MUST WATCH / Lucas Herbert hits new and old golf balls with new and old golf clubs

Check out this absolutely fascinating experiment looking at how far the golf ball goes using new and old equipment.

Australian golfer Lucas Herbert and former Australian tour pro (and golf course designer) Mike Clayton have had a bit of back-and-forth on Twitter relating to the issue of distance in golf.

Specifically, the have disagreed on occasions about how much further the modern golf ball is hit with modern equipment and exactly what (if anything) should be done about it.

Clayton is one of the world’s most vocal critics of how far professional golfers hit the golf ball which has led to many great golf courses – (including The Old course at St Andrews and Augusta National) – being lengthening the golf course to deal with the problem.

In an effort to provide some data and compare the new and old technology, Golf Australia got Herbert to take part in a small experiment under the eye of Mike Clayton and Golf Australia’s Mark Hayes. And the results are fascinating.

Club speed, ball speed, spin rate, carry distance and total distance are all measured by Trackman while Herbert uses new and old golf balls with both his modern driver and a few old persimmon ones.

Quite frankly the results are jaw-dropping. I’d be surprised the R&A and USGA don’t already know this stuff though. As golf’s governing bodies and the protectors of the game and the golf courses we love, they would’ve already done similar sorts of experiments right?

Right?

This video was shot a month or so ago. Since then Herbert has wrapped up his European Tour card for next year thanks to a superb second place finish at the Portugal Masters last week.

Maybe practicing and preparing for golf tournaments with old persimmons and balata golf balls may soon catch on…

Note: Golf Australia tweeted out the dispersion data in case anyone is interested. A picture, thousands words and all that.

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