EarthGolf

USA Today with PGA Tour rookie Brandt Snedeker conducted something of a test - Snedeker played consecutive rounds with equipment from the 1980s and modern equipment at Sea Island, Georgia.

He shot 80 with the 1980s era equipment and 75 with modern equipment.

Snedeker broke out in laughter when he saw an age-worn short iron that had a strange number on it — 11, equivalent to today’s pitching wedge. He also was taken aback by how his new driver dwarfed the Mizuno Pro 1 wood he had to use. He shook his head when he noticed the tiny sweet spots on the TaylorMade irons.

Just as shocking was the once top-of-the-line Rextar golf ball, which featured rubber-like balata-tree material that created a soft cover and yielded more spin. Conducting his own experiment, Snedeker hit one of the Rextar balls with his new sand wedge and shredded the cover of the ball.

…

On the first nine holes using the persimmon driver and the older ball, Snedeker could find the fairway just two of nine times. Each of his drives were low-flying projectiles that snapped to the left and went 200-220 yards — into high rough and behind trees.

On the first hole, he had 188 yards to the pin after his drive with the wood ended near a tree. With his contemporary TaylorMade r7 driver, he had 128 yards from the middle of the fairway to the pin.

On the par-4, 445-yard ninth, he had 200 yards to the pin after his drive with the wood ended up in rough; he had 144 yards from the middle of the fairway after using his modern driver.

“I’m seeing parts of this golf course I’ve never seen before,” Snedeker said on the 12th hole. “I’m trying everything to keep the old driver on this planet.”

Yeah - it’s the grooves, not the ball. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

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