Ask Paul Azinger if the art of shotmaking is dying faster than “American Idol” Taylor Hicks’ career and he counters with a list of players who can make the golf ball do everything but sing “My Way.”
“There’s a bunch of shotmakers: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia,” the veteran player said. “That new guy, Bubba Watson, every shot he hits curves.”
The difference, Azinger continues, is that the approach to – and science behind – going from Point A to Point B in today’s game has changed dramatically in recent years. So much so, he said, that players of a certain age can’t quite grasp the significance.
“There are a lot of older guys who don’t think there are shotmakers because it’s such a bombers’ paradise out here,” Azinger said. “But today’s players play on a different trajectory than the older generation.
“Those guys were taught that the game was meant to be played close to the ground. The younger generation has learned how to optimize distance with spin and launch angle. It’s like trying to teach a javelin thrower how to throw it as far as he can. You throw it at a trajectory that optimizes how far it goes.”
The ever-expanding technological advances in the game’s equipment, combined with modern teaching techniques, have made today’s players approach the game completely different.
“In golf, with the cameras and the high-speed video, you can figure out stuff like ball velocity and spin ratio so you can get those maximum conditions,” Azinger said. “Today’s generation targets that. It’s advantageous for those guys to hit every shot at that certain trajectory off the tee, even into the wind. So you get the perception that there are no shotmakers, but that’s not the reality.”
Click onto The Golf Channel and you’re just as likely to see the designer of the hottest club or ball pitching the product as the professional player who’s hitting the shots. Similarly, the chatter in the grill room at the local muni has gone from birdies and bogeys to shaft flex and kick points. And while most of us have no idea what all that means when we trundle off to the nearest golf store, it still comes out of our mouths faster than, “How much is it?”
And if that’s the case for Joe Public, imagine what it’s like for pros who get the best in custom fitting for equipment they go through faster than bottles of their favorite beverage.
“They’ve grown up with this new technology and they try to swing hard and overpower the course,” Steve Stricker said recently. “I played with Bubba Watson last week; he grew up with a 46- or 47-inch driver. I grew up with 44 inches.
“There’s a danger of getting caught up in it. You know it’s out there. I mean, you’ve got to try to tap into that technology and see if it can help you, but you have to realize that if it’s not, you real quickly have to get back to what you’ve been doing.”
But that can be hard for a pro to do, especially if he finds that he doesn’t have to rely on finesse, or be able to hit all the shots, to climb up the money list.
“I think the younger players tend to curve the ball one way, whereas older players like myself are good at turning it both ways,” veteran Steve Elkington said. “Honestly, I think the guys who only turn it one way only win a very small amount of the time. There were so many guys – Lanny Watkins, Raymond Floyd, Freddy Couples, myself – we won a lot of tournaments because we could hit the ball right to left, or left to right.
“With shotmaking, you win a lot more tournaments. This way, you win more money. Back then, you had to be a shotmaker if you wanted to win money. Today, you can do it any way. You can win the one tournament and you’re good (financially), or you can finish 20th and win $100,000.”
But that perception rankles some of the game’s young talents, who argue that the idea of “bomb and gouge” – or the death of shotmaking – is just so much hyped-up drivel.
“What are you saying? That guys who hit it long can’t hit other shots?” said rookie Camilo Villegas, who is eighth in driving (305.0 yards) but also has three top-10 finishes. “I don’t think a guy like J.B. Holmes (second on the tour in driving distance) is going to win a golf tournament by seven shots by hitting it past everybody and not hitting good shots after that.
“I wish it was that simple, let’s put it that way. The game has changed a little bit, but I think it’s become a bigger deal than it really is. I don’t think this is the end of the world.”
