Tour clubs are better for really good players.
Player clubs make life easier for mediocre players.
What about pretty good tour club players (not great)? They have learned to handle tour clubs and now are outscored by players that haven't the same stick skills. How is that fair?
Players who are good Tour club players (not great) don't really get an advantage with either set of clubs. They lose as many strokes as they gain no matter which set they choose. Sometimes, they gain strokes by choosing Tour clubs, and sometimes they lose strokes, but it all evens out at the end.
Players that struggle with the Tour clubs do not instantly turn into superstars with the Player clubs. They just turn into not-quite-as-bad players. Player clubs are still subject to bad tempo and out-of-the-cone swings. The idea that Player clubs are as easy as TGC1 is a fallacy. They aren't. Can good TGC2 players play them as well as TGC1 clubs? Absolutely. Players that have "mastered" the player clubs are probably better off using the Tour clubs, unless the course specifically emphasizes accuracy.
It's the easy route to argument from the view of the Top 50 players only. It's right, for those players the discussion is moot. But if you are playing for promotions from lower pro tours or for Top 10s, Top 20s: It is simply annoying seeing ghosts playing with player clubs that are playing the ball like on rails. It is simple another game.
The pro tours should be a test of skill. Tour clubs demand the most stick skill - you don't want to question that, do you?
My argument is not centered around the top 50. On the World Tour, I believe the forced club set to be a moot point. In other words, players that good had better switch to the Tour clubs if they want to compete for wins. Otherwise, there will always be a few Tour Club users who play great and beat them almost every single time. It might be a different person each week, but someone is going to get hot with the Tour clubs.
I'm more focused on the next level, but I believe - based on results of a few tournaments - that Tour club users have an advantage over Player clubs even at the new PGA and Euro level. It might not be the case for
everyone in those fields, but most of the top finishers will be Tour Club users. It was true in CC-A which, theoretically, is comprised of lesser-skilled players than PGA and Euro. I don't see how it wouldn't be true for PGA/Euro, unless course selection emphasizes accuracy.
Disadvantage:
- spin: there isn't that much difference
- what about the shots out of the rough and out of bunkers? Is the distance advantage important there? I think not. Way easier with player clubs to bail yourself out (if you miss a fairway!!).
In my last tournament, I hit 82% of FIR and 61% GIR with Tour clubs. In R1, I hit 100% of FIR and 72% of greens. I made 3 birdies and 3 bogeys. In R2, I hit 64% FIR and 50% GIR. I made 4 birdies and one bogey. Somehow, even by a third of my fairways and missing half my greens in R2, I only made a single bogey. You just don't lose as much as you think by being in the rough. You lose some
opportunities but how many of them would you have actually converted?
- courses: I haven't seen a course so far that was designed to promote the use of tour clubs. Hazards in the range of player clubs? In theory, yes. But so far i haven't seen it.
I'll name two off the top of my head, but there are more:
- Bearded Pelican Golf Links
- Castlebay Links at Barra
A lot of designers are taking Tour clubs into account and attempting to emphasize aggressiveness, distance and spin while de-emphasizing accuracy as much as possible. Here's a more subtle example - The 3rd at Bearded Pelican.
The third hole at Bearded Pelican is a Par 5, measuring 540 yards. A long tee shot down the right side will find a flat area with the optimal angle to the green which is reachable in two for long hitters. A shorter tee shot renders the green unreachable while a tee shot to the left side of the fairway brings the greenside bunker into play. Both areas are severely sloped right to left.
The green is a two-tiered green with the back and right raised a foot above the front left. The ridge that bisects the green serves to reward a quality approach by funnelling the ball towards a pin position tucked behind the bunker at the front-left of the green. Two quality shots with Tour clubs and a quality putt will yield an eagle here. Otherwise, a lay-up on the second shot will leave a pitch-and-putt birdie opportunity.
The hole design is such that hitting your drive into the rough only costs you an opportunity at eagle. You can still advance the ball to a full wedge from the fairway which should be a birdie about 75% of the time. With Player clubs, you cannot reach the green in two, so your primary option is to lay up to a pitch distance. You should get up and down about 80% of the time. If you drive into the rough with Player clubs, you're going to be much farther out after two shots than someone who drove into the rough with Tour clubs. With Player clubs, you might be 130 yards out, while with Tour clubs about 90 yards out. From those spots, getting up and down should be converted about 75% of the time. With tour clubs, you're probably bringing a small chance of bogey into play, but in order for that to happen, you would have to hit 3 bad shots.
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