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.
‘‘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.
Sir Bob Charles
‘‘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.’’
In his own heyday, Charles was renowned more for his skill on the fairways and his impeccable putting game. ‘‘I was a short hitter ... I was 30 yards behind Jack Nicklaus, five yards behind Gary Player, 20 yards behind Arnold Palmer. Of course Nicklaus cleaned up [in our era], he was the longest hitter out there. It will always be that way – the longest hitter will always be amongst the winners.’’
Charles said the power game was also impacting on women’s golf, with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko among those struggling for distance and producing drives which were not long enough to be competitive.
The answer, Charles believes, would be to limit the power of the golf ball. He noted tennis and cricket balls had not changed over the years, although cricket bat improvements had allowed the ball to be hit further.
‘‘It’s a combination, in golf, of technology in clubs and balls, which are not doing anything for the good of the game.
‘‘What people must know is that technology helps the fitter, stronger golfer much more so than it helps someone with a slow swing speed, the club golfer who only hits it 200 yards or less.’’
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.
‘‘When I first went to St Andrews, the course measured 6500 yards. Every tee was beside the green.
‘‘The playing time for the members was between three to 31⁄2 hours. That was how I grew up – a round of golf took three to 31⁄2 hours.
‘‘Now it’s taking four to 41⁄2 hours. Watching those ladies play [in a LPGA event], they take 51⁄2 hours. Now, what’s that doing for the game?
‘‘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 41⁄2 hours for a round of golf.’’
Some courses were taking five hours to play, said Charles, who believes it is time to ‘‘shorten the tees, shorten the golf courses and shorten the performance of the ball’’.
In his book, Charles calls for a tee marker system based around swing speed, not gender.
‘‘We need shorter courses with more forward tees. Golfers need to play to their swing speed and not their egos.’’
‘‘Now everybody just stands on the tee and blasts away with no thought to accuracy and finesse.’’