Quote:
Originally Posted by DRM08
The equipment argument is nonsense. Jack's competitors had to use the same equipment. If anything, poor equipment actually helped the older elite golfers separate themselves from the field.
Tiger grew up with the older equipment in the 1970's and 1980's. He shot incredible scores at very young ages with this older equipment. Tiger has said if he made the rules, everyone today would be playing persimmon and balata. That's because he knows there are a bunch of younger guys on Tour today who would not be able to strike the ball as well as he could with that equipment.
The equipment today does not help an old school guy like Tiger. It helps all the lower level guys who might not be able to flush their shots, might not have the super high/soft ball flight that Tiger & Jack were naturally blessed with, might not be able to spin it as well as someone like Tiger or Jack. The newer equipment levels the playing field instead of making it easier for the elite players to dominate the competition.
|
Let me say this up front, being blind or just not accepting the facts is not a reason for argument.
First off, I played golf in the 70's until the present. I drove the ball 270 to 300 depending on the fairways. With today's clubs it improved 285 to 320 depending on the fairway. Today's clubs do give certain players an advantage on distance,balls in the fairways, softness on the greens, etc. I'm a long ball hitter and it was much easier to get into trouble with the older clubs and balls, a slice could really take off on you. Where as today's clubs are more forgiving with a bigger sweet spot. Even the golf balls are designed ( dimples ) to be more forgiving, cutting down on a misplaced hit. The newer equipment will allow any golfer to score better, to attain a lower score, regardless of your talent level.
So yes, today's clubs and balls can make a difference. Besides, we are talking about 2 golfers in two different era's. Each player was awesome in their own era, it has always been difficult to compare players, teams, from different era's because of changing rules /& or equipment.
You are saying Jack was better than his competition because of talent. Yet Jack played against better competitors in his era.
You are saying the better equipment is not a help to Tiger? That his talent is better, yet still many golf experts claim that he is not playing to the talent level as a whole ( field ) as Jack did. Plus the facts show the newer equipment does help current golfer achieve better scores. So Tiger in his prime was much better than the competition he was playing with. Now with that said,Tiger is blessed with a talent level we have not seen since the likes of Jack Nicklaus.