Brian S

Currently a golf account

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@JosephLaMagna Exactly. The course may not be the most exciting but consistently creates good tournaments and it rarely gets the appreciation it deserves

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@JosephLaMagna To be fair, I've only watched ~30 minutes so far, but where did they spend $25M?

I just keep hearing them talk about what it would be like firm/fast, but why would we EVER assume that would happen this time of year in Texas?

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@Tony_Lasagna_

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@TronCarterNLU As a Chiefs fan, I’m so over this dude. Get him out of there

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@NoLayingUp Exclamation point…similar to JJ last year

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@KVanValkenburg Crazy that both Phil + Bones AND Tiger + Stevie don’t talk anymore

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@NoLayingUp It’s literally just a par 5, par 71

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@thwacknicklaus The presser was electric

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@acaseofthegolf1 The least subjective rule in golf. What is there to argue?

Were you late? Yes/No

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@Hildebeest24 @Top100Rick Probably has to be a dramatically smaller driver head or possibly driver+ball (different than this ball implementation clearly)

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@BucksBrowns @thwacknicklaus After the Cam announcement, I don’t think anyone’s still arguing that the current ball rollback proposal makes sense. We are saying avg distance should be brought back to scale with every course in existence through other methods though

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@thwacknicklaus Why would we simply reduce club head size when we could …checks notes… move all of the bunkers at every pro venue every ~10 years?

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@GarbageDudes @TomLoughrey_LFE @jamierkennedy Who said anything about 3%?

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@TomLoughrey_LFE @jamierkennedy IMO yes, the back tees at most public courses are too short for high level amateurs given current equipment, but that's not my main concern.

My primary concern is the pro game. So I think bifurcation should be considered

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@MMGOLFSTUDIOS @pj_sullivan93 @jamierkennedy I'm saying the opposite - Augusta is fine, but no courses have Augusta's budget. I'm fine with bifurcation. My primary concern is the pro game

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@kkilstrom @jamierkennedy Courses already have strategic bunkers that have become irrelevant. You can keep adding more and they'll keep becoming irrelevant over time. Long hitters should be rewarded, just like speed/athletism is rewarded in other sports, but the professional game is out of scale IMO

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@thwacknicklaus Thank you for fighting the good fight

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@MMGOLFSTUDIOS @pj_sullivan93 @jamierkennedy Who's suggesting going back to 6300y courses? The point is that it's not as easy as just putting in an extra tee box. That land has to come from somewhere. Look at Augusta #13. Idk what's so hard to understand about that

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@pj_sullivan93 @jamierkennedy 1. Avg distance in 2013 when he won was 288 yds, now it's 303. More than +1 yd/year

2. That type of golf is only exciting because we see it ~once per year at the US Open. Firm greens are great but completely weather dependent

3. Augusta usually doesn't have any of those things

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@kkilstrom @jamierkennedy Put another way:
https://t.co/E9qgKQ9F4r

[Thwack Nicklaus @thwacknicklaus]

Why a ROLL BACK?

Imagine a hole.

450yd par 4. Straight.

Bunkers on each side — 275 carry from the tee.

Medium rough.

EVERY SINGLE MODERN TOUR PLAYER

Will send it over those bunkers with driver.

EVERY TIME.

LEAVING SAND WEDGE IN.

Now for the roll back… (read on)

Imagine a reduced-sized driver head.

200CC—similar to the size of a persimmon driver.

Can/will players still be able to hit it 300 yards?

Sure.

And they should!

The difference is this:

THEY CAN’T ALL DO IT EVERY TIME.

It’s a harder shot, mostly because the penalty for missing just slightly (with a head that size) is:

A) fairway bunker from 175 out

or

B) rough from the same distance

SOME PLAYERS WILL STILL GO FOR IT for the following reasons:

1) they are just really good ball strikers and trust that they consistently have that shot in the bag (Rory/Scottie).

2) they’re under the gun trying to make a cut or chase someone down on Sunday and want to apply pressure.

BUT

MANY PLAYERS WILL LAY BACK!

Why?

1) They don’t want to hit a 175 yard bunker shot or 175 shot from the rough

2) They’re more comfortable hitting a mid iron from the fairway

3) They’re just not feeling it that day. Swing is a little off (wouldn’t matter with modern driver—they’d still send it…)

ESSENTIALLY,

Rolling the ball back takes a simple hole and introduces many different outcomes and complexities that are essentially gone from the game right now.

If Rory ships one over that bunker with a tiny club head to keep the gas pedal down on Sunday, that’s a brave and admirable shot!

(b/c we now know what could happen if he misses)

If another player chooses to hit 3 wood to keep it in the fairway and flags a 5 iron and makes birdie, we know what a remarkable play that was (b/c it’s more difficult that hitting a lob wedge from 103 yds out of medium rough!)

To close, golf a the professional level is better when there are more outcomes, not fewer.

The better players will rise to the top—those who hit the ball better or (AND THIS IS KEY) those who make better decisions.

The modern game has taken most of the strategy out of professional golf.

It can easily be brought back!

But you have to reduce club head size to do it.

[Brian S @bschaf12]

@kkilstrom @jamierkennedy I guess if you're fine with golf that's devoid of strategy, or historic venues then sure. Augusta has an unlimited budget to buy adjacent land to maintain the strategic elements of the course, but virtually no other courses can justify those costs