Distance is not everything!

Well old Guesty has a sporting theme today and that theme is Golf. I occasionally indulge a round of the club and dimpled ball. In my lifetime the equipment and ball technology, has, as with everything else, developed at a rapid rate. When I started playing golf, "woods" were wooden clubs and irons, by and large were of one type and that was that. Now there is a plethora of different choices in every facet of equipment, clubs, clothing, shoes etc: I will not bore you with all the variations available, if you are a golfer you will know and if you are not, you are simply not interested.
I read recently that the governing bodies of the game are contemplating capping the technology of the humble golf ball, as its flight encourages long hitting from the modern professional and has necessitated and increase in the length of courses, in order to accommodate these prodigious hitters. This has come with a heavy cost, as the clubs have had to invest in the re-design of their layout and some clubs are no longer capable of hosting a professional tournament because their courses are too short! It is a fix that has the good of the game at its core but in my opinion, that ship has now sailed and to mix my metaphors, one cannot put the genie back in the bottle! Combined with modern clubs and the generally greater athleticism of the modern player, I believe that, even if the composition of the ball, is altered, the players will still propel the missile almost as far, if not just as far.
The only solution in restricting long driving is to limit all equipment and that is not going to happen, unless the equipment manufacturers see it as a massive marketing opportunity, which is unlikely given the huge sums of money invested in research and production of today's clubs. Development in all sport has been going on since sport first started and will never stop, it is one of the fundamental attractions of sport. It does not matter how much technology improves equipment, the skill in wielding that equipment is never going to be diminished and only those with the greatest skill and talent wills rise to the top of the sport.