Technology is part of the game.\u00a0 Ben Hogan played with better clubs that Gene Sarazen.\u00a0 Jack Nicklaus played with better clubs than Hogan and Tiger Woods certainly plays with superior equipment than Nicklaus.<\/p>\n
Gone from my bag are the one, two, three, and now even the four-iron.\u00a0 I have played with persimmon and laminated woods, aluminum and fiberglass shafts, and balata balls that could be irrevocably damaged with one mishit.\u00a0 The heads on my wood and irons, regardless of the materials, were much smaller with no offset.\u00a0 The club covers were smaller and were either knit or vinyl.\u00a0 Now they are huge and apt to be personalized in a playful way as well.\u00a0 Some have magnets while others have zippers.\u00a0 There are even golf tees that today are engineered to eliminate spin and drag.<\/p>\n
The putters today seldom resemble the smaller flange, mallet or bull\u2019s eye models that were so popular when I was younger.\u00a0 Exotic shapes and materials are the norm for putters, not the exception.\u00a0 As for the long and belly putters, while I was loner playing the long one for nearly twenty-five years, now a number of professionals rely on these longer putters.<\/p>\n
So what hasn\u2019t changed?\u00a0 My wedges really haven\u2019t changed much.\u00a0 While I usually have three or four now instead of two , (that might include a 60 and 64 degree version\u00a0 when 56 used to be the norm), the shape and design really hasn\u2019t changed that much. \u00a0That is even more true when you consider that the USGA is going back to less spinning groove.\u00a0 The wedge that Gene Sarazen popularized in the late 20\u2019s has pretty much endured without significant change.\u00a0 Sure, we have more choices of bounce and loft customized for whatever conditions we might face, but the concept remains intact.<\/p>\n
An old short game master such as the late Paul Runyan would askew such a variety of wedges.\u00a0 He was a magician with the wedge and could manufacture any type of shot with a simple 56-degree club.\u00a0 He was amazing to watch.<\/p>\n
So are things really better?\u00a0 I\u2019m not too sure, but what\u2019s in my bag is quite different.\u00a0 Golf is still an extremely difficult game for the vast majority of us.\u00a0 To really take advantage of the today\u2019s equipment, one must still make contact with the ball.\u00a0 Speaking of the ball, it simply goes too far.\u00a0 The distance achieved by today\u2019s good players simply because of the ball construction, not strength or skill, has made obsolete too many wonderful golf courses at a time when the added land and resources required to keep up don\u2019t fit in with the health and survival of the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"