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 THE STAT 26Percentage of wireless customers who use their cell phones to take picturesMore Vitals
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APRIL 15, 2003
By Mark Hyman Let Duffers Use Better Golf Gear The USGA should end its ban on tech-enhanced clubs and balls that help average golfers hit straighter and further -- and enjoy the game more
Over the years, I've sprinkled my bag with an array of technologically enhanced clubs with names like basher, boomer, and ERC II. With each swing of these supposed wonder clubs, I flagrantly violate the rules of golf as written by the USGA. This 20-handicapper -- along with countless weekend duffers -- could mend his ways and swear off the illegal clubs that arguably make shots fly a little farther and straighter. But a more just solution is available. The USGA should give its long-suffering duffers a break -- and give us our own set of rules. JUST LIKE TIGER. We're not talking about making the hole bigger. All that's needed is for the USGA to rethink its August, 2002, decision that just one set of equipment standards will continue to apply to all golfers, from Sunday hackers to the greatest golfer on earth, Tiger Woods. Research and development divisions of the golf-equipment makers, including Callaway (ELY ), Titleist, and Taylor Made, are driving golf's equipment debate. For decades, they've been refining club design with a string of innovations from oversize drivers that reduce bad tee shots to titanium alloys that make clubs lighter yet stronger. The problem with these advances is that they help the very top golfers smack their balls at the launch angle and speed of a 747. Advances in club and golf-ball performance have moved so swiftly that pros are outgrowing the courses they play. From the 1950s until today, the average tee shot on the pro tour has increased 24 yards. SILENCING THE SPRING. The result: The USGA has clamped down on runaway distance. One of the most aggressive efforts is the rule limiting "spring-like effect," the trampoline movement of a club face when it makes contact with a ball. As the engineers say, the greater the spring, the longer the shot. Major manufacturers honored the "spring-like effect" rule until 2000. Callaway Golf then became the first to bring to market a "nonconforming" driver. The ERC II, a $625 club when it was introduced, was pretty to look at and long off the tee, but it wasn't legal to use in pro or amateur competition. Its hefty price limited its appeal to consumers. And so did its status as a club that amateurs could use legally only in goof-around rounds with their pals. Now the ERC II retails for a mere $300, while the Big Big Bang driver (how's that for a golf-club name) sells for $124.97, plus shipping. And the list of other nonconforming models sell in the $200-range, about the same as a Taylor-Made or a Big Bertha, which are conforming clubs. Clearly, plenty of duffers are eager to hit it farther and willing to skirt the rules of the game to get the extra distance. "WE'RE ALL LINKED." Yes, there are ball standards. And I'm fine with them. But all balls are definitely not the same. Manufacturers compete fiercely to produce models they tout as the longest, softest, easiest to control, etc. The average amateur doesn't strike it well enough to benefit from the latest in aerodynamic marvels. But pros do. Earlier this year, no less than PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem left open the possibility that the tour someday might be forced to impose its own rules limiting ball distance. How evil can different equipment rules for pros and amateurs really be when Finchem won't rule it out? The USGA argues that at golf's essence is the notion all who play the game toe the same starting line. "Golf has a long history of one set of rules. No matter how well or poorly we play, we're all linked by that," says Dick Rugge, USGA senior technical director. "BALKANIZATION"? Rugge, a thoughtful defender of USGA policy, can tick off more doomsday scenarios than Tiger has endorsement deals. If the rules of golf allowed two different equipment standards for pros and amateurs, why not three or four? How about rules tailored for women over age 50 who read romance novels and watch Oprah. "Bifurcation easily could become balkanization," says Rugge. Besides, would we be as thunderstruck by a sizzling John Daly or Davis Love tee shot if now and then we were capable of smacking one 300 yards? "If we consistently did what the pros did, they wouldn't be as special," Rugge asserts. Last year, the USGA briefly flirted with loosening the restrictions for amateurs and "spring effect" clubs. But after months of spirited debate, the philistines of golfdom prevailed. Ron Drapeau, Callaway Golf president and CEO, thinks that's a shame. That's not shocking, considering Drapeau's company stands to add millions to its bottom line if the USGA embraces a bifurcation of "spring-like" policy. NO BIG THREAT. However, pay attention to the statistics Drapeau summons up. Of the 26 million golfers in the U.S., 25 million have double-digit handicaps or none at all. Each year, 3 million people take up golf and another 3 million quit. (Conclusion: Golf is a hard game to play.) Golfers with 18 handicaps using one of Callaway's nonconforming drivers likely will lengthen average drives from 168 yards to 188. (Egads, they'll be able to see the green on their par-four second shots.) The long-suffering 25 million golfers who won't break 80 this summer aren't a threat to the game, even armed with their nonconforming clubs. We forgive tax dodgers and scofflaws. How about amnesty for us hackers who just want to savor a par now and then?  Hyman is a BusinessWeek contributing editor for sports business Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. 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