Watch how the ball bounces to a stop on the fairway, instead of rolling forever. Watch the wrist action on 20-foot putts. Nowadays, the stroke is barely firm enough to break an egg. The lawn mower also affects distance. Titanium heads and graphite shafts make a big difference over wood and steel, but a lot of the extra yards comes after the ball lands.
Perfect fairways mean more roll.
A perfect lie allows players to control the spin of their shots to greens that are, well, perfect. Mark Calcavecchia shows off the Phoenix Open trophy he won with a record 72 hole score. The greens are getting better, the greens are smoother, the fairways are cut shorter, which means we can control our spin, and the equipment is so much better now,'' Tiger Woods said. Guys are hitting it farther and straighter. Not surprisingly, they are two of the top power players in golf.