Koepka game changer

[2over]

Koepka's win, while unfairly overshadowed by Tiger's runner-up was not only a magnificent performance but maybe a paradigm-shifter in pro golf. Koepka won by pounding the driver all day long right down the middle of the fairway. He was flipping wedges from inside 150, often inside 125 where other contenders were left with 175-200 into the green (because they couldn't or wouldn't hit driver on par 4s).

 

A lot of top players like Tiger, et. al. can't find a fairway with the driver when it really matters. Koepka showed in the new world order that if you want to win the majors you're going to have use the big stick and find fairways with it. Flipping wedges into 450+ par 4s is such a huge advantage. I hope it brings more people with Koepka's long game to the fore in pro golf. I really hope it makes Tiger change his hyper-conservative way of playing and spend a lot more practice time with the big stick.

 

I loved it when Faldo went on 18 "Well, just an iron and safe approach and you've got it" and Koepka pounds another driver right down the pipe and flips a wedge to 15 feet and Faldo's like "That works too"--uh, it work better Nick, which is why Koepka's hoisting the trophy for the 3rd time in the last 7 majors.

[cardoustie]

Was surprised to see Adam Scott hit two Word not allowed ones near the end. However, he was doing the same all tournament and he was past Brooks a couple of times. Woodland also a good event hitting a lot of the big stick. Hmmmmmm ... I sense a pattern

 

"Drive for show and putt for dough" ... couldn't be further from the truth nowadays

 

Good post. The game has shifted from straight ... to bomb and gouge .,.,. to bomb and straight

 

Brooks' comments about all the dog legs left was good ... I have the length to carry the cross bunkers on the inside of the doglegs with fades so it didn't really matter

[redfirebird08]

Rory and DJ were/are driving the golf ball just as well. Problem is their iron game and putting are nowhere near as sharp as Koepka's right now.

[cardoustie]

I think the highest ball speed I saw was over the weekend was Rory at 189 > where he carried it 330. And i know DJ is in the 190 arena when he nuts one as well

 

Most of the other big hitters like the names above and Tiger all seem to be in the 178-183 ball speed range FWIW

[sigmatt]

Koepka's win, while unfairly overshadowed by Tiger's runner-up was not only a magnificent performance but maybe a paradigm-shifter in pro golf. Koepka won by pounding the driver all day long right down the middle of the fairway. He was flipping wedges from inside 150, often inside 125 where other contenders were left with 175-200 into the green (because they couldn't or wouldn't hit driver on par 4s).

 

A lot of top players like Tiger, et. al. can't find a fairway with the driver when it really matters. Koepka showed in the new world order that if you want to win the majors you're going to have use the big stick and find fairways with it. Flipping wedges into 450+ par 4s is such a huge advantage. I hope it brings more people with Koepka's long game to the fore in pro golf. I really hope it makes Tiger change his hyper-conservative way of playing and spend a lot more practice time with the big stick.

 

I loved it when Faldo went on 18 "Well, just an iron and safe approach and you've got it" and Koepka pounds another driver right down the pipe and flips a wedge to 15 feet and Faldo's like "That works too"--uh, it work better Nick, which is why Koepka's hoisting the trophy for the 3rd time in the last 7 majors.

 

Says here DJ had a similar win at the 2016 U.S. Open.

[nicoy3k]

Lol easier said than done. If it was that simple everyone would be bombing it 320 down the middle.

[nix]

This is something we already knew like 5 years ago, right?

[RobS14526]

I’m not disagreeing but the soft conditions also play a part in that strategy.

[Saskwatch]

I think the highest ball speed I saw was over the weekend was Rory at 189 > where he carried it 330. And i know DJ is in the 190 arena when he nuts one as well

 

Most of the other big hitters like the names above and Tiger all seem to be in the 178-183 ball speed range FWIW

 

So basically 6 iron speeds for the average WRXer. Not sure what all the fuss is about!?!

 

Brb, repping 315 for 10!!

 

Lite weight!!! Woooo. Yeeeeah buddy!!

[bladehunter]

Don’t go tell this to the guys in the “ is distance ruining the pro game “ thread. They claim it hasn’t increased since 2003.

 

It obviously has. Question remains is it good. ? Time will tell. Brooks is fun to watch. But I don’t think it will be fun when 99% play this way.

[wmblake2000]

I was thinking about my two core impressions of Sunday. One was Koepka just smoking that driver on 18. Fearless. Aggressive, Awesome. I haven't seen him enough to understand how often he hits it crooked or how he plays when he does. But his A Game is incredible. The second take-away was how well Tiger played from all over the park. To shoot 64 with some of the tee balls he hit was off the charts good.

 

Great stuff from both.

[boomboom726]

I wont say that distance is ruining the pro game because it is but I honestly don't know where the results are coming from:

 

Is it the ball

Is it the club technology

Is it the swing development/instruction

 

I can make a great argument that it is all three. I honestly see some of the power from these guys right now as being the result of a changes in swing/body positions/fitness that allows them to generate massive amounts of club head speed. I mean guys like justin thomas/ Brooks Koepka/Rory Mcilroy are working with launch monitors instructors fitness instructors to develop swings that maximize speed and power. This is not something that was occuring 15,20, 40 years ago. Look I am not taking the blame from equipment and the ball but I want to know if you hand Brooks Koepka an original PRO V1 golf ball and a titliest 905 driver how far does he hit it today. I dont know the answer but maybe its possible he hits it the same distance or 5 yards less. If so that is because he has harnessed his swing and body to crush golf balls not because the 2018 drivers and golf balls are better than the drivers and golf balls from 15 years ago.

[mosesgolf]

Maybe it's time to cut the rough to equalize the playing field. :D

Irrespective of distance it was a memorable PGA.

[DFS PFD]

Aren't all majors supposed to be played driver wedge and approaching -15 to -20? I mean come on, that's what the people want!!!

[IVM]

Unless you make the rough more punishing this type of golf will be the future of the game regardless if you bring the ball back because they will still be that much longer than the other pro’s .

[Potatohead]

Nothing new really. Tiger was doing this 20 years ago, not as long and straight probably as today's game but compared to the rest of the field his driving was ridiculous.

 

Day at Whistling Straits was a heck of a display off the tee also.

[Shilgy]

Aren't all majors supposed to be played driver wedge and approaching -15 to -20? I mean come on, that's what the people want!!!

No-but golf is played outdoors with no control of the weather. So the course was soft. If a player can control the ball the way Koepka did then why not? Way back when Jones said of Jack that he "plays a game with which I am not familiar". And that comment has been celebrated for years as a changing of the guard and more powerful game.

 

Hogan wrote a book-"Power Golf" and it was good.

 

Arnie drove the green at the Us Open... and it was celebrated.

 

Jack drove the green at The Open at St Andrews... and it was great.

 

Koepka( or insert the name of any other modern pro) hit driver wedge. Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We gotta fix it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[soap1984]

Yeah this is not a game changer. He always hits driver and will eventually start hitting it sideways like all other big hitters do. Just like when rory won his stretch, eventually he will come back to the field and start hitting driver left and right. He was great this week but really he just had an exceptional week driving the ball pretty straight on a soft course with relatively wide fairways as far as majors go.

 

The biggest takeaway for me has nothing to do with driver. He performed stone cold with the lead; really didn't look like he was going to lose it all day. To me, that was the most impressive thing about his win. He also looks so massive now...it'd be interesting to hear what weight lifters think about his gains over the past 18 months; considering he's been injured it is odd he looks so much bigger now than say two years ago.

[third-times-a-charm]

I've always hated the phrase 'drive for show putt for dough'. Putting is easy as hell. Driving is hard.

[TheBoomer]

Proximity to hole T49 for the PGA Championship

 

His all around game was solid this week.

[bscinstnct]

Gotta Koepka proof those, yo

 

[straightshot7]

Trust me they'd all love to hit it 320-340 and straight. They try. It's not easy. Brooks has a nice, repeatable action with the driver coupled with incredible power (ala DJ and Rory).

 

Do you think Phil aims for the rough?

 

Zach Johnson and a host of other guys would love to be able to do that too but they can't generate enough speed. Tiger would love to be able to hit it that straight but right now he's having trouble getting everything synced up. His release was super late on Sunday but it's not like he wasn't trying to hit long and straight...he pulled it off a couple times.

[straightshot7]

I've always hated the phrase 'drive for show putt for dough'. Putting is easy as hell. Driving is hard.

 

I disagree. -Rors

[dlygrisse]

This isn't really new. Guys like Hogan, Snead, Palmer, Norman, and Nicklaus (How about DJ at Oakmont?) used to do it all the time as well. Watching Tiger and Phil these last 20 years has led us to believe you can't bomb it long and straight and win.

[Cincy_Ken]

Unless you make the rough more punishing this type of golf will be the future of the game regardless if you bring the ball back because they will still be that much longer than the other pro’s .

I don't know. I've seen Brooks muscle the ball out of some lies specifically at Shinnecock that very few good. More rough probably helps him.

[ExTrumpet]

Lol easier said than done. If it was that simple everyone would be bombing it 320 down the middle.

 

Just because you don't bomb it 320 down the middle, don't assume the rest of us here on wrx don't hit it at least that far and in the middle.

[avrag]

Unless you make the rough more punishing this type of golf will be the future of the game regardless if you bring the ball back because they will still be that much longer than the other pro's .

I don't know. I've seen Brooks muscle the ball out of some lies specifically at Shinnecock that very few good. More rough probably helps him.

 

True. Rough is not the answer.

Multiple ditches, which cross the fairways or meander alongside and across them, are.

Like at Carnoustie.

[Krt22]

Hitting driver long and straight is a paradigm shift? When has hitting it long and straight ever not been a huge advantage, at any level of golf? Brooks's best asset wasnt his biceps or the big dog, it was his mental approach and the ice cold blood in his veins

[WidespreadPanic]

While obviously driving the ball long and straight will help you win, it would've been interesting to see how that course played firm. The long drivers have a huge advantage when the ball stops where it lands. There are a lot of guys these days that pretty much can't be beat when they have their A game, and it's cool to watch. Hopefully the major will come when multiple guys have their A game going.

[IVM]

Unless you make the rough more punishing this type of golf will be the future of the game regardless if you bring the ball back because they will still be that much longer than the other pro's .

I don't know. I've seen Brooks muscle the ball out of some lies specifically at Shinnecock that very few good. More rough probably helps him.

 

True. Rough is not the answer.

Multiple ditches, which cross the fairways or meander alongside and across them, are.

Like at Carnoustie.

 

Now that would be a good idea . A creek running across the fairway at 300 yards and back again at 350 yards .