'Now You Can Hit It Out Of The Toe And It Goes Just As Far, Which I Think Is Detrimental To The Good Ball Strikers' - Former Ryder Cupper Suggests 12-Club Limit And Other Measures To Curb Golf's Distance Problem
Peter Baker discusses how the game has changed since he turned professional in the 80s and admits the governing bodies have been slow to address the distance issue
The issue of increased hitting distances is a problem in the professional game that does not seem to be going away, and what might come next from the governing bodies is still unknown.
The USGA and R&A have plans to cut the ball back as well as limiting the CT (Characteristic Time) of driver heads and reducing the maximum club-length down from 46 inches - but whether those plans go far enough is highly debated.
These proposals are not yet set in stone so it remains to be seen if they get approved, and the governing bodies are open to receiving further feedback from tours and manufacturers.
Golf Monthly has spoken to many industry figures and pros on the subject of hitting distances in golf, most recently Sir Nick Faldo who suggested a maximum tee-length of an inch.
Lee Westwood told us earlier this year that the driver head-size and forgiveness is an issue that needs fixing.
We've debated how to cut back distance in the pro game, as it's clear there are many different ways to tackle the growing distance problem in the sport. Just a quick look at the PGA Tour driving distance average illustrates that the issue is very real:
PGA Tour driving distance through the years
1990-2025 tour average and longest player
Tour average (yards)
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 262.3 |
| 1995 | 262.7 |
| 2000 | 272.7 |
| 2005 | 288.4 |
| 2010 | 287.3 |
| 2015 | 289.7 |
| 2020 | 296.4 |
| 2025 | 302.8 |
Pros hitting the ball longer is requiring courses to add length, which costs money to both build and maintain, and the strategic test of the game has also changed. A common argument, too, is that forgiving clubs do not separate and reward the best ball strikers enough either.
We recently caught up with former Ryder Cupper Peter Baker ahead of the Champions (UK) plc European Senior Masters, and he gave some strong views on hitting distances in today's game.
As a veteran with 600 DP World Tour starts and well over a dozen professional victories, Baker is more than qualified and experienced enough to have a view worth listening to - and he had a few ideas of how to tackle the problem.
While admitting that being able to hit the ball long is a skill, the three-time European Tour winner and eight-time Legends Tour champion believes the driver is far too forgiving for the world's best players.
Baker, who played for Europe in the 1993 Ryder Cup, also suggested reducing the maximum number of clubs allowed to just 12 and adding in a maximum loft for wedges, too.
Baker won four Legends Tour titles in 2023 to seal the Order of Merit
"Unfortunately they didn’t address that early enough in my opinion, and I think it certainly needs to come back a long way," Baker told Golf Monthly.
"I don’t think they will get it back a long way. It’s put a lot of the old, great courses out of tournament mode and, not unplayable, but not as much fun.
"I think it’s a skill in hitting the ball a long way, if you hit it right out of the middle and it goes a long way, there’s definitely a skill to that.
"The problem is the club and the ball is too forgiving in respect where you don’t absolutely ping it out of the middle and I think that needs to be addressed where; Does it go more offline? Does it go as far? I think that needs to be addressed.
"I remember when we first played if you hit a good drive out of the middle it went alright but if you missed it, oh my word it didn’t fly. You really did notice a difference. Now you can hit it out of the toe and it goes just as far, which I think is detrimental to the good ball strikers"
"I personally would like to see a couple of things really, which could be done quite easily.
"I’d like to see them maybe go to 12 clubs in the bag and, I’m not a great pitcher of the ball anyway, but I’d like to see a maximum 56 degree loft on a sand iron.
"If you’ve got a good short game, that would bring that skill back into it. And that would maybe help a little bit shall we say. As well as the ball being addressed."
As well as reducing the maximum number of clubs and loft, Baker believes the forgiveness of drivers is also a big problem.
"I remember when we first played if you hit a good drive out of the middle it went alright but if you missed it, oh my word it didn’t fly. You really did notice a difference," he said.
"Now you can hit it out of the toe and it goes just as far, which I think is detrimental to the good ball strikers and it’s sort of brought everybody together in a way.
"There is a skill in hitting it a long way and hitting it out the middle and those guys have always done really, really well but I’d like to see that sort of dispersion of the ball and the distance of the ball changed if you don’t hit it as well.
Baker currently sits 7th in the Legends Tour Order of Merit
"Smaller head on the driver, no doubt about that, you could do that for pros, less forgiving for sure. 12 clubs would be controversial but I think 56 degrees on a sand iron, why not have a maximum loft? You have maximum ball velocities, maximum length of tees, there’s a lot of stuff in there so just put 56 degrees on a sand iron.
"Bring a bit more skill into it, a bit more different out the rough. Some of them have four wedges now which is amazing really because they don’t need the other clubs.
"If you drop a couple of clubs, and you’ve got 56 degrees, that makes it a little bit more interesting, maybe."
What do you make of Peter Baker's views? Let us know in the comments section below.
