in his prime when his average tee shot was 275 yards. The ball should not go further than 275 yards, and less would be better.’’

Charles said Dechambeau was ‘‘driving it every hole into the rough near the tee. There was no thought in his mind of hitting fairways. His thought was to hit the ball, and exceed 350 yards’’.

‘‘In the days of [Ben] Hogan, [Sam] Snead and [Byron] Nelson they would go whole rounds of golf missing one fairway.

‘‘Now, some of these guys go a whole round of golf hitting only one fairway.

‘‘The same with Tiger Woods. How many tournaments did he win out of the rough? He was a blaster off the tee, but blessed with an incredible short game.

‘‘When you look at the record book, and see how the old masters used to play, by hitting fairways and hitting greens, now everybody just stands on the tee and blasts away with no thought to accuracy and finesse.’’

Charles, who still enjoys watching golf’s major championships on television ‘‘and events on courses I know and enjoy’’, is concerned that longer courses are leading to longer rounds, which could, potentially, put people off golf.

‘‘Everyone’s conscious of time these days, you’ve got three hours, which is half a morning; it’s a turnoff for people to consider 41⁄ hours for a round of golf.’’