Just back from a trip that included time spent at the PGA of America Trade show in Florida and meetings with the Royal Canadian Golf Association in frigid Toronto, Peter Dawson was looking remarkably chipper as he gazed out over the 1st fairway on the Old Course. As views go, the panorama available to the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews’ chief executive takes some beating. If only the 1960s planners hadn’t allowed the building of that hideous hotel. Oh well…
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On the 2007 Open Championship:
“Last year was a great Open in many ways, with the exception of the weather, which kept the crowds down a little. That part of Scotland is never going to give us huge numbers anyway, not being near the bigger cities, but the weather was disappointing. Still, that was more than compensated for by what I thought was an outstanding golf course, in terms of the set up. The players loved it and they gave us a great spectacle. Of course, after the controversies of 1999, the course had to be outstanding. So it was nice to close that particular chapter of Open history.“The course was in wonderful condition, too, to the point where I think it raised the bar for future Open venues. What sometimes got lost in the midst of all that was said about ’99 is the fact that John Philp and his senior people are magnificent green keepers. He really is terrific, as are the Carnoustie Links committee. They are very down-to-earth, ‘let’s get on with the job’ people.
“And wasn’t the finishing stretch wonderful. Those last few holes really sort out even the best players. There was always something happening. For Padraig Harrington to win the championship after being in the water twice on the final hole was almost unbelievable. The pitch he played over the burn to the 18th green was one that would have scared the living daylights out of me and, I suspect, many other players. You can talk all you want about the advantages of modern equipment, but you still have to be able to play the shots.
“It was a shame about Sergio. When they went off for the play-off, either one would have done for me; both would have made great champions. And it was great for European golf.”
On the 2008 Open Championship:
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“I noted the controversy in the States over the PGA Tour’s new 36-hole cut rule (only the number closest to 70 play the final two rounds when more than 78 players qualify) and can say absolutely that the Open Championship cut will remain at 70 and ties this year! We are blessed with long daylight and it would take some pretty freakish weather for us to even consider something like that.
“We are also happy with the four-hole play-off formula. It has stood the test of time. It is better than going back the next day. Although 18 more holes might be a better test, everyone is packing up and moving on and there is a feeling of anti-climax. Plus, four extra holes eliminates the possibility of one bad swing meaning the end of the play-off.”
On GPS yardage guides:
“The rule of golf has been changed to allow players to use these gadgets if they wish. But we won’t be doing it in the Open.“It’s very difficult to come up with a logical reason why, if a caddie can give you a yardage, or a book can give you a yardage, or a sprinkler head can give you a yardage, anyone needs that same number produced electronically. It could happen, of course, that players will end up doing all of the above. But my personal fear is that this is the first step towards the vision that every golfer should have a machine that can tell them wind speed, wind direction, the yardage and which club to use. The other end of that scale is that you pay golf the old way, with none of that sort of help.
“So where should the line be drawn? You could argue that the line should say ‘no such devices,’ but here it is has been drawn at ‘one such device.’ There are some arguments that it will speed up play, but I find it hard to believe that a device that zones in on the flagstick can do that when you have to wait for the flag to be replaced in order to use it.”
On slow play:
“As far as the Open is concerned, the problem doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. At least it hasn’t in my time here. It actually improved a little when we changed the gap between groups from ten minutes to 11 minutes. That had an effect. The nature of the early holes on a particular course also has an influence on how quickly you get them away.“There is a noticeable difference between two-balls and three-balls, as you would expect. There is a noticeable difference between Thursdays and Fridays - on the second day, those who are clearly not going to make the cut tend to speed up.
“I find that a lot of the players are sort of okay with the present pace of play. Observing them up close at events like the Dunhill Links, I have noticed that they put so much more work into putts than we amateurs do. They don’t hit a putt until they know exactly what they are doing. I hit a putt when I have a rough idea what I’m doing.
“It also seems to be the case that those who have played quickly at some time in their lives have given up the fight. If they don’t, the level of frustration is just too much to handle. I don’t pretend to have the answer. The good news is that, on television, it is less noticeable as the cameras can jump from group to group. The bad news is that, should the game be perceived as too slow, it could put off people from taking it up. That’s the biggest issue, I think.”
On grooves:
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“Then we took a look at the playing statistics on the PGA Tour. On average, top players are hitting the green from the rough only a very low percentage of the time. The top-ten players, for example, hit an average of only six greens from the rough in each 72 holes. And they only hit the green from the thicker rough between 30-40 percent of the time.
“That surprised me. But we have to remember that, when they miss a fairway, they are not always in the rough. There are bunkers and water. And sometimes they are out of bounds, or unplayable. “So, although there is still a cost to being in the rough, the issue isn’t as clear cut as it first appeared. Which is why we put out our proposal in February last year. Since then we have received a lot of comments from many interested parties and we have taken the last six months or so to evaluate them. Right now, we remain in discussion with the USGA and would expect an announcement fairly soon.
“Our motivation has never been to make rough more meaningful; we want to make driving accuracy more meaningful. It should matter that you hit the fairway, at least to a reasonable extent. That there should be no correlation between driving accuracy and success cannot be right. Which doesn’t mean that we want to see every fairway lined with rough. I’m not sticking up for rough. “There is also a bit of an issue with little shots from rough around the greens. Again, the combination of modern balls and modern grooves seems to produce too much of ‘bite’ on the ball when it lands. Especially when you combine that with the loft on the clubs. With a lot of loft on the club, you can hit the ball harder than you used to, even on a very short shot.
“Something is going to happen with the grooves and there may even be more action. At the Orlando show I saw a wedge that had over 70-degrees of loft. That has to be a concern.”
On course architect Pete Dye’s recent comment on the USGA (“They’ve escalated the cost of maintenance. They’ve slowed down play. And they’ve completely lost control of the equipment. Outside of that, they’ve done a pretty good job.”)
“No comment. You’re not sucking me into that! You’re not going to get me to comment on Pete Dye’s designs. If he wants to comment on us, he can carry on.”
On distance:
“We have the problem surrounded. Driving distances have stablised. In the last five years there haven’t been any technological innovations that have increased how far the ball goes. So the heat is coming out of the subject to a degree. But we remain committed to action should any further increases occur.“Which is not to say that we are happy about where we are. But the game is certainly not in crisis over this issue. I’m not sure the argument that the game at the top level is less interesting to watch is any function of hitting distance. And I include in my counter argument this theory that the ball does not move sideways as much as it used to.
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“As Walter Driver of the USGA said to me recently, ‘everyone is entitled to their own opinions about distance and technology, but they are not entitled to their own facts.’
“The driver is very different. The way the head deforms at impact takes out sidespin. You can hit straight pulls or pushes. But slicing and hooking is more difficult.
“So there is no doubt that getting a good drive away with a modern driver is easier than it was with an older driver. That’s a fact. But is it too easy? I think there is merit to the argument that it is easier to get round in 66 than it used to be, but it is not easier to win a golf tournament. There are so many other factors involved in winning. In fact, you can easily argue that finishing first has never been harder than it is today.”
On drug-testing:
“I hope to see confirmation that drug taking is not part of golf. And I very much hope that, if someone is caught, that we can differentiate between performance-enhancing and social drug taking. There is no reason to suppose that golfers are any different from anyone else, in that respect at least.“We certainly want to avoid situations where people are being disqualified for taking simple cold remedies and the like. Those are covered under ‘therapeutic use exemptions’ and it is to be hoped that the players are paying attention to that aspect of the new regulations.
“But it has to be done. Can you imagine the damage it would do to the professional game and a sponsor’s perception of it, if drug taking were seen to be going on? So we are right to do it. Let’s hope the players don’t let the game down. I’m sure they won’t.
“The ladies tour has been first to implement the new rules and the men are catching up in July. Whether we do it at the Open this year or not has yet to be decided. My view is that, if the players are being tested most weeks on tour, then the Open should be just that: another week on tour. I don’t think there is any need for us to reinvent the wheel for one week.”
