My Dad!!

[The_Power]

My Dad is now telling me that I will never make it to the top in longdrive, why? because he has looked on the LDA website and noticed that the distances posted are sometimes much further than those we register on the LDE Tour. When I try to tell him that a 300yd drive into a 30mph headwind at Turnbury Scotland, when you can barely even see the grid because it's raining so hard, might just be equivalent to a 500yd bomb with a 50mph tailwind on a rolling grid in Albuquerque; he looks at me like I've lost my mind!

My point is that in this sport hitting conditions matter much more than the layman golfer appreciates. You need only look at the RE/MAX World Championship which always takes place at Palms Golf Club, on the same grid, at the same time of year, and yet anything from 314yds to 400+yds has been good enough to win. I played in an LDA Tour event in San Bernardino in Aug 2003 (where I was surprised to find out that my Ping TISI driver was obsolete!), it was a hot pleasant day with a modest tailwind that was forever getting up and then dying away to nothing. In the semi-finals the current World Champion David Mobley stepped up to the tee just as the wind died away to nothing. Nobody needs me to tell them how talented this guy is, and yet you could tell by his body language that this bad break had almost defeated him before he had launched his first ball, and sure enough, even with his supreme talent, he was unable to progress to the finals.

In a sport often won by inches rather than yards, any change in conditions within a group of hitters is going to be significant, and I've been told that the weather was certainly a factor in this years World Championship. This begs the question, should we be doing more to create and maintain a level playing field, or should we just accept that there is an element of luck associated with longdrive and hope that the weather is kind to us!?

Phil "The Power" Naylor

[thekid]

Great topic Phil!

We all know how conditions play a vital role in our sport.
If we could, somehow, come up with 3 different new ways of going through a tournament and making it more fair. After 3 posted, we select the one example we like the most.

Here`s one brainstorm, I also wrote about this to Art..
Even though this example was mainly directed towards the World finals, it can be applied in regular events as well.
I think players should hit at 2 different sessions, one day in morning, next day in afternoon.
Play on 2 grids next to each other (World finals only?),
Have 5-10 guys hitting 10 balls each within 3 minutes, at the same time at each grid  (marked balls) then measure.

The top 36 longest drives each day (making it 72, could be fewer) go to Saturday.


Saturday, divide into groups of 8.
Hitting 4 or 8 at the same time, 2 sessions per player.
Longest drives from all 72 players, go into quarters which is then played in traditional way.

Summary;
Elimination rounds start in quarters or semis.
This way the longest drives go through. Each player gets a chance to hit both morning and afternoon!
More players hit under same conditions.
I am aware of some difficulties in spotting balls etc.
This is where we have to be creative/ innovative.
It is possible to make "out area" none- bouncable. By ways of sand or plastic softness,etc. Great sponsor place!

This could be one way,
Whats everyones oppinion?
By the way Phil, your dad`s wrong. you can make it!

The kid :wink:

[The_Power]

Thanks for the encouragement and don't worry, I never listen to my Dad anyway!

I like your brainstorming, tricky topic this one, I'm going to have a think about it myself and see if I can also put an idea forward.