Technology is advancing golf exponentially, and in many ways it’s to the sport’s detriment.
The Old Course at St. Andrews is undergoing renovations to keep pace with modern technology, despite its 600-year history as a golf venue. And the Old Course isn’t alone in this. Even the iconic Augusta National has been extended in length in recent years.
Many of these legendary venues are not being played as their creators intended them to be. Long par fives are being reached in two with relative ease, and Oakmont Country Club made one of its par 3s over 300 yards at the US Open.
Bryson DeChambeau is one of the world’s longest drivers, and a large part of the problem. He once called Augusta National a par 67 due to its length, and DeChambeau is developing a new golf ball as part of his ongoing pursuit of better technology.
In 2021, he supported these advancements, even though the American admitted it could drive him out of the sport.
What Bryson DeChambeau said could make him ‘obsolete’ in modern golf
DeChambeau plays a heavy metal style of golf, looking to overpower courses with his distance off the tee. Just look at his shots on the first hole at Bethpage Black at the Ryder Cup, where he sent the crowd into raptures by almost driving the green.
He’s not the first to bring that style to the sport. John Daly was the first true long-distance driver, and he inspired a generation of hard-hitters to push their distance well over 300 yards off the tee. Now, long drivers such as Kyle Berkshire can carry the ball over 400 yards.
Ahead of the 2021 Masters, DeChambeau predicted that the trend would only continue, removing approach play from the game entirely.
He said, “I will say the drive, chip, and putt, what we saw with one of the kids imitating Kyle Berkshire, you’re already starting to see it with kids.
“I’ve had numerous college kids DM me on Instagram and ask me, ‘How do I get stronger? How do I get faster?’ So you’re already starting to see it through, from collegiate level all the way to junior golf level.
“I think as time goes on, there’s not much more to gain from the technology side of golf club manufacturing, building. There are little things we can do, but where the massive gains will be is in athletes.
“Once you get somebody out here that’s a 7-foot-tall human being and they are able to swing a golf club at 145 miles an hour effortlessly, that’s when things get a little interesting. That’s when I’m going to become obsolete, potentially even.”
But despite facing a potentially existential threat, DeChambeau thought the development is good for golf.
He continued, “Look, there’s still a chipping aspect and there’s still a putting aspect to it, but from a driving aspect, that’s where the gains will be had, is with these athletes coming out in the future. And it won’t stop. There’s just no way it will stop.
“I think it’s good for the game, too. I don’t think it’s a bad thing you’re bringing in and making it more inclusive to everybody when you’re doing that. The athletes are the ones that are going to in the end, move the needle in any sport you play, and I think that’s pretty amazing.”
Tiger Woods disagreed with Bryson DeChambeau about the future of golf
While DeChambeau is attempting to bring a new golf ball into play that can cope with his power, Woods once said more needs to be done to limit the development of that technology.
He said in 2017 on the Holding Court with Geno Auriemma podcast: “We need to do something about the golf ball.
“I just think it is going too far, because we are having to build golf courses. If they want to have a championship venue, they have got to be 7,400 to 7,800 yards long.
“And if the game keeps progressing the way it is with technology, I think the 8,000-yard golf course is not too far away.
“And that is pretty scary because we do not have enough property to start designing these type of golf courses, and it just makes it so much more complicated.”
“The USGA’s already looking at it. They are doing some research on what would the world look like if you rolled back 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent.”
New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp gave Woods a role as the Chair of the Future Competition Committee, which means he can have some level of impact on the sport’s direction.
But it’s going to take more than the greatest golfer of all time’s opinion to slow down this wave of technology.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
