To the dismay of legions of Tiger Woods fans, Greg Norman recently made some public assertions about the game that many not so enamored of Woods have been saying privately for some time. The courses have changed, the player's attitudes have changed and most importantly, the equipment has changed.  In short, golf is not what it used to be and is in danger of its impending irrelevance. Forget Norman's bloviating about if Tiger is good for the game or not.  That's just silly.

Professional sports like baseball and football have their HGH and steroids to enhance individual performance.  Golf has its equipment. 

Those that actually play the game understand the dramatic changes technology has brought. In the not to distant past, the Persimmon wood was the most fearsome club in the bag. Most are familiar with the term "hitting it on the screws". According to The Golf Dictionary by Michael Corcoran: "In the days when woods were actually constructed of wood, they had a plastic insert in the center of the face, the purpose of which was to prevent the wood from deteriorating from constant impact. Some inserts, particularly those in persimmon woods, were held in with several small screws.... When a player would hit a solid drive that felt good, he'd say, 'I hit it on the screws.'"

Screws are a thing of the past with the new composite metal drivers and fairway clubs. Golf clubs made from metal with names straight from the Periodic Table of Elements dominate every pro shop. The result? John Daly used to be the long hitter on the tour followed by the imposing Tiger Woods.  Now they're numbers 5 and 6 respectively on the list behind the likes of Bubba Watson, the leader with a 318-yard average.  In 1980, Jack Nicklaus averaged a then impressive 269 yards off the tee: distance players now routinely attempt from the fairway on most par 5's.  That 50-yard advantage on a 430-yard par 4 allows an approach shot with a wedge instead of an 8 iron.  You can guess which is more accurate.

Golfers today are not bigger and stronger than the Golden Bear, Seve Ballesteros or Jim Dent in their prime. The point that equipment has made the game easier for the amateurs and simple for the pros is moot. The question is what can be done to preserve the nature of the game in the face of equipment that makes average players pros? Make the courses ridiculously long? Grow the rough to 12 inches?

Regarding the advent of the