Greens as
much as clubs contributing to lower scores
The 72-hole
record for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is 268 by Mark
O'Meara in 1997. Make a note of that, because it might not last
much longer.
Tournament scoring
records are an endangered species on the PGA Tour.
Mark Calcavecchia
was only the latest to set a 72-hole mark, at the Phoenix Open last
week. His 28-under-par 256 was also enough, by one stroke, to break
the PGA Tour record by Mike Souchak that had stood since the 1955
Texas Open.
No record is
safe.
Calcavecchia
was the fifth player in the last seven events on tour to either
set or tie a 72-hole record. His 32-birdie performance came one
week after Brad Faxon tied the Waialae Country Club record of 260
in winning the Sony Open.
There's more.
Of the 47 stroke-play
events on the tour schedule, 72-hole records have been set or tied
15 times over the past three years (four of those tournaments only
started within the last three years).
Small wonder
that Phil Mickelson, who broke the Tour Championship record in November,
said that "we're going to see a lot of tournament records broken
this year.''
The obvious
suspect is technology.
As Calcavecchia
was romping to records on the TPC at Scottsdale, the equipment industry
gathered in Orlando, Fla., to show off their latest weapons at the
PGA Merchandise Show.
Drivers that
make the ball go longer and straighter.
Irons that are
more forgiving than ever.
Balls that spin
less off the tee and more around the greens.
This is Calcavecchia's
20th year on tour, so he has seen the technology revolution. He
can swing his driver as hard as he wants without fear it will go
left. That's a far cry from his old persimmons wood with a steel
shaft that he tried to hit last year for kicks.
"I went out
on the range and hit four snap hooks,'' he said.
Still, it would
be a mistake to attribute the low scoring to equipment without mentioning
the one piece that doesn't fit in the bag.
The lawn mower.
Calcavecchia
was asked today whether golf equipment or lawn equipment has made
a bigger impact on scoring. After a long pause, he picked Toro over
Titleist.
"The fairways
are like the greens were probably 25 or 30 years ago,'' he said.
"I think the main thing is how good the greens are today. We're
essentially putting on pool tables most of the time. The greens
at Tucson were the best I've ever seen them. The greens at Phoenix
were like putting on carpet.
"If you can
read a putt, you have a good chance of making it.''
It took 46 years
before someone broke Souchak's score of 257. Calcavecchia doesn't
think it will take that long before his name is replaced in the
record books.
Just not this
week at Pebble.
"The greens
aren't good enough,'' he said, referring to the bumpy poa annua
grass.
They certainly
weren't this good in Souchak's days.
Take a look
at film of old tournaments. Watch how the ball bounces to a stop
on the fairway, instead of rolling forever. Watch the wrist action
on 20-foot putts. Nowadays, the stroke is barely firm enough to
break an egg.
The lawn mower
also affects distance. Titanium heads and graphite shafts make a
big difference over wood and steel, but a lot of the extra yards
comes after the ball lands.
Perfect fairways
mean more roll. A perfect lie allows players to control the spin
of their shots to greens that are, well, perfect.
Mark
Calcavecchia shows off the Phoenix Open trophy he won with
a record 72 hole score. Allsport.
"The greens
are getting better, the greens are smoother, the fairways are cut
shorter, which means we can control our spin, and the equipment
is so much better now,'' Tiger Woods said. "Guys are hitting it
farther and straighter. So, there's no reason why the guys aren't
going to be lower than what we have.''
Woods has at
least a share of the 72-hole record in four tournaments -- the Buick
Invitational, NEC Invitational, The Masters, and the U.S. Open.
Greg Norman claims records at three tournaments -- Doral, the British
Open, and The Players Championship.
Not surprisingly,
they are two of the top power players in golf.
So how to explain
Loren Roberts, a short knocker who owns or shares scoring records
in three tournaments (Byron Nelson Classic, Hilton Head, and Milwaukee)?
"It is a power
game, but it's a putting game,'' Rocco Mediate said. "And when you've
got conditions this good ... . Back when the old scoring records
were set, it was like putting on the fringe. Now, we're talking
about pool tables. Last week, the greens were absolutely perfect.
Couple that with soft conditions, and it's all over. Somebody was
going to shoot low.''
