Golf
Hype dream
Today's high-tech drivers are wildly popular, and professionals are hitting the ball farther than ever, but the sad news is the average amateur still is just dinking along.
By JOHN SCHWARB, Times Staff Writer
Published October 16, 2003
Golf is in the middle of a distance revolution, but the most likely place to see a 300-yard drive still is in front of a television.
That so-called "reachable" par 5 at the local muni probably is as safe now as it was 20 years ago, though many of the Sunday morning regulars still insist on waiting for the green to clear before hitting their second shot.
And all that commotion Tiger Woods made a few months ago when he called for driver testing? He was not asking to see yours.
The average amateur still is just that off the tee, despite advances in technology and equipment that are propelling PGA Tour pros to astronomical drives. A recent Golf Digest study revealed the average driving distance on Tour has increased nearly 11 percent in the past decade - from 260 yards in 1993 to 288 yards in 2003.
Double-digit handicappers, however, have only seen an increase of 6 percent over that same time, from 193 yards to 205.
What in the name of Big Bertha is going on here?
"Distance is overrated," said Dave Stewart, head professional at Fox Hollow Golf Club in Pasco County. "Every golfer says I need 10 more yards, but it's a lot more beneficial to have three fewer putts a round than 10 more yards on their tee shots."
Yet, Stewart notes, many players will laugh at a friend who just spent $200 on a Scotty Cameron putter while barely blinking at the $400 driver. The putter, of course, will be used for two to three times as many strokes in a round.
Drivers, however, still power the bottom line of the golf club industry and the imagination of amateurs.
"For average golfers, handicaps have not gone down, scores have not gone down," said Larry Dorman, a senior vice president at Callaway. "But what has increased to a certain extent is that every now and then they do hit a drive that goes farther than what they're used to.
"That's due directly to advancements in the tools, or the drivers, that they use."
Finding players who admit to only an every-now-and-then long drive is rare. Courses are seeing average hitters trying to tackle the tips more frequently, figuring that one long drive will repeat itself a dozen or more times over 18 holes.
"I see it every day out there. Most golfers should not be playing championship tees," said Pat McClanahan Maser, a teaching professional at Belleview Biltmore in Pinellas County. "On a 400-yard par 4, is there a 20-handicapper that can reach that green in two? Most people can't."
That's not to say technology has not helped a little. Rick Bradshaw, a teaching pro out of Pebble Creek Golf Club in Tampa, said the bigger-headed drivers that have taken over the marketplace help those with fundamentally sound swings.
Anyone who gives lessons will say a new driver can help, provided it's properly fitted to the player. That requires explaining concepts like loft and shaft flex and length.
"Almost everybody that we fit for a driver ends up with one that has more loft than they think they should have," Stewart said. "More loft helps almost every single golfer. They say they have got to have a 9.5 degree (loft); the first one I try to give them is an 11."
Shafts also are largely misunderstood, as amateurs frequently choose a too-stiff flex and even base a choice by color, like the eye-catching UST Proforce graphite shaft that is among the more popular on the market.
"People see the yellow and purple and think they have to get it," Stewart said. "It's good for some people, not everyone."
Golf retailers, on the front lines of the distance craze, happily sell on Mondays to those influenced by what the pros are hitting over the weekend, but they say such impulse buys are not as common anymore.
"It's a small segment," said Gary Davis, sales manager at Pro Golf Discount in Clearwater. "The golfer realizes the benefit of being straight. Long is great, but long and crooked is not as good as a little shorter and straighter.
"The clubs that are out there now will get you there."
- John Schwarb can be reached toll free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 1407. Send e-mail to schwarb@sptimes.com
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