Quote:
Originally Posted by Everlastrr
unless you were a top 10 golfer back then money was an issue. The type of pressure to feed your family is 10 fold that of any pressure on a PGA tour player now.
So because they had to be top 10 to make money, they were better players?
I think the opposite.
More guys are able to afford to pursue the profession today, have the opportunity to practice, play, get quality instruction, ....
They have more information and incentive to eat right, exercise, train their mind...
Yesteryear's players, as a whole, spent more time drinking in bars, driving in cars to the next tourney, less time practicing, working out.
How could they be better?
If, in your profession, if you thought only the top 10 guys would make a living, would you pursue that profession, or would you find another one?
If you knew that hundreds of guys would be multi-millionaires, wouldn't it motivate you more to do all the things required to be your best?
As to the depth of the fields today compared to years ago (if anyone truly believes that this is in dispute),
one way to compare is to look at the spread of scores today to yesteryear.
Look at the difference in scores from 5th to 50th, or 3rd to 30th, or whatever (I wouldn't use 1st so that it takes out the random outlier score).
I'm too lazy to do the work myself, but I'm sure you'd see quite a difference in today vs. 50 years ago. Today's scores will be much tighter.
Part of this can be attributed to equipment bringing players closer together, but the majority of it is because there are so many more people pursuing pro golf than 50 years ago.
It only stands to reason the players are better.
I agree with the premise that the more you're in the hunt, the better you get at closing the deal. And on that point, yes, the best players had an edge.
But that edge alone does not make them better or tougher than modern players.
And by the same token, many players from the sixties, if put up against the competition of today would practice more, drink less, exercise more, etc. (similar to the effect Tiger had on the next generation taking it to the next level)
They'd have to.
edit: Looked up last year's US Open vs. 1964 US Open at Congressional.
Last year, the difference between 3rd and 30th was 8 shots. In '64, it was 14 shots.
Last year, the difference between 5th and 50th was 11 shots. In '64, it was 22 shots.
Last edited by JTrout; 02-16-2012 at 04:11 PM.