YesO.L.F. A length problem. The farther the players run the ball, the more holes need to be made, so that skills like playing and inserting iron remain important. But the longer the course, the more expensive it is to maintain and the worse the environmental impact. They also make it harder for recreational golfers to keep them in business.
In 2004, golf regulators imposed restrictions on club sizes in hopes of slowing down the long-term drive trend. Despite this, the pin-flashes continue to accelerate. A famous record fell on November 15: Someone completed the Masters Tournament in less than 270 strokes, the target being Tiger Woods when he won his first major title in 1997. The new low of 268 belongs to Dustin Johnson, whose ged breast is true. He has popped over 300 yards (274 m) throughout his career. He achieved this feat even though the August Gusta National Course is 8% longer than 1997.
Where did the golfers continue to blast the ball than before? The PGA Tour, Top Men’s Circuit, publishes ball-tracking statistics based on the most drives in tournaments since 2007. This suggests that, although better equipment may have helped, players have recently avoided their technique and major improvements. Will appear irresistible
The data comes from a shuttle link, a system that tracks a golfer’s speed (“clubhead speed”), his ball’s trajectory (“launch angle”) and his rotation speed (“spin rate”). . Each year after taking the true value of each player for these metrics, we created a statistical model to predict their driving distances. Together, the three factors explain the 70% difference between players’ distances, and almost all the increase in length over time.
The text of the model is intuitive. To keep the ball as cool as possible, increase the speed of the clubhead and launch the ang while minimizing the spin (which makes the ball higher rather than forward). However, most players face trade between these goals, says Paul Wood of Ping, a club creator. Er effects usually mean flattery. Although male players change rapidly and produce fewer spins than in 2007, the launch angles have decreased since then.
One golfer, however, escaped the ban. Bryson Demambo, a physics graduate with a strangely designed club and an appetite for data, is called a “mad scientist.” While PGA The tour was suspended due to the Covid-19, which added 18 kilograms (40 pounds) in bulk. This allows him to swing faster than anyone else. But he managed to break the ball with a high launch angle, not a low – an unparalleled combination that could have something to do with his unusually hard wrist and robotic technique. Using both his brain and his fights, Mr. Chambeau is now 15 yards away from his nearest rival. He won his first major title We Open in September.
Mark Brady, a professor at Columbia University and a golf statistician, acknowledged that other professionals would try to increase it. But the history of golf is littered with players who lost their edge after being burned by their flock. And time will tell whether Mr. D’Chambeu’s risk of the bomb going off does some good. He often strayed on the Masters.
Still, the success of Mad Scientist is bad news for course designers. They will probably have to tweak the paths they have built for years to come. ■
Source: PGA Tour; Shuttle link; USGA; R&A; Distance Insights Project. Photos: Getty Images
This article is published under the title “Swing Advisor” in the graphic detail section of the print edition.
