I’m not talking about average drives here, but Jack Nicklaus has made a solid case that he’d likely have been able to drive the ball close to 400 yards with today’s equipment.
It’s not just the clubs that would make the difference, but the balls they use in the Modern Golf era.
I began to play golf in the mid-90’s, so I remember when ball technology really took off.
Before I get into this, a couple of points.
I am finding Modern Golf ever more laughable and, to keep my sanity, I have noticed that I am becoming a little, shall we say, “light-hearted” in my writing style.
It helps me cope with the trauma of what I see day in day out, so bear with me, if you will.
Update: Since posting this, I have uncovered evidence that takes the Tiger Squat back to his Sean Foley days, and it has just gotten worse and worse over time. /update
I have been wracking my brain for the past few days, trying to think of where the Squat & Dump move came from.
I have seen the Tiger Woods Tai-Chi routine, of course, but it wasn’t until I went looking for some old Tiger Woods swings that I found it – and yes, you can lay the blame on this horrific move on him and his coach at the time.
You can probably file this away under “Famous Quotes Before Disaster,” because this type of attitude leads to tragic endings.
Scottie Scheffler actually laughed off the incident where he clearly experienced pain in the aftermath of a “what was that?” swing off the 11th tee last Friday.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it yet once more – the pros in the game of golf are using equipment meant to help hackers and amateurs play golf better, and they shouldn’t be permitted to do so.
It’s the equipment makers who actually rule golf today, not the associations – every time there is talk of bifurcation to equipment (different clubs and balls than what is offered to lower-skilled players of golf), they scream and threaten to sue.
I hate when this happens – for years, whenever I have singled out individual swingers in a post on unsound mechanics, they uncannily come down with an injury within weeks.
The reason I rail against unsound golf swings and mechanically-incorrect moves is because I’m trying to get people to avoid hurting themselves simply swinging a golf club.
I wasn’t watching yesterday’s Tour event, but a WAX Nation citizen (thanks, Chief!) alerted me to something that happened to Scottie Scheffler during his round.
No two people will ever look exactly alike swinging a golf swing, unless they are identical twins, I imagine.
However, I just decided on a whim to compare my 2015 driver setup from May of that year to Jack Nicklaus’ 1963 setup and to one of Rory McIlroy’s from the last couple of years, and the similarities are striking, especially since I had never tried to emulate either of them in my swinging.
While I would never blame or mock amateur golfers who have something like a heel spin in their mechanical action, it is a wonder to me that there are professional golfers out there who still do it.
I have been thinking about how to illustrate that the heel spin is from improper mechanics and not some physical impediment as many people with flaws in their swings claim to have, and this could be the one.
I have said that of all the sports you can think of, that golf is the only one that has regressed in modern times.
All other disciplines are using science, bio analysis and everything else you can dream up, to improve performance, reduce injury risk and perfect technique.
Golf?
Not even close, my friends, and let me show you what I’ve begun to see more of from Modern Golf.
I love John Daly, but what a whopping take he had on the Tiger Woods vs Jack Nicklaus debate.
Again, even such a great player as Daly demonstrates the woeful lack of knowledge of golf history that abounds today.
WAX Golf 