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| |  Thursday, 5 April, 2001, 02:13 GMT 03:13 UK Nicklaus fears for golf's future Nicklaus says last year's Open was "a joke" Jack Nicklaus wants golf balls modified to stop them flying such huge distances. The six-times Masters champion fears many of the world's top courses - including Augusta and St Andrews - are becoming too simple because of constant technological adaptations. "If you are going to continue to let the golf ball do what it is doing, you've got to keep lengthening the golf course," said Nicklaus.
"It's absurd. You have to restrict the ball. I've been saying this for 20 years." Speaking on the eve of the 2001 Masters, Nicklaus added: "Augusta National is a wonderful course. "It's one of the great golf courses in this world and it's diminished by a golf ball because the manufacturers can't stand to have their ball go shorter. "The game gets ruined. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to allow the golf ball to do what it is doing." Nicklaus said last year's Open at St Andrews, which Tiger Woods won by eight strokes, had been an "absolute joke".
Nicklaus's comments come in the wake of the news that Augusta is to be altered for 2002. "It's our response to the new equipment and balls," said Augusta chairman Hootie Johnson. "It's not in response to scores, but to players hitting sand wedge into par fours that are over 400 yards." | |
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