By John McHenry
Watching some of the very best golfers in the world today at the 3 Irish Open in Killarney, I was struck by both their talent and their aggression in terms of going after pins which were often located in very difficult positions.

In today’s game professional golfers seem to be leaner and meaner. Despite the loss of square grooves their game is still very much based around power off the tee, Golf shots are visualised in straight lines, with the trajectory of the shot being the only consideration, if the greens are firm. Of course the advances of golf equipment technology have had to do with this, as quite literally a professional golfer can now be fitted with the correct golf shaft for his swing speed, the correct loft and lie and above all the correct ball, which in today’s world flies consistently further and straighter.

This afternoon I was very impressed with the shot making ability of some of the Irish players particularly Damian McGrane and Padraig Harrington. Time and time again they were faced with difficult shots and I marvelled at their analysis, their creativity and ultimately their execution of the shot. Their ability to think on their feet, and ultimately the confidence to execute what they see as the best shot is an art in itself!

I grew up playing golf in the seventies and eighties, with wooden headed drivers and wound balata balls, which visibly disintegrated before your very eyes. Movement of the ball was deemed essential as shots were far more erratic with the inferior golfing technology. You would wake up in the morning, and you would “feel” your way around the golf course until you had loosened out enough to open the shoulders. The average tee peg height was no more than three quarters of an inch and invariably the ball was dug out of the ground.

So much has changed in a very short time with the technology of today, but golf in the seventies and eighties, taught us to invent shots for occasions, to manipulate the ball for our best purposes, and to use our hands to control both the loft and the trajectory and the shape of our shots. In short, the game was way less predictable and in many ways way more exciting!

Today’s golfers have far more efficient swings with equipment that synchronises with every movement of the body. It is also my argument that these advances (such as square grooves, big headed drivers and long tees) have reduced the requirement for golfers to experiment and be creative. True shot making is something of the past, which is unfortunate, but the art of scoring still lies, despite these advances, in a strong and creative mind!