Ohio Golf Journal September 2017

When the topic of, “How FAR a Golf Ball Flies,” comes up in locker rooms and 19 th hole discussions. “Fuzzy Thinking” quickly results in a call to, “We must do something before the game is RUINED!” Respected icons of the game, Jack Nicklaus and Hale Irwin, have said on more than one occasion, the problem with golf is, the ball goes too far . Let’s Look at the Facts. First, history has taught us that the controversy over technological advancement is not new. It was essentially the same in the nineteen-century and continues with every major advancement in balls and clubs. If you have extra time on your hands, look up the evolution of the feathery ball to the gutta percha. Then continue to the evolution of rubber-core ball, or the story of the Schenectady center- shafted mallet putter being outlawed, after Walter Travis used one to win the British Amateur. There was an outrage that all the fine old courses would Fuzzy thinking, even by well- known and respected GOLF people is still fuzzy thinking. Ohio Golf Journal FuzzyThinking, Let’s Lookat the Facts By: ED TRAVIS