Since Tiger Woods and his fierce drive burst onto the scene in 1997, golfers have driven the ball further and further, using holes-lengthening courses to soften the edge – a practice that is both financially and environmentally unsustainable. But this week at the U.S. Open, the United States Golf Association will showcase Pinehurst No. 2, whose firm and quick conditions, along with silky, convex greens and considerable length off the tee, are designed to challenge the biggest players without resorting to more yardage. The USGA hopes this will demonstrate how courses can stand the test of time. The Open could be a key turning point in golf’s arms race with sports science and technology.
If this tactic proves successful, it could bring change beyond major championships and the PGA Tour. The need to combat increasingly longer drives extends far beyond the professional ranks, says Thomas Pagel, USGA chief executive officer. “You’ve got the college game, you’ve got the state amateur tournaments, you’ve got the state tournaments, you’ve got the PGA sectional events – all these golf courses have to increase in length to keep up.” The need to maintain sufficient levels of testing in top-level sports “is an issue that affects thousands of golf courses around the world,” Pagel says.
Pinehurst Course No. 2 has a long and storied past. It is also landlocked and has little ability to exceed its current range. In fact, the North Carolina course will play to 10 yards a shorter than the last time it hosted the U.S. Open in 2014. The USGA has committed to continuing to utilize “cathedrals of the game” like Pinehurst No. 2 — it plans to return to the North Carolina course four times over the next 25 years — but the ball keeps rolling than ever before and such classic objects are under threat. Over the past decade, the average distance traveled on the PGA Tour has increased it was getting stronger every year, gaining about 10 yards more since the last Open was held at Pinehurst. Compared to the early 1990s, today’s discs are 30 meters longer.
This is partly due to the players. Today’s professionals – and elite amateurs – are the epitome of physical fitness, with muscular arms and powerful legs that allow them to push off the ground and pop up during their swings, increasing the distance the ball flies. To achieve this effect, both men and women adopted a combination of recent techniques, modeled after a similar move Woods performed in golf early in his career.
This coincided with the advancement of technology. Launch monitors using Doppler radar – the same technology used in rapid-fire guns – measure the physical properties of the ball at the point of contact to provide players and coaches with a range of data: swing speed, ball launch angle, ball airspeed, how much it spins, speaking of how far it flies. These devices provide golfers with the data they need to change their technique and improve their equipment to hit the ball further.
“Long distance requires reducing the turnover of drivers and even irons, but maintaining the start,” says Chris Voshall, director of product development for sports brand Mizuno. Voshall says that over the past 10 to 15 years, launch monitors have helped players understand the relationship “between launch angle, spin rate and a golfer’s ability to generate ball speed.” In addition to better technique, this has resulted in more athletic players who are looking for faster swings to put more power into the ball, he says. Moreover, these monitoring devices have enabled sports companies to optimize their products for distance generation, focusing on starts and rotations, he says.