"I hate the word “rollback” because what we are trying to do is not roll back."

Joe Passov talked to the USGA’s Mike Davis for a Wall Street Journal interview as the CEO retires from the organization and is replaced by Mike Whan.

Naturally the rollback talk was of most fun.

WSJ: The USGA has co-produced a Distance Insights Report—the product of the Distance Insights project to study the impact of hitting distance in golf. Among other things, it asserts that distance gains put golf on an unsustainable path. Is the golf ball going too far? If so, why is that a negative?

MR. DAVIS: You won’t hear me say that the golf ball is going too far. The problem is that golf courses around the world have been getting longer and will continue to do so, with this trend that every generation hits the ball farther than the last generation.

Everyone bears the brunt of when courses need to change, whether it’s architecturally—more land, new tees, pushing bunkers further down—or, if it’s a new course, more land that’s required. Because at the end of the day, it’s about resources. It’s land, it’s water, it’s nutrients, it’s fungicides. It’s how long it takes to mow and prep a golf course, the fuel it uses, how long it takes to play a golf course. Longer golf courses equal longer rounds of golf. I think in this world where everybody is worried about time, it’s an issue.

The issue is not that the golf ball is going too far.

It is but we know it’s not necessarily the ball’s fault. Go on…

The issue is we need to fit the game on golf courses, and we’d like to see the game balanced, too, on distance, accuracy and shot-making. We want to make sure that it doesn’t become a game all about how far you hit the ball.

WSJ: Are you suggesting what many have termed a “rollback”—taking distances achieved and equipment specifications to numbers where they were a generation or two ago.?

MR. DAVIS: I hate the word “rollback” because what we are trying to do is not roll back. We are trying to look forward and say, based on the data, what’s in the best interest for all who play the game. It’s not looking backward.

No but it would be rolling back.

This expanding footprint [lengthening golf courses] is doing the game no favors as we look forward. Is any other sport on the planet Earth doing that to themselves other than golf? You just don’t see baseball handing out titanium bats and hot baseballs and expanding their stadiums.

The issue is we need to fit the game on golf courses. No more of constantly having to change golf courses. It’s time to do the right thing.

Yes it has been for at least a decade.

Davis is not going quietly and that’s a fantastic way to deflect some heat so that Whan can get established for what will be quite a battle.

Bryson: "There's not much more to gain from [the] technology side of golf club manufacturing"

A multi-layered answer from Bryson DeChambeau’s pre-Masters press conference:

Q. Last year there was a lot of talk that, culturally, you were leading a revolution in golf, especially among young fans who are really energized by the way you swing the golf club and all those things. If so, what's the stage of that revolution now?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I don't know the scope of that answer, either. You guys are giving me tough questions today.

I will say the Drive, Chip & Putt, what we saw with one of the kids imitating Kyle Berkshire, you're already starting to see it with kids. I've had numerous college kids DM me on Instagram and ask me, "How do I get stronger? How do I get faster?" So you're already starting to see it through -- from collegiate level all the way to junior golf level.

I think as time goes on, there's not much more to gain from technology side of golf club manufacturing, building. There are little things we can do, but where the massive gains will be is in athletes. Once you get somebody out here that's a 7-foot-tall human being and they are able to swing a golf club at 145 miles an hour effortlessly, that's when things get a little interesting. That's when I'm going to become obsolete potentially even.

Look, there's still a chipping aspect and there's still a putting aspect to it, but from a driving aspect, that's where the gains will be had, is with these athletes coming out in the future. And it won't stop. There's just no way it will stop.

I think it's good for the game, too. I don't think it's a bad thing you're bringing in and making it more inclusive to everybody when you're doing that. The athletes are the ones that are going to in the end move the needle in any sport you play, and I think that's pretty amazing.

One way it’ll stop? Injuries to the athletes trying to do things the body won’t enjoy over thousands of shots.

Rose Warns Of Shorter Careers Due To Distance Obsession

Talking to James Corrigan about this fall’s Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship at Walton Heath, Rose said his back has improved ahead of the Masters and that he could have played the Players and Match Play.

The 2017 runner-up at Augusta is instead going in off a five week break and was asked by Corrigan what he’ll tell the juniors who qualify for his championship.

“If you look at my generation — say me, Adam Scott and Sergio [Garcia] — we are probably the first wave that’s grown up with the fitness and physio side and I kind of feel we're in the sweet spot, the way we approached the game in the last 20 years, focusing on our mobility and flexibility and looking at the big picture. And I think our best golf could well be in front of us, as weird as that is to say with us all in our 40s. 

“Whereas I feel like that the generation coming up behind us is pushing the limit much harder than than we did from a physical point of view and even though science is improving and we are understanding more and more about the body, eventually those aggressive motions have to take their impact.”

This wisdom should be appreciated by the various ageist Tour types…

"If it carries on like this and if everyone coming out here is looking for the power game, then maybe careers will get shorter and there won’t be players in their 40s still able to compete at the top of the sport. 

“Apart from the physical issues that might be suffered, I think that would be a huge shame. Watching Westy [Lee Westwood] and Bryson going at it at Bay Hill [last month] was great because you had a 48-year-old taking on a 27-year-old. That sort of battle between the generations is unique to golf. 

“Westy and what he has done in the last year and a half is a huge inspiration. It’s a great part of what I love about golf. Lee is playing with wisdom and experience and gratitude. They are powerful words, but there is something so noble about it.  That longevity and endless hunger should be celebrated and it is. That is my concern with this drive for length — the professional male game could lose all that.”

Yes but people in their forties are not what the advertisers want Justin! Please, think of the brands!

Climate Study: Links Feature Prominently In Scotland Areas That Could Be Underwater By 2050

The Herald’s Jack Aitchison looks at the areas most threatened. St Andrews (above), would see all but a few areas lost based on projections by Climate Central.

The areas of Scotland that could be underwater by 2050

Glasgow Airport, the Old Course at St Andrews and the Kelpies in Falkirk are among the key sites that could be flooded, if research by Climate Central is correct.

The organisation is made up of leading scientists and journalists who research climate change and its impact on the public.

It has created an interactive map, using current projections to show which areas of the country could be lost to rising sea levels by 2050.

If you really want to get depressed here is the interactive map.

North Berwick is not in a great spot either:

Padraig: "Bryson should be screaming for a rollback because it would give him a big advantage"

Quite a few sites picked up Padraig Harrington’s kind “could have told you so” remarks about Rory McIlroy and the pursuit of speed. But the real headline can with his answer discussing what Bryson DeChambeau has done and why he should root for a rollback.

The full Honda Classic press conference transcript is here at ASAP. The full answer on a “curtail distance” question:

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Okay, I think -- right. I've got to think this through. One, everybody argues about speed, and the argument always tends to go about whether you like people who hit it long and playing golf with long hitting or you don't. But that argument is just personal opinion. You can't argue, if some person likes it, some person doesn't like it, whether the golf is more fun or not more fun. That is purely down to each individual person. So anybody who's arguing on social media, it's crazy because it's just personal opinion. It's not a factual argument.

I would say, though, golf ball going further means it's more expensive to build a golf course, it's more expensive to maintain a golf course. Golf ball going further definitely slows down the round of golf in terms of it's a longer walk, it takes longer, and that's the biggest issue with golf is the pace, the time it takes to get around. The golf ball going further also slows down the style of play because there's more bottle necks when people wait on par-4s and par-5s. Golf ball going further has meant that some golf courses are obsolete, some of the great courses, and the golf ball -- I shouldn't say golf ball. Equipment going further. And it could be an equipment change. It doesn't have to be a ball change. With the ball going further, equipment going further, it also means that golf -- and I see this at home. Golf is extremely dangerous at home. People wing it off fairways. You go to any regular club in Ireland, guys who are 25 years of age are hitting it 340 in the air and they don't know where it's going. I'm not saying good players, I'm talking just your regular guys hitting it miles, and you can't keep it on these courses because there's doglegs, so it's dangerous, so for those six reasons I think the game should be tailed back.

But the one thing that nobody seems to be getting in the whole of this argument, it's a massive advantage to the long hitters if they tail back the equipment. If they bring it back, it's a huge -- Bryson gains massively if they draw back the equipment. The longer you hit it, if you reduce Bryson by 10 percent, say he's hitting it 350 and he's now hitting it 315 and you reduce a guy who's hitting it 300 and you reduce him to 270, Bryson is okay. He's still that same percentage ahead but it's a lot easier to hit the golf ball on a golf course at 315 than it is at at 345 or 350. It is an incredible advantage to the long hitters if they tail back how far the ball goes.

If only more listened and appreciated that the distanistas really do love the long ball, just in proportion with the courses we have.

I'm talking it will encourage even more of a chase of long hitting because it's such an advantage.

And remember, doesn't matter what they do with the equipment going forward. You can't change now. You're going to have young guys coming out who swing a 7-iron at 110 miles an hour and that means that there's no lie in the rough, there's no tree in the way that they can't get over or can't get out of.

Of course if you take 8% off their drives maybe that 7 becomes a 6 or a 5 and magically the tree is in play.

As I said, I saw it with Tiger Woods. In 1996 he destroyed everybody because he was faster -- he was a good player and was faster, and Rory did the same thing.

Now we're seeing Bryson, he's obviously getting the limelight for it, and it's very impressive, but it will be -- he should be screaming for a rollback because it would give him a big advantage.

Even PGA National Is Getting Into The Fun Game

Before we settle in for the Bear’s Trap references as an uninspired Honda Classic field gets around PGA National, very close by avictory for the “f word” effort is underway.

Len Ziehm explains how PGA National Resort and Spa “is undergoing a major change” by letting architect Andy Staples redo the 1983 George and Tom Fazio “Squire” course into something…fun!

One of Staples’ works will be a nine-hole par-3 course that utilizes the space that was The Squire’s first and 18th holes. The remaining 16 holes are being transformed into a shorter 5,744-yard 18-hole course. Staples calls the dual project a “reimagining” rather than a renovation.

Yes, in the name of fun. The word that used to be so scary not long ago.

Staples:

“I had said, ‘You’ve got the difficult golf.’ You can get your brains beat out in playing The Champion, then come out here (to the nearby new courses) and actually like golf,” Staples said. “The greens (on the new courses) will be challenging, but they’ll be a completely different offering than the tough golf you get on the other courses.”

The par-3 course will have no set tee markers. One hole is designed to be played with a putter or with a rescue club chip. The real eye-catcher, though, will be the designated No. 5 hole. Players will be encouraged to tee off out of a bunker, and their 50-yard shot to the green is partially over water.

Ok that’s bold, but we’ll keep an open mind. Maybe more impressive than getting a place like PGA National to embrace the fun word? The transformation is taking place on a classic real estate development.

Great for the PGA of America to have this nearby as an example of how to re-imagine something for a modern game more receptive to fun.

Wait, you said what? They’re moving the headquarters? To Frisco? Ok, scratch that last PGA National though.

"The United States and Japan are responsible for about two-thirds of the world’s golf equipment market."

Golf Datatech’s 2020 findings will be available to their customers but Golf Course Industry shared some of their key findings from Golf Datatech’s John Krzynowek.

Among the findings:

• The top five golf markets in the world, in order, are the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the United Kingdom.

• The United States and Japan are responsible for about two-thirds of the world’s golf equipment market.

• Korean golfers spend more per capita on their golf equipment and apparel than any other country.

• Sweden was the fastest growing country, up more than 50 percent.

Belmont Redo Update: "Trying to offer a bit of something for everyone.”

Josh Sens checks in with Belmont in near Richmond and the reimagination of the old Tillinghast course and home to the 1949 PGA Championship is almost complete, with a First Tee facility, 12 holes, a par-3 course and a bright future as a community centerpiece just three years after facing extinction.

Putting their heads together with Scot Sherman of Love Golf Design, Schneider and his First Tee colleagues pitched the county with this proposal: they would transform Belmont into a multi-faceted facility, turning the 18-hole course into a 12-hole routing while converting the remaining ground into a community-focused hybrid, composed of a driving range and short-game area, an 18-hole putting course and a six-hole par-3 course. Inspiration for this blueprint came, in part, from other unconventional success stories around the country, including Sweetens Cove, in Tennessee, a nine-hole underdog-cum-architectural darling; Goat Hill Park, a come-one, come-all muni in Southern California; and Bobby Jones Golf Course, in Atlanta, where an 18-hole layout had been modified into a wildly entertaining, reversible nine-hole track.

What those courses had in common was respect for golf tradition, married with a hearty sense of welcome and a keen attentiveness to the tenor of the times. They paid homage to the past even as they pointed toward where the game was headed.

The plan for Belmont sprang from those same ideas.

“If you look at our culture today and all the folks that golf is trying to reach, there are so many different interests,” Sherman says. “You’ve got the serious golfer, the golfer who’s just getting started, the golfer who maybe only has an hour-and-half after work to play—we were trying to offer a bit of something for everyone.”

As Sens and Sherman highlight, Belmont’s just the kind of project golf needs as a model with so many muni’s facing similar needs to be reinvented or face redevelopment.

One note not mentioned in the story: the fine work by Fried Egg’s Andy Johnson three years in highlighting the course and dreadful direction it was headed, including a less-than-subtle inside job by an architect to capitalize on bunker liner construction covered here as well.

You can follow Belmont’s progress here on Instagram.

Bryson Drives It 370 Yards At Bay Hill's 6th

Tourcast’s depiction of the shot

He’s been pondering driving the green, gave it a bit of a look Friday and on Saturday of the Arnold Palmer Invitational but the wind wasn’t quite to his liking. We don’t know the wind numbers because NBC is resting their on-screen windometer for bigger events. Or it’s a COVID thing.

Saturday with apparently a wind to his liking, Bryson DeChambeau took the boldest line known in tournament history during a third round 68. He trails Lee Westwood by one heading into Sunday’s final round.

From Brentley Romine’s GolfChannel.com story on DeChambeau’s bold play:

"For the most part, that's a shot that I know I can do, and I was able to accomplish that," DeChambeau said. "I would have done it without the fans, but the fans definitely edged me on a little bit and it was fun to give them what they wanted."

Feeling the energy, DeChambeau stepped up to the plate, gave it a mighty lash and watched the ball sail over the water. With the ball still in the air, DeChambeau raised both arms in the air and pointed to the sky.

"It was amazing," DeChambeau said. "It felt like I won a tournament there."

Almost.

Romine also shared these numbers. Look at that 23 yards of roll! More than 5% of the 370!

Here are some of the numbers:

• Carry: 347 yards

• Total distance: 370 yards

• Clubhead speed: 137 mph

• Ball speed: 196 mph

• Smash factor: 1.43

• Launch angle: 11.9 degrees

• Apex: 124 feet

The big shot and World Long Drive reaction.

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Roundup: This Special API Week Edition Of Not Playing It As It Lies

Due to anticipated wet conditions, preferred lies will be utilized for the third round of the @APinv.

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 6, 2021

This week in the PGA Tour’s assault on play it as it lies was busier than most!

We start in reverse order with round three of the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational where preferred lies (lift, clean, place) were invoked due to “anticipated wet conditions.”

The same golf course that was turning crispy Friday afternoon is apparently going to require preferred lies Saturday afternoon. The forecast does call for rain but as of 1:05 pm ET the drops had not fallen.**

A similar precog approach happened at Pebble Beach earlier this year. The AT&T is spread over two courses and equity was the goal for players spread between Spyglass and Pebble over the opening two rounds.

But the API is played at just one golf course, the conditioning has been raved about and did I mention rain had not fallen yet?

Next in assaulting the original founding principle of the rules, we go back to the API’s round one where Patrick Reed demonstrated he’s learned absolutely nothing from Torrey Pines earlier this year.

As this clip shows, he continues to spend an inordinate amount of time touching everything around his ball:

.@useGolfFACTS what are we moving here bud? pic.twitter.com/OOYh4BNYdb

— Griffin Flesch (@griffinflesch) March 5, 2021

And last but potentially least, I’ve got this unidentified player below at 17-18 taps in his line. Could be 16. You get the idea.

While technically this is allowed under the rules, it’s a rather blatant example of bending the spirit of the rules. As many warned when the USGA/R&A softened standards on spike mark tapping, this kind of thing would eventually happen.

But this is also a reminder for those who care: the rule change was made in the name of repairing “damage”. How long before a player brings out their beloved (smooth) foam roller to ensure they have no “damage” to contend with?

Being able to tap-down spike marks allows players to smooth out their line. This was a 2ft. 7inch putt.
Another unintended consequence of a bad rule change. ⁦@USGA⁩ and @RandA pic.twitter.com/9SzFlIb5Qo

— Richard Zokol (@RichardZokol) March 5, 2021

**Other than a few drops and brief shower, the rain never came.

But the Tweets were fun.

Preferred lies? Really? Why don’t we just do this at top golf

— Joe Martin (@MartinJoe91) March 6, 2021

Enjoying the golf on tv 👍 good job they are playing preferred lies it looks really muddy 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

— Michael A Appleyard (@veggieboy7274) March 6, 2021

Can they buy gimmes too?

— Tucker Blankinship (@TuckerBlanc) March 6, 2021

So that means everyone is on the same playing field as preed today

— wt (@wthoren) March 6, 2021

Or as Patrick Reed calls it “Normal golf”.

— Brian Williams (@BrianWi72967968) March 6, 2021

Unreal how much you baby the supposed Best Players in the World. If they really are, then stop treating them like 10 handicappers!!

— Hunter (@retnuh76) March 6, 2021

Skill Debate: On Rangefinders, Green Reading Books And Coincidences

I wasn’t just inspired by reading Alistair Tait’s pleasurable rant on green reading books or the positive reaction to Jon Rahm’s comments.

Nor was I that taken by the coincidence in the news yesterday, as documented in today’s Quadrilateral for paying friends of the newsletter.

No, I just sense more golf fans have had enough with pros getting too much assistance that dumbs down the game. Whether this shift is an offshoot of the distance debate, the ugly sight of green reading books, or rangefinders at the upcoming PGA Championship, more folks are getting the whole “skill” debate in golf. Or they at least are open to the topic and the possibility that elite golf could be more interesting with less outside assistance.

Check it out here if you’re a subscriber and if not, well, you’ll have to ask around about that coincidence.

Vic Open Concept Comes North, Gets European Tour Status Thanks To ISPS Handa, Horan

Australians rave about the Vic Open’s male/female format that sees both tournaments concluded Sunday, with leading groups interspersed. And now it’s coming to another European Tour/LET stop.

From Brian Keogh’s report on ISPS Handa and Niall Horan’s Modest! Golf Management putting together the event for this July, with first-ever northern hemisphere tri-sanctioning.

The ISPS HANDA World Invitational will attract a field of 288 players, 144 men and 144 women. The women’s field will be split equally between the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour. The $2.35 million purse will be split evenly, with men and women competing for two equal prize funds.

The tournament will count towards the European Tour’s Race to Dubai and carry Team Europe Ryder Cup points, while the women’s tournament will count towards the Race to the CME Globe for women on the LPGA Tour, the Race to Costa del Sol on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and Solheim Cup points for both Team Europe and Team USA.

When the male and female fields are cut to 60 and ties, another 54-hole cut reduces the fields to 35 advancing to Sunday, with tee times mixed so fans can watch both tournaments conclude at similar times.

Deacon: "Golf course management tool created to help operators improve the golfer experience"

Fun IOS and Android-friendly concept rolled out from the USGA for golf course “managers” to monitor a variety of things associated with operations and in particular, maintenance related elements.

This sounds like, if nothing else, a great way to monitor what green speeds do for pace of play. For Immediate Release, followed by a video explaining the app.

USGA Launches ‘Deacon,’ An Innovative Green Section Solution to Help Courses Deliver a Better Golfer Experience

Tool named in collaboration with the Palmer family as a tribute to Deacon Palmer, father of Arnold Palmer and longtime caretaker of Latrobe (Pa.) Country Club

 LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Feb. 25, 2021) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) has reached a key milestone in its efforts to support the long-term health of golf courses with the launch of Deacon, an innovative golf course management tool created to help operators improve the golfer experience by delivering better playing conditions while optimizing and prioritizing critical resource consumption.

Developed by the USGA’s Green Section and backed by its 100 years of hands-on industry experience, Deacon was designed to address two universal problems faced by golf courses: a gradual decline in participation due to a lack of satisfaction and rising maintenance costs. The digital tool is accessible online and available in both iOS and Android app stores.

The name is a tribute to Deacon Palmer, whose 50-year stewardship of Latrobe (Pa.) Country Club starting in 1926 – as superintendent and later golf professional – shaped a course that generations of golfers have enjoyed to this day. Latrobe is where Deacon taught his son Arnold to play the game on his way to becoming one of the most beloved figures in sports history, inspiring millions with his passion, character and values.

“In caring for Latrobe Country Club and influencing the life of one of the iconic figures in golf history, Deacon Palmer served the game in a way that matches our mission,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA. “We are humbled that the Palmer family has entrusted the USGA with honoring his legacy.”

The tool contains 10 key features that will enhance a golf course manager’s ability to deliver accessible, enjoyable rounds to its golfers, including pace of play reports, GPS heat mapping, golf course condition management and hole locations. According to USGA research, golfer experience plays a vital role in the financial viability of facilities and the game’s long-term health and sustainability. 

Complementing and expanding upon the USGA’s proven impact in turfgrass research, educational reach and on-site consultations, the tool will serve as an important supplement to the work done daily by golf course operators and empower them to make more efficient, data-driven decisions.

“Deacon represents the latest evolution in the USGA’s efforts to champion and advance the game,” said Davis. “The investment in this innovative technology will have a positive and long-lasting impact on the millions of golfers who visit green-grass facilities each year as well as thousands of golf course operators, the unsung backbone of our game.” 

The USGA and the Palmer family share a long association dating to Arnold Palmer’s amateur career. Palmer cited his victory in the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship as the turning point in his decision to become a professional golfer. The first player to win the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open (1960) and U.S. Senior Open (1981), Palmer was honored in 1971 with the Bob Jones Award, the organization’s highest honor, and in 1975, he was named the honorary chairman of the USGA Members Program – a position he held until his passing in 2016. His relationship with the USGA and his role in American golf history were further cemented in 2008 with the opening of the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History at the USGA Golf Museum and Library in Liberty Corner, N.J. 

“My father wanted to be remembered as a caretaker of golf because it was my grandfather, Deacon, who first taught him how to care for the game,” said Amy Palmer Saunders, chair of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. “Our family is proud to continue this longstanding association with the USGA through the Deacon tool because it supports the same common-sense people – superintendents and professionals – my father and grandfather identified with so closely in their own lives.”

 More information about Deacon can be found at gsshop.usga.org.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) conducts many of golf's most prestigious championships, highlighted by the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women's Open and the...

Annika Says This Is No Comeback, But May Also Miss Tokyo Games As IGF President

Annika Sorenstam’s appearance at Gainbridge LPGA is a hometown stop for her and first on the LPGA Tour since 2008. She signaled this is no return, just preparation for this summer’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open according to Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols.

However, as Brentley Romine notes for GolfChannel.com, that even coincides with week one of the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics. Sorenstam is now president of the International Golf Federation which is primarily focused on one major initiative these days: golf in the Olympics.

Sorenstam says she has the IGF’s support in pursuing the Senior Open.

“Of course you're playing. We love having an active president,” Scanlon said to Sorenstam, according to Sorenstam, who added: “We're still working out the details.”

Sorenstam says a trip to Japan will be necessary at some point, depending on the travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, but she’s optimistic she’ll still be able to compete in the Senior Women’s Open while also maintaining her responsibilities to the IGF.

The IGF has also endorsed Sorenstam’s acceptance of the Presidential Medal of Freedom the day after rioters stormed the Capital building following a Trump rally.

Video from that ceremony and interviews both the day of and later on has been posted today by Graham Bensinger. Sorenstam is seen leading the room in an impromptu standing ovation for Trump a day after the riots is at the 1:20 mark. In follow up chats with Sorenstam and husband Mike McGee, the latter expresses understanding at the outrage over Sorenstam accepting the medal that day in light of what happened.

"MLB is deadening baseballs to liven up the game."

The L.A. Times’ Mike DiGiovanna talked to managers and pitchers about Major League Baseball’s efforts in 2021 that include a tweak to ball construction and more humidors in certain parks. The goal appears to be dialing in the emphasis on all-or-nothing at bats and to restore “action” in the form of more balls in play, more importance placed on speed, and an increase in small ball for some teams.

In other words, the numbers show launch angle baseball is not resonating.

DiGiovanna writes:

The changes are so subtle that they may result in fly balls traveling only one to two feet shorter when hit more than 375 feet, but if that pushes baseball one small step toward its more traditional roots, it would be one giant leap for the game, in Maddon’s eyes.

“I’m hoping it impacts the game a lot,” Maddon said. “We’ll see how it works out this year, but if, in fact, the ball doesn’t travel as far, it will change the analytics of the game, and a lot of things will change off that.

“Strategically speaking, it will put more emphasis on speed, on hitting the ball the other way, especially with two strikes, on contact. Strikeouts will be more disdained, like they were in the past. Pitchers might challenge hitters more because they want the ball in play, and they won’t walk as many guys.”

This from Rich Hill:

“The overall feeling I’ve gotten from friends and family and fans that I’ve talked to is that, yeah, seeing home runs is almost like watching the NBA and guys throwing up three-pointers all the time,” said Rich Hill, a 40-year-old pitcher who recently signed with the Tampa Bay Rays.

“It understandably has a point to it, but strategically, if we want to continue to grow the health of the game, we might want to rethink where we are right now. And I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way.”

The parallels with golf’s infatuation with launch angle and power are clear: long balls must be all folks want to see. While control, shot shaping, recovery play and the ground game are seen as not as sexy.