MIND / ANALYSIS M The Bomb-and- Gouge Era is Over Golf’s next stars are longer than ever, but this new speed generation is misunderstood BY DREW POWELL
diminishing returns. As it turns out, distance control and wedge play are emerging as the difference between a solid amateur and an elite tour player. One leader in shifting this narra- tive is Scott Fawcett, who founded the course-management system DECADE Golf and works with numerous PGA Tour pros. Fawcett has long maintained that speed is the most important factor to lowering scores, but he acknowledg- es that the data shows a “speed boiling point” after which you get less benefit and would be better off working on your game in other areas, like wedge play. “I’ve always said that about 190 to 195 mph ball speed is the maximum us- able ball speed to be any good at golf,” Fawcett says. “It’s a very fine line, even at 190. The kids are right. If they’re in that 182-185 range, that’s good enough.” If players get too long, which Fawcett says is about 190 mph ball speed, “The shot pattern is too wide. It’s not func- tional on any course. The ball’s in the air too long.”
F irst, there was the Bomb-and-Gouge era, which emerged as statistics proved the importance of driving distance. In turn, new technologies, fit- ness regimens and swing techniques al- lowed players to swing faster than ever. Now we’ve just entered a new age in golf – the Speed-Plus era. Among the leaders of this new generation are Gordon Sargent, the former top- ranked amateur and current senior at Vanderbilt, and 6-foot-8 newly turned professional Christo Lamprecht, both of whom register ball speeds over 190
miles per hour. What makes this era different? For one, these leaders aren’t outliers. Near- ly everyone in elite amateur golf boasts speed. What was once considered fast – say, 175 mph ball speed – is now barely average in the college ranks. But this new generation is misunder- stood. If the Bomb-and-Gouge era of the past decade was about maximising distance at whatever cost, Speed Plus players are more thoroughly informed by statistics, which concede that while distance is the most important factor to lowering your score, it comes with
FAST START Sargent earned his tour card while still in college through PGA Tour University.
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