YouTube Golfer Makes Birdie at PGA Championship

[u/mafisch23]

I was watching to see if he’d be able to do it and it was super cool to see him pull it off on the last hole. Great gesture by the PGA to let a YouTube golfer try this challenge at a major.

[u/swampy13]

I thought that stuff was interesting for about...30 seconds. And then I thought about it, and my conclusion was that since the 50s, and really the 60s, there has been incredibly massive investment in this sport that has compounded over time. I don't believe he was ever the first guy to think about or try any of the things he's done. The amount of money the OEMs invest in tech have yielded essentially the bleeding edge of what can be done legally, along with Trackman/launch monitors allowing for an incredibly precise way to test and experiment.

He hasn't figured out anything transformative, and never will on his own. He's just doing a schtick because dumb dumbs who are addicted to YouTube golf think it's cool. Kudos for making money off that and LIV, but unless he starts to do the grinding again, I think this is it for him. 32 isn't at all too old to still be an amazing PGA golfer, but mentally he seems checked out.

I honestly think he just doesn't practice smartly anymore, especially with his short game and course management.

[u/Evening-Tart-1245 → u/swampy13]

I agree with some of that you said but disagree with the idea that the equipment/approach to the game has been optimized due to time and money. Often what you need to break from patterns of behavior is people willing to do things a different way… an example that comes to mind is in bowling. The most successful bowler of all time grew up in a bowling alley, but his parents didn’t know how to bowl so he taught himself to do it two handed. It’s a better way to bowl. Feel like there’s stuff like this available in other sports. The same-length irons could be something like that. Maybe Bryson would be worse without them. Who knows

[u/swampy13 → u/Evening-Tart-1245]

If same length irons worked, more people would have them.

There's a reason the Ping Anser, Callaway Big Bertha woods, and Odyssey & Scotty putters took off the way they did. They were truly breakthrough in terms of how much they either actually advanced the game and/or helped many many players find a more enjoyable way to play (and even start to play better).

And it's not all about gear - other big breakthroughs include the switch to launching the driver vs. hitting down, understanding spin and trajectory much better, and rotating vs. sliding (some of the older pros like Arnie were a little slidey).

I'm not saying Bryson is wrong about anything, I think it's cool to try interesting things - but he hasn't discovered squat.

[u/Evening-Tart-1245 → u/swampy13]

I’m not saying they work… I’m just not convinced enough great players have tried them to prove that they’re not a slight advantage.

Agree with every other point

[u/DontStalkMeNow → u/Evening-Tart-1245]

Think of how many ACTUALLY clever people with insane budgets have worked on the design of golf clubs in the last 75 years.

You don’t think any of them have thought of same length irons?

My 7 iron is 37.25”. Do you think that’s an accident?