Change on distance at last?

The R&A and USA’s “joint statement of principles” dates from 2002, and is probably the most referred to document in the game of golf. Referred to by the R&A and USGA, that is. The joint statement was their “line in the sand” stating that technology would never supersede skill in the game.

“Any further significant increases in hitting distances are undesirable” was the key element of the joint statement. It was a promise to safeguard the game.

I remember well when Peter Dawson, then chief executive of the R&A, said prior to the 2005 Open that the Old Course was golf’s other “line in the sand”. From that time on, he said after new tees were added on three neighbouring courses, the game’s greatest links would no longer be stretched to fit the game of golf, it would be the other way around.

Well, we all know what happened there. Within five years there was a new tee box 35 yards back at the Road Hole.

Similarly, the statement of principles’ grand crusade has turned out to be anything but. Driving distances continue to balloon, more and more players are hitting longer.

In response to this evidence the governing bodies have continued to insist that driving distance has “plateaued” since 2002. They even produced a series of spurious, selective statistics last year to “prove” their case.

Last week there was interesting – and yes, equally selective – statistics compiled by Golf Digest that said the exact opposite.

The guys at GD, obviously in a quiet week, picked a series of players currently on the Champions Tour and compared their average driving distance from their PGA Tour stats at age 30.

The figures are startling, but of course not surprising. Of the 11 players they picked, the average distance gain was about 7.5%. Yes, guys in their 50s and beyond are hitting it far further than they did when they were 30.

Freddie Couples, who was not short to begin with, is more than 10% longer. Our own Colin Montgomerie, clearly without any reference whatsoever to the athleticism that is one excuse for players hitting the ball further, has gained nearly 3%.

All are wildly above the 1% gain the governing bodies’ figures last year said was the current, “acceptable” gain in average driving distance.

I always think the best gauge is not so much the distance guys are hitting it, but the number who are hitting it that long. In 2002, the year of the lofty statement of principles, just one player – John Daly – averaged over 300 yards per drive on the PGA Tour.

This year, with two restricted field events left to go, 42 players average over 300 yards.

Why does this matter? Well, first of all there’s large elements of golfing skill being eroded. Holes of once formidable length, even par fives, are a drive and a flick with a short iron.

Secondly, golf courses have to stretch to accommodate the extra distance. Many great courses, rendered almost obsolete for professional golf, have to be altered to make them a travesty of their historic challenge – Merion for the US Open in 2013 springs to mind.

Longer golf courses are more expensive, more environmentally impactful and also make the game much, much, slower to play. It’s been an interesting and encouraging trend in recent years to see courses – many in our own area – “revert” to original lengths and designs and opt out of this race for length.

The solution, almost everyone who thinks there is a problem agrees, is the ball. Stop it flying such huge distances, and all the change becomes relative – the longer hitters like Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy will still have an advantage that their skill warrants, it just won’t be at the total expense of other, equally relevant golfing skills.

Titleist, the game’s biggest ball maker, put out a lengthy presentation – you can find “Tradition and Technology” on the media portion of their website – which can be basically translated as 53 pages of “it’s not our balls, honest”.

Using the R&A and USGA figures from last year, they state there’s been no real change in distance or scoring without any reference whatsoever to the frequent course adjustments made week on week to curtail long hitting.

They also try to draw a rather silly correlation between past golfing technogical advances dating back to the 1880s. And some of their stats they use to justify the “nothing has really changed” argument re just wrong – Carnoustie for the Open in 1953 played at 6701 yards, not 7200.

The question is why Titleist would feel the need to put out a massive tome like this. If the underlying threat of a restraint of trade lawsuit against the governing bodies for restricting the ball was enough, why do they feel the need to make such a (lengthy) case?

Maybe because there’s a hint of movement at last. The line in the sand in the joint statement of principles was passed long ago, and, as DJ and others continue to mash courses into submission, there’s just a hint that the governing bodies are wavering.

Too late? It’s never too late to do the right thing.

Guys in their 50s and beyond are hitting it far further than they did in their 30s

Picture: AP Fred Couples, at 57 with his famously bad back, hits the ball 10% further than he did at 30.

John Daly: the only PGA Tour player averaging over 300 yards off the tee in 2002.