THE REACTION

MARCH 25, 1990

Statement from David Maher, CEO of Acushnet, parent company of Titleist

“Acushnet’s position is rooted in the belief that equipment innovation, while conforming to the rules of golf, has been a powerful force in the game and great contributor to its evolution and enjoyment at all levels of play.

“Equipment evolution, along with the increased athleticism of today’s competitive player, has helped to advance the game’s timeless and aspirational appeal. This was a cornerstone of our response to the governing bodies’ request for stakeholder participation prior to their issuing the Distance Insights Report in 2018.

“Our initial response is focused on the proposed change to golf ball testing methodology which would represent a meaningful departure from the current Overall Distance Standard (ODS) which is fixed around a specific set of speed, launch and spin conditions mirroring the launch characteristics of the game’s elite player.

“Established by the USGA in 1976, the ODS has stood the test of time and has evolved over the years to take advantage of improved testing technologies and reflect updated player launch conditions.

“The proposed consideration of a bandwidth approach, with launch angle between 7.5 and 15 degrees and spin ranging from 2200 to 3000 rpm disconnects the process from the elite player and introduces a wide range of complexities as it relates to golf ball design, manufacturing and conformance which we need to further research.

“Acushnet looks forward to participating in this process and contributing our perspective which is informed by more than 80 years of experience designing and manufacturing conforming equipment and our daily interaction with thousands of golfers across the globe.”

Webb Simpson, PGA Tour player.

“I don’t think equipment is the problem. Jack Nicklaus hit it a lot further than Bobby Jones, and then the guys after Jack are going to hit it further than Jack. Distance was never really that big of an issue when Jack was playing and hitting it 300 yards.

“I just think the issue comes down to golf course architecture. We need more doglegs. We need tighter fairways. We need longer rough. We need smaller greens. We need more firm greens.”

Justin Thomas, PGA Tour player

“Companies have put millions of dollars into the construction of golf balls and equipment, and to be perfectly honest, I think it would be extremely selfish of the USGA and the R&A to do that because of all the hard work that they’ve put in to make their equipment and golf balls as great as they possibly can...”

“Also look at your everyday golfer and go up to him and tell him that you want him to hit it shorter because just the top .001 percent of all golfers are hitting it too far.”

Statement from David Abeles, TaylorMade CEO.

“We have meticulously reviewed the

USGA and R&A’s 2017 Distance Report and discussed its findings with key stakeholders.

“Additionally, we have carefully considered the inferred implications that the study may have on the game moving forward. The TaylorMade Golf Company firmly opposes any potential rollback of product performance or bifurcation of the rules in any form as we believe these movements will be detrimental to the game at every level.”

It came swift and with all the drama we used to associate with Greg Norman atop of a leaderboard at the business end of a tournament.

After Paul Azinger dunked his 16th green approach into water, the Nestle Invitational (now known as the Arnold Palmer Invitational) look set to be headed for yet another breath-taking play-off between Larry Mize and Norman. As the shadows lengthened across the famed Bay Hill course, the final two from the 1987 Masters shared the lead at 13 under.

A victory by rookie professional Robert Gamez was at the longest of odds. The 21-year-old was 12 under as he stood in the 18th fairway surveying his second shot to a flag 176 yards away. He then ripped a 7-iron into the air … the ball punched into the green two feet short of the pin, hopped up even with the flag then spun sideways to the cup.

It was the most dramatic finish in the history of Arnie’s tournament. Here was a Tour rookie subduing the field with an eagle on the (then) most difficult hole on the PGA Tour and leapfrogging Norman and leaving the likes of Mize, Scott Hoch and dual US Open Champion, Curtis Strange, in his wake. How dramatic was the eagle? As the ball dropped, host Arnold Palmer was standing by the scorer’s tent shaking his head in disbelief. “This kid’s something, huh?” he said.

For the Shark, he’d been slayed by the golfing Gods again … this time he had been brought down by a bullet-like 7-iron. To lose the US PGA in 1996, Norman watched Bob Tway hole an impossible bunker shot on the final hole. To lose the Masters three years earlier, Norman watched Mize bounce a 140-foot chip onto, and race across, the 11th green and into the cup. At Troon, eight months earlier, Mark Calcavecchia hit a skinny chip midway up a flagstick and saw it drop straight down into the hole before beating the Shark and Wayne Grady in a play-off.

At Bay Hill, no one could have seen the magic shot coming … from a young guy Norman wouldn’t know if he passed him in the street. “If he walked in this room, I wouldn’t know him,” Norman said. One American scribe was moved to write: “You get the idea that Norman is the last guy you want to be standing near in a thunderstorm.”

Norman sat through a series of sympathetic questions in the media room. He insisted this latest unthinkable loss was just water off a duck’s back. “What can you say?” Norman asked. “All you can do is try your best.” Norman knew lady luck had turned on him again as he stood on the 17th tee and heard the roars from the gallery ringing the 18th green.

“With a roar like that, you know exactly what happened,” Norman said. “I just didn’t know which one had made the shot.

“Write whatever you want, but what another guy does doesn’t affect me. I’m happy with my results.”

So was Gamez, who later described the relief that he didn’t have to face a birdie putt on the final hole to force a play-off.

“I was so glad to see the ball go in,” Gamez said. “I was just relieved my round was over and I didn’t have to go up there and putt for birdie.”

Gamez’s closing eagle capped a final round 66 and his second win in just 10 weeks on the PGA Tour.

In proving just how hard it is to win on the PGA Tour, it would take Gamez another 15 and a half years, or 394 tournament starts, before he hoisted another trophy, this time at the Valero Texas Open where he bookended a pair of 68s with rounds of 62 and 64.

“It has been a long time, a long time coming,” Gamez said after his Texas victory. “I knew it would happen, I just didn’t know when.”