What We Learned From Watson At Turnberry

Posted by John

July 22, 2009

tom watson1 What We Learned From Watson At Turnberry

Tom Watson’s near win at Turnberry tells us a few interesting things about the state of professional golf in the 21st century. First I have to add that Watson is and always has been a tremendous ball striker. He can also chip with the best of them. He just can’t make short putts anymore. But how does that enable him to compete with the best pros on tour who are generally 25 -30 years younger and who have the benefit of video analysis, swing coaches, shrinks, conditioning trainers and state of the art technology?

I see two key reasons, but perhaps not in the way you’d at first expect – new technology and golf course design.

Technology may help older golfers who learned on ancient equipment more than the young who know nothing else. Modern equipment does a lot more of the work in transferring energy to the golf ball in the most efficient manor. It also reduces the bad consequences of mishits. For someone like Watson, who learned on the ‘old’ technology, using new equipment has extended his longevity as a superb ball striker. Yesterday’s great players had to be precise with their swings where, today, you can get away with being less consistent. Also, back in the day, they didn’t have square groove clubs that allowed easy recovery shots from the rough.

While the technology has extended the ball striking careers of ‘older’ professionals it has made the younger players less disciplined. This difference is most noticeable on links courses when the wind blows, requiring precise shot making and the ability to keep the ball low. Modern pros are too accustomed to bombing it over trouble and then hitting wedge to greens where they can stop the ball on a dime, even from the rough. That strategy just doesn’t work at a links course under windy conditions. I don’t think I saw a ball spin backwards all week!

Watson himself admitted that he can no longer be competitive at a venue like Augusta. It’s setup for young guns who can blast and gouge. He feels, and validated this past week, that he can compete on Scottish links courses under normal (meaning windy) conditions. As the great golf architect Alister Mackenzie suggested, the best courses should challenge the amateur and professional alike. You and I can go play Turnberry and have a blast, but I don’t think we could say that about Augusta. Today’s newest courses in the US are being built more like Augusta than Turnberry and that is a problem for the game of golf.

weary tom watson What We Learned From Watson At Turnberry When I played this past spring in Scotland, the courses were filled with old geezers like myself who were having a great time playing in what we would consider trying conditions here. When you are rewarded for keeping the ball low and using the ground as your ally, it plays into the hands of the more thoughtful older golfer. It’s also terrific fun.

The Scottish courses aren’t particularly long, but they offer 10 times the mental challenge of most U.S. courses. They are easily walked, even by us old duffers. You don’t have to be able to hit an 8 iron 180 yards and a mile high in Scotland (you’d watch your ball sail into the ocean if you tried). It does help if you can hit a 3 wood on a line drive about 6 feet off the ground. That 8 iron sounds like the modern pro, the 3 wood sounds like most of the 50+ year olds I know.

In the modern world we are too often attracted by what is hyped instead of by what has real value. 7000+ yard courses for the average golfer are ‘hype’. You play it once to say you’ve been there, but it’s not going to give you a lifetime of enjoyment. Many of the much shorter courses I’ve played in Scotland I could play for 50 years and not be disappointed. They never play the same way twice since the weather and course work together so well. In true links golf the lay of the land between you and the hole is of utmost importance. In the US 90 percent of the course is something to ignore as you ‘fly’ the ball over everything. You don’t have to analyze the fairway to figure out which of 10 different landing zones off the tee is the right one today. There’s usually just one way to go.

Bottom line, new technology is great for keeping older players in the game longer, but it makes younger players sloppy – they can get away with a lot and never learn great ball striking. Modern courses for the most part hurt the game in my opinion with their ridiculous length and fascination with greens designed for ‘target’ golf. Golf’s nature is to be inclusive rather than exclusive. We can all credibly play Turnberry, but not Bethpage Black. Golf is a lifetime sport and the various organizations that are responsible for its care and feeding are responsible for keeping it that way. I hope they figure this out before it’s too late.