LPGA star Charley Hull has revealed that she won’t watch modern golf for this reason, and Bryson DeChambeau is making it worse.
Hull, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is one of the biggest stars in golf. She is widely respected for her open honesty with the media and willingness to share her strong opinions both in interviews and on social media.
The Brit has once again voiced her opinion, this time on the state of modern golf in the build-up to the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl. She explained why she won’t watch the modern game.
Charley Hull explains why she won’t watch modern golf, ‘It’s become…’
Hull said that she wouldn’t watch modern golf because the technology has taken the art away from the game.
She said, “I think golf, 20-30 years ago, up to the 2000s was more of an art. Even the men would have to hit draws and fades to stuff it in. I think now it’s become more of a power game, where the technology has advanced so much that everyone can just hit it straight and far.
“It’s kind of taken the art away from it. Whenever I watch golf, I watch Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf and all that lot, or who won the British Open in the 1970s, I find it way more interesting back then. I wouldn’t watch golf now, really.”
Even the most beloved and traditional courses in the world are having to adapt to modern technology. The U.S. Open at Oakmont featured a 301 yard par three, and Augusta National had to make some holes longer.
At LIV Mexico, players were hitting drives well over 400 yards (benefitting from the thin air). If technology keeps advancing, every par four will be drivable. LIV Golf and YouTube star Bryson DeChambeau plans to do exactly that.
Bryson DeChambeau looks to advance golf technology with new innovation
DeChambeau said he was making a new golf ball which could better handle his speed at The Open Championship. He said the prototype could be ready as soon as the Ryder Cup, which DeChambeau is preparing for.
The two-time US Open winner is one of the longest hitters in the history of the sport, but DeChambeau has difficulty controlling spin on his approach shots. That’s given him difficulty around some courses, especially at The Open Championships, where the wind is a factor.
He looks to combat this issue not by improving his game, but by improving technology. In doing so, he’s proving Hull exactly right.
If players can fix holes in their game by simply bringing in new equipment rather than working to improve themselves, then the sport is now a science, not an art.