62 is the new 66. Does the PGA need an overhaul?

People are talking about banning certain driver technology but there's really nothing you can do about it but build harder courses that punish missing fairways from the tee.

I think they will have to bifurcate for a noticeable difference. They don't need to go back to persimmons, but making pros swing something with a small sweet spot would be a start. Dial the ball back. Make them go back far enough to where they can play some good golden age architecture without extending tees. Make it to where they hit mid irons or long irons into par 4s again.

Seeing guys hit it far and hit a wedge on was cool in 07. It's getting old now and it isn't getting better.

Modern courses are designed to create those kinds of scores. You see how much trouble a well-designed short par 3 like #12 at Augusta can cause.

Offense draws ratings. That’s why the MLB turned a blind eye to the steroid era and why the NFL designs rules to favor quarterbacks and wide receivers. The PGA does the same thing with course selection and setup. The powers that be want low scores. They could make changes with course setup and selection and bring the scores back up if they wanted to.

ETA as a poster mentioned above, make bunkers a true hazard again and remove some that players look at as a good spot to be in. . When guys are aiming at bunkers something needs to be done.

Scoring avg leader last 5 years:
2020 - web simpson 68.978 tour avg 71.099 (58 rounds)
2019 - rory mcilroy 69.058 tour avg 71.213 (72 rounds)
2018 - dustin johnson 68.698 tour avg 71.104 (77 rounds)
2017 - jordan spieth 68.846 tour avg 71.108 (85 rounds)
2016 - dustin johnson 69.172 tour avg 71.181 (87 rounds)
Clearly tech is not advancing so significantly the scores are decreasing, I get Jack's point but guys get hot and play well for one weekend but are not heard of for another few months or the rest of the year.

While I get your point, you're watching a course that isn't setup for a tour player and this is common at a handful of the courses that turn into racetracks on the weekend. Namely TPC and resort courses that are birdie fests.
I would prefer that every course has a required fairway width. I think this would be the easiest change that wouldn't impact current technology cycles. If you walk back tech, that would have a significant impact on everyone that plays competitive golf (re: USGA) requiring everyone to buy new gear to conform. Make all fairways no more than 25 yards wide and have no limit on the height of rough. While players would bitch and moan about lost balls, don't miss the fairway. Maybe hit your 3 wood that is more accurate. Immediately makes the golf course longer.

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Maybe hit your 3 wood that is more accurate. Immediately makes the golf course longer.

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tour players aren’t actually significantly more accurate with their 3 wood. They need to roll back the actual equipment through bifurcation. Make it more difficult to hit the clubs but reward those who do. I would say Keith Mitchell’s argument on No Laying Up makes the most sense to me.

Someone mentioned shortening golf tees

Not sure how effective that would be

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Golfers are athletes now

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Exactly my point. There are guys out there now that are smaller in stature but can still absolutely BOMB the ball. JT is a great example of this. Dude can’t weigh more than 175 but can bomb it 300+ whenever he wants. Sure, the tech helps out, but it’s not all tech. His swing speed is up there with the whip he’s able to create. And then look at guys like DJ and Rory and koepka, they all look built like professional athletes.

I mean look at Jack and Arnie in their younger days. They were two of the biggest guys on tour. Jack is just complaining because even in his old age he’s still as competitive as anybody on tour today and he doesn’t want Tiger or anybody else getting close to his records.

My biggest point for all of this is if the PGA Tour is going to continue to play on courses like the one they’re playing this week then don’t complain about the scores being put up. Players are better as a whole - in ALL aspects of the game. It’s not just because of tech - even tho that does have something to do with it. But these players are training smarter, they make better decisions on the course, and their level of execution is so much higher than times past.

Golf has really just become a putting contest

I think a lot of y’all are looking at this as some sort of problem and the PGA tour has lost control of scoring. It’s not and they haven’t.

The golf channel is doing nothing more than making a dramatic story to generate a debate.

The real truth is that the PGA tour has one job to do week in and week out. That job is to bring in as many viewers as possible to keep TV contracts at a maximum and sponsors lining up to throw millions at them.

The PGA tour has spent tons and tons of time, energy, and money researching the type of golf that draws the most viewers. And the answer is overwhelmingly long drives, lawn darts, and low scores. This is a fact. You may not like it, but you are the minority.

With few exceptions, the week to week setup for a PGA tour event would be a 5 or 6 out of 10 on what that course could be set up difficulty wise. Colonial is a perfect example of an exception. And it’s a short course by any standard. How do they do it? Simple, small greens and difficult pins. That’s it. And 10 under will often win that event.

Making the best in the world shoot par is very easy. Long rough, narrow fairways, tight pins, firm greens, and make all par 3’s over 200 yards. Done. But nobody would watch.