WRX Forum Buzzz
What GolfWRXers are saying about Tour pro distance
In our forums, WRXer ‘dalehead’ has been investigating distance on Tour with his findings leading him to believe the only issue where there is a distance problem in the sport is with the very elite levels. Per ‘dalehead’:
“I went to the Tour website and found their list of top 70 drivers for distance. The median (half were longer, half were shorter) was 279 yards. So do we really have a distance problem? Oh, I forgot to mention these stats are for the Champions Tour. But these guys are still pretty good. They might even give a WRX’er a game. Got me wondering if we really have a distance problem anywhere except the most elite levels.”
The topic is a divisive one and has got our members talking, with plenty of interesting viewpoints offered up from our members on how to protect courses from the elite bombers.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- Golfrnut: “The problem is not distance per se, it’s the fact that technology has improved the equipment faster than courses have improved to handle the change. The designs of the courses were made for a far shorter game, which are now proving to be irrelevant for all but the “shorter” hitters. Most fairway bunkers, par 5s, and the like are no longer a part of the course layout that matters…the only protection is making the hole 500+ yards and closer to 600 for par 5s. Add in the fact that groups like the Tour committee love selling the long ball on TV so they won’t grow up rough either to help mitigate the bomb and gouge style of play.”
- RedWings1: “My 2 cents is that the answer is in the setup of the courses the tour uses. Stop all the fairways from running a 9/10 on the stimpmeter and rolling out another 20, 30 & 40 yards after landing. Set up the fairways much tighter. More strategic off the tee if you will. If I guy has the ability to hit it 300 yards carry and keep it in a tighter fairway – congrats that’s an awesome ability.”
- mokedaddy: “One could easily argue the mental side required now is tougher than in the past. More stimulation, bigger crowds, more money and better fields of players. I definitely agree there are a lot of players that have the physical skill to compete but are a mess between the ears.”
- Beerperhole: “Every time I hear about this I can’t help but think that people are looking to what the top elite do on the course and using it to justify changes to the game as a whole. I’m no WXRr. I get out there and hit him 230 to 280 off the tee. That puts me well past a majority of the other weekend warriors I play with. Still…the courses we are on (from the white tees) still eat me alive. And, it remains that the biggest obstacle to growing the game is how difficult it is. Golf is a hard game. So, maybe we shouldn’t make it harder for all us millions of shlubs who play it for the fun of it. It’s like taking all basketball rims and raising them up to 12 feet…”
Entire Thread: “Tour pro driving distance”
Equipment
I’m a 31 year-old male and I turned my apartment living room into a driving range stall – GolfWRXers react
In our forums, our members have been reacting to a post from ‘GolferTodd’ who has turned their apartment living room into a driving range stall. ‘GolferTodd’ produced the following photo in our forums with the caption:
“To the exclusion of furniture. Bachelor life.”
And our members have been reacting to the post in our forums.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- MtlJeff: “This is amazing……When i was 28 i lived in an apartment that had my winter tires in the kitchen, i only had one plate and 1 set of knives and forks, and i cooked pasta in a witches cauldron from 1835. And i still convinced a woman to marry me. So i am all for this. In fact this is way better than what i had to offer.”
- TiScape: “Love it Todd. Go Dodgers!!”
- imkirby34: “Based on the view out the window, it looks like you’re on the first floor, which is probably a good thing because I’d hate to live below you, even if you have an extremely shallow AoA. Haha.”
In our forums, our members have been discussing classic irons. WRXer ‘DonaldDunes’ has caught the vintage club bug, and wants to know other members’ favorite iron models that “have stood the test of time or were the top performers for their day.”
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- Maine Golfer: “I love a lot of clubs but ’69 Wilson Staff’s are an all time favorite. Easy to hit in relative terms and they look amazing.”
- Wilsonian: “No surprise from me, but the Wilson K-28 irons, specifically blades with the glide thru sole. I grew up playing Ram clubs, but got away from them as I got older. My return to vintage was with the Wilsons, and my first set of hickories were the Wilson Plus Success irons. You’ll try a lot of sets, but I think it’s a matter of what feels best in your hands, specifically your 7 iron which is the best indicator imo.”
- Hawkeye777: “Hogan Redlines. Macgregor Nicklaus Muirfield 20th. Wilson Staff Tour Blade. Those are mine, don’t play any of them these days (no real reason to) and didn’t really “collect” them. The Wilsons I played with for years.”
In our forums, our members have been discussing how much wear is too much wear when purchasing used irons. WRXer ‘con_mon2’ is interested in a used set of iron and kicks off the thread, asking:
“Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this! How much wear are you comfortable with?
I found a set of irons on eBay that I am very interested in buying, but they have a bit more wear than I’m comfortable with. I have attached a few pictures showing especially the wear on the sweet spot on the PW and 9 iron. Maybe you can convince me that I’m being too picky and I should just buy them? Or maybe I should be concerned about the wear? I’m not really sure. They are Ping i230s which came out in 2022 so they aren’t that old. And the seller had this to say about the condition: ‘Good: Normal wear for their age. Excellent playing condition but they have cosmetic wear on faces and soles. Sweetspot wear is visible.’
Beyond the cosmetic, I’d really like to know this: At what point do you start to worry about the grooves being so worn that they have a substantial effect on the shots you’re hitting?”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in response.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- rsballer10: “The term you are looking for is “browning” and these irons have some of that going on. They are completely playable, but I’d say they’ve reached their half-life.”
- Nessism: “Those heads are stainless steel. The “browning” that some people reference, is really the yellow shade of the nickel layer under the chrome. When forged carbon steel heads wear through the chrome, the “brown” is RUST. These heads will never rust. People applaud the old Ping irons as being “indestructible”. Those heads had no chrome. These heads, even if the chrome is beginning to wear through, on one head, are miles more durable than the older unplated “indestructible” Ping’s. And even further ahead of any forged club.”
- phizzy30: “Hard pass for me. I would rather get a new set of DTC irons and would be glad to spend the extra couple to few hundred.”
Entire Thread: “When buying used irons: How much wear is too much? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Ken Kapcia
Apr 2, 2020 at 4:35 pm
Not so sure distance is a problem for the typical golfer! If the average men’s handicap index was truly lower than the medium average from the 80’s,90’s and the last two decades we could have an issue. I bet if you look these numbers up you will identify that nobody is truly playing any better.
drkviol801
Apr 5, 2020 at 6:32 am
Yep, the clubs and golf balls haven’t gotten that much better in the last 10 years. An R9 driver with a penta ball is lethal tbh… J.B holmes said it best he’s been hitting it 300 since he was 10 years old.