Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: Random thoughts on the Masters

Published

7 years ago

Apr 16, 2019

The first major of the year is history now, and true to form, it did not disappoint. Augusta National so often seems to find a way to deliver real drama and so many storylines right out of fantasy.

Tiger Woods has long been a polarizing figure in the game, it seems. But there is no denying that he combined shotmaking skills and steadiness under pressure …and more than just a bit of Augusta National savvy to earn this victory.

His shot to No. 12 showed that more than just about any other. How many times have we witnessed Masters rookies and relative rookies dunk their tee shot there by going at that right pin position? So Tiger watches Molinari, Koepka, and Finau make that mistake and takes the water completely out of play with his approach.

But what impressed me more about Tiger (or failed to impress by the others) was his ability to hit quality golf shots when it counted. How many of the others just could not put their drives in the fairway to give themselves good looks with their approaches? And how many hit below-average-to-poor approach shots to take birdie out of the picture and put bogey in it?

True to Masters form, we witnessed the drama of those who fired and fell back, giving us thrills and heartache along the way — Cantlay, Schauffele, Koepka. As is so often the case, the Masters is as much about who lost it as who won it.

Kudos to Tiger Woods for clawing his way back to the top of the heap in professional golf. Whether you like him or not, there’s no denying he played the golf course better than all the others. He never made the big mistakes and he hit the shots he needed too when he had to hit them. That’s the mark of a champion, right?

I read last night that he led the field in greens-in-regulation and was T1 in fairways. What a concept — hitting quality golf shots to beat a golf course!! He also stated that he had finally gotten his driver to where he could work it both ways with confidence. He always was a phenomenal iron player, with a scary short game and deadly putter. If he is feeling that way about his driver, the rest of this PGA Tour season might be one for the ages.

So now for some questions.

Watching this Masters for so many hours continued to punctuate how different the professional game is today than in the past, and how completely different it is from the one we recreational golfers play. Let me offer some observations as I watched the Masters unfold once again.

Understand, I’ve been watching this first major on the same course for well over 50 years, so I have a pretty deep pool of reference. With that in mind, might I ask some questions for us all to ponder?

What really defines a “par 5” hole? Historically, it meant a “three shotter,” but strategically-placed reachable par fives have always delivered drama. Bobby Jones said courses should have one or two of those, but that they should require a perfect high-risk drive to give the player that option. I really don’t think he envisioned “par 5s” that were reachable by the majority of the field with a medium to short iron. With players routinely hitting those to #13 and #15, can they really still be called “par five holes”? And how many true “par 5s” are there on the tour anymore? Aren’t these guys really playing courses that should have a par of 69 or 70?
Historically, at least through the 1990s, Augusta was a mid-to-long iron golf course. Greg Norman lost to Nicklaus in 1986 by flaring a 4-iron right on 18– when was the last time we saw that club for an approach there, except after a terrible drive? Is it the same challenge to play a course where the majority of approach shots are with a 7-iron or less in the golfers’ hands, as it is when the typical approach is with a 6-iron or longer?
But then, does that really matter? If you are hitting a 7-iron from 200, is it the same difficulty of a shot as if you have a 4-iron in your hand? What’s y’all’s take on that?
Just how good are these guys’ short games? It seems like they get up-and-down from everywhere, creating and executing an unimaginable variety of shots. At one point mid-way through the round, Molinari was a perfect 18-for-18 in saves this week! That is unbelievable, isn’t it? Do these short game skills make golf courses essentially defenseless unless they are tricked up? And do we really want to see that happen?

Those are my questions. I hope many of you will sound off with your take on them so I can learn from you.

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

32 Comments

CG

Apr 18, 2019 at 6:23 pm

Raymond Floyd won the Masters in 1975 with 17 under. The course was over 7,000 yards. He was hitting a wood driver and fairway woods that were 2-3 inches shorter (I recall the famous 4 wood). He used wound balata balls that were marshmallows compared to today’s model, and irons that had shorter shafts with less loft throughout the set. Tiger just won with -13 on a course that’s about 400 yards longer today (about 22-23 per hole) and yet players these days hit drivers well over 300 when back then, 275 was a big hit. I think many people are over reacting.

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Odie

Apr 18, 2019 at 12:50 pm

Regarding distance, if the PGA Tour (not USGA) wants to do something about it they should have a “tour version” of current balls on the market that go 10-15% shorter. Now the tour pro flies it 270 vs 300. You can bring more “classic” courses back into play and recreational players can better relate to the tour pros they follow.

Bring strategy and shotmaking back to the tour.

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golfraven

Apr 18, 2019 at 7:29 am

One question really strikes me. Why were there three guys with leaf blowers and referees suddenly on the 12the green when Tiger was about to hit his putt? Have not seen this on any other tournament since I can remember watching golf? What did they discuss? Nobody seem to be mentioning this scenario?
Why is the 12th such a myth? Folks seem to be dropping balls into water more in the last round. Can someone clarify this for me please?

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- Ace
  
  Apr 18, 2019 at 8:35 am
  
  This happens all the time, clearing sand or debris from the green from previous players or if a gust of wind brought stuff onto the green. Tour events are meticulously maintained for the pros.
  
  Reply Report comment
Daniel Kidd

Apr 18, 2019 at 6:32 am

I’ll comment on the distance players are hitting it and how that gives the player a shorter iron into the green. Golf is always changing and technology causes much of that change. The players used to play hickory shafts and some felt like it was cheating to use steel. This change completely changed the game. How much has the ball changed since the days of stuffing it full of feathers?

Technology has always changed the game and it will continue to. I don’t know what the answer to this is…do we stop innovation so it all stays the same? I’m glad I’m not swinging hickory shafts and putting on furry greens that require mostly luck to bounce a long putt into the hole. But at the same time, I don’t want to hit driver lob wedge into every par 4. Obviously we can’t make all courses longer to accommodate distance gains.

To me, the distance problem is really only a problem at the professional level. Most of the guys I play with struggle to reach a 400 yd par 4.

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Joseph Greenberg

Apr 17, 2019 at 6:01 pm

Augusta mows the green surrounds so that contestants almost always have to hit into the grain. The greens are recognized as the most challenging to putt in the world. So if Francesco and his ilk go 18 for 18 in saves, bless and praise them. Also recognize that the greens couldn’t firm up, that your wedge gurus are making pros smarter by the month (DJ competing with Rickie, Jordan and Justin with a wedge in his mitts is Exhibit 1), and that metrics guys are pushing for concentrating more and more practice time around the green

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- Mardukes
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 11:02 pm
  
  The pond next to the 11th green. When was the last time someone put s ball in it? IIRC it used to cause problems.
  
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  - Pelling
    
    Apr 18, 2019 at 8:29 am
    
    It seemed like Tiger and Phil hit it way right off #11 tee and always ending up on that hard pan with a clear shot to the green! What’s up with that?
    
    Reply Report comment
- IAIN HUTCHINSON
  
  Apr 18, 2019 at 3:40 am
  
  I am not sure if I agree with this statement. I read an article just before this years masters which said that the greens are amongst the highest in first putt success but also the highest is 3 putts. So if the read is right they are true and will hole out. But if you miss they are very difficult to stop and produce the greatest number of 3 putts. Would be interested is hearing what the pro’s say about this interesting statistical conundrum
  
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  - Mario B
    
    Apr 18, 2019 at 6:12 pm
    
    Mostly because the holes are often in a small depression and all shots on the right side of a ridge will feed towards it but shots reaching the wrong part of the green will get a strong slope on the last few yards making 3 putts quite common (13, 14, 16, 18 for example)
    
    Reply Report comment
Bob Jones

Apr 17, 2019 at 5:24 pm

Augusta National is becoming obsolete, just like St. Andrews Old is. In his book, Golf is My Game, Bobby Jones described how to play the course during tournament time. For example, No. 16 was a 2, 3, or 4-iron. I remember seeing that on TV. Today it’s a 7, 8, or 9-iron. No. 13 used to be a 3-shotter because few players wanted to risk going for it in two. Now, who doesn’t do that, which is why the club bought land from neighboring Augusta CC to lengthen it, and they hit the green easily in two. Etc. In 10-15 years, if that long, ANGC will be exposed beyond fixing.

As for the hole values, you could call every hole a par 4 and the total scores would be the same. Like they say, par is just a number.

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- Gary Maxwell
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 6:08 pm
  
  I don’t think Augusta is obsolete. I do think they should acknowledge the fact that there are no par 5s on the course during the tournament.
  
  Reply Report comment
just a thought

Apr 17, 2019 at 5:03 pm

I don’t want the technology or equipment advances taken away… the advancement of the game is not decided by the 150 best in the world.

At 250 yds begin tightening the fairway till it is no more 20-25 steps wide at 300… reward the long straight tee shot but punish the hell out of the player that isn’t so straight.

When it’s all said and done their greatest skill arrives from 100 yards in….they are phenomenal

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Howard Clark

Apr 17, 2019 at 4:40 pm

The “second cut”, as the inane announcers continue to call it, was fairway height at many courses. No rough, no golf.

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Brad

Apr 17, 2019 at 3:09 pm

The Masters and the Open should be played with drivers having a maximum size of 275cc or made of actual wood. Let’s see how the pros play these courses without the massive boom stick in their hands…

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Rev G

Apr 17, 2019 at 8:23 am

I think there is some truth to saying that a 200 yard shot with a 4 iron in the past is similar to a 200 yard shot with a 7 iron in today’s game. Especially when you consider that the lofts of today’s 7 iron is between a 5 iron and 6 iron of the past. And then you factor in today’s ball that spins so much less, you need more loft to get the ball up in the air.

Augusta is so perfectly manicured, the greens are so smooth – it really makes it much easier for the pros – and as noted above, the fairways roll out so much, giving the pros even more length.

One of the other golf websites, showed a statistic saying that the pros putt much better at Augusta from inside of ten feet than at the average tour stop. That can only be accounted for by the fact that the greens are so smooth and true. They do tend to have on average more 3 putts, but that is not surprising considering the large slopes on the Augusta greens. But the pin placements are usually in relatively flatter spots.

I think if you slowed the fairways and greens, grew up some more rough you could definitely make it longer and tougher.

But should they make it tougher, it sure is fun to watch, and the best golfer for the week won. Tiger hit the most fairways and greens and simply out smarted the rest. It was great theatre.

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- Pelling
  
  Apr 18, 2019 at 8:34 am
  
  If you look at the conditioning of today’s golfers (Tiger, DJ, Adam Scott, etc.) and compare it with players in years past, there is no mystery why the ball goes farther…
  
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John

Apr 16, 2019 at 9:25 pm

One word. “Merion”. Pros were torched at that too short of US Open ourse

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- Bob Jones
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 5:14 pm
  
  Yes, because the USGA had it unbelievable tricked up with really narrow fairways and rough the height of which hadn’t been seen before. It was an admission that unless the course was later beyond recognition it wouldn’t stand up to the modern player.
  
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lee kocanda

Apr 16, 2019 at 8:47 pm

I totally agree.coursesfor tour players are to easy for todays pros .tighten fairway landing areas and grow the rough. make these guys grind .myself and my golfing buddies love u,s.opens where par is good. it seems to me that the tour hierarchy think people like seeing a bob hope birdie fest .

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Lash

Apr 16, 2019 at 7:10 pm

Everyone always talks about what Bobby Jones envisioned…what club should be hit into which green. And if that is still the goal, there is a solution. The fairways back in the day, didn’t have 50 yard roll outs, and the greens weren’t 11-13 on the stimpmeter either. Yeah, a 4 iron into the green is a great shot, but back in his day a green would hold the shot because it was more receptive. They have added slope and made them faster that what Mr. Jones also envisioned. If you want the players hitting longer irons in, take the course back to the way it was….a little slower, and a little furrier. Also pinch in the landing areas and grow the rough. Things can be done without adding more length.

But you can’t have it both ways….folks like the long ball, and a lot of folks don’t want to see pros embarrassed ( hear me USGA). They want to see great golf, great towering shots, great approach shots rewarded, no courses tricked up, and golfer rewarded for great shots, creativity, and for getting g hot at the right time.

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Jeff Baldwin

Apr 16, 2019 at 4:57 pm

Good questions!
My opinions only:
1. “Par” is just a number. To win, you shoot a lower score than everyone else. I would say that right now the par 5 holes are more like the difficult par 4s, but does it matter? then again, 13 under isn’t a demolition of the course, and not a new low score, even though the course was soft. True, there have been adjustments over the years, but I don’t see a problem.
2. Obviously, the equipment has changed the game. But the old 4 iron isn’t that much different from today’s 6, so perhaps the difference is not as much as it sounds like. Sticking an approach from 200 still isn’t an easy task, is it? Which leads to…
3. To me it doesn’t really matter. They still have to make the shot. They can’t hit 12 from 150, so…
4. Yes, their short games are crazy. I think that emphasis on the short game has really gone up as more statistics have been available, rather than just “feeling”. I sure hope people don’t see that as a driver to trick things up. Perhaps a little fluffier rough, and things like that, but if you are near, but not on the green, you should not be penalized more than if you were farther out, right? I think the amazing and imaginative short game shots are the most fun to watch! It’s not a totally recent thing, Watson’s Open, Tiger a bunch of times over two decades, Seve, the list does go on. Bottom line is that, yes, these guys are good!

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- Hrannar
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 5:54 am
  
  Well in most tour pros bag are blades with traditional lofts. My guess is that Tigers 7 iron is not much different than a 30 year old 7 iron blade. Similar design and same loft. It still is a stroke play game and the best score wins. It however doesn’t make discussion of how the course plays and is set up mute. They do drive 40-50 yards longer and have shorter approach shots as a result. Why not make the par 5 holes play a 5 like they were meant to in the beginning. I also think the second cut was too short, almost no penalty not hitting the fairway. The Majors should be hard.
  
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DB

Apr 16, 2019 at 2:49 pm

If they wanted to make the Par 5s harder all they would have to do is narrow the fairways and let the rough grow longer. They didn’t do that so obviously they like the way it’s going.

Also I’m not terribly concerned about players hitting 7-iron instead of 4-iron. Like you said, in the old days 4-iron was a 200-yard shot. Now for most players that is 6 or even 7-iron. But also the old irons were lofted weak. A 4-iron was probably 26+ degrees. Ironically it seems like the only person still playing the older lofts is Tiger.

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- Lance
  
  Apr 16, 2019 at 10:04 pm
  
  Generally the older long irons were 2 iron at 18 degrees 3 iron at 21 degrees 4 iron 24 degrees
  
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dat

Apr 16, 2019 at 2:30 pm

I get that everyone is in shape, better ball, better equipment – but these courses are just too short for these guys. Look at #5, where they lengthened the hole – and it played at par. That’s about how all the holes should be, but not every course has the kind of money AGNC has. And that’s part of the problem. If one course can arbitrarily extend a hole or two, but others cannot, the only equalizer then is the golf ball.

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- Steven M
  
  Apr 17, 2019 at 7:16 am
  
  No it isn’t. This drives me mad. The ball isn’t the problem. Grow the grass longer, make the course tighter. People understand how to hit it longer thanks to TM/GC Quad. Along with a change in approach as to how they play golf now. They’re not tickling it around like the days of Faldo who plotted his way around. They go for broke and hit it hard.
  Tighten the course up, and watch people plot they’re way round again.
  
  Reply Report comment
Ben

Apr 16, 2019 at 2:02 pm

I guess you have to look at it from two points of view. Course design or competition. Yes the course is designed in relation to par and for pros that is mostly a non factor. They shoot under par everywhere. But they are competing for the lowest score, so the score is in relation to each other not designated par. Stress of competition becomes the course they are playing. As we all seen on Sunday and past masters hole 12, a short iron par 3 closed the door on many. That’s a relatively simple shot on any other day of the year. I wouldn’t get too caught up on how long the courses are, what clubs are being played or what par is. Lowest score wins.

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PSG

Apr 16, 2019 at 1:48 pm

Its silly to adjust the “par” of holes to the score average. Wait, #12 at TPC Louisiana plays to a score average of 4.67 during the Zurich Classic. Make it a par 5! You’ll never get it 100% right, so don’t try. Its fine the way it is.

And given that the scoring average on tour is 71.57, par 72 seems exactly right.

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- Ace
  
  Apr 18, 2019 at 8:33 am
  
  Get outta here with your facts and data!
  
  Good point though, sometimes the players get hot at the right time like Tiger winning majors by over 12 strokes or Rory winning by a ton while the rest of the field is struggling for par.
  
  Reply Report comment
percy freeman

Apr 16, 2019 at 11:41 am

Terry,
If they don’t change the ball for the pros then the only defense Augusta could have would be to grow REAL ROUGH and tighten the landing areas (see US Open rough).

what else is there? they are out of real estate…..

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- Johnny Penso
  
  Apr 16, 2019 at 2:11 pm
  
  Longer par 5’s and riskier tee shots are what is needed to bring a bit more of the challenge back to golf tournaments. Laying it out there 320 with little fear of trouble, getting a 30 yard roll and hitting a 9 iron in, is a par 4 not a par 5. Narrow the fairway at 280-350, put in some trees and bunkers and make the tee shot risky. Some par 5’s should have smaller greens with a narrow path to roll the ball up if necessary. No par 5 should be under 550 yards these days, making even a perfect tee shot leave at least a 200 yard approach and the player who plays safe off the tee not able to reach the green in two. The whole idea of risk/reward is gone on most par 5s these days.
  
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Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

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