Montgomerie Clarifies DeChambeau Comments - "Something Has To Happen"

The eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner says DeChambeau hits it too far for 7,000 yard courses

Montgomerie Clarifies DeChambeau Comments - "Something Has To Happen"

Colin Montgomerie says that Bryson DeChambeau hits the ball too far for modern-day courses and "something has to happen" as courses are not big enough for today's big hitting tour pros.

Monty told BBC Radio 5 Live recently that he would like to see a professional ball that travels 80-85% of the distance the current ball travels.

He says he was quoted as saying that DeChambeau hits the ball to far in general, when he actually means that he hits the ball too far for 7,000 yard courses.

Related: Colin Montgomerie calls for birfurcation - "The game has changed dramatically"

The eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner says he doesn't hit the ball too far for 10,000 yard courses but admits that they would be too expensive to build and maintain.

He also said that he would love to see tournaments go back to classic inland courses like Sunningdale and Woodhall Spa but "they're too short now."

"No, tour pros don’t hit it too far," Colin Montgomerie said on this week's Golf Monthly Clubhouse Podcast.

"Golf courses aren’t big enough for them so something has to happen.

"I was quoted as saying that Bryson DeChambeau hits the ball too far, no he doesn’t.

"He doesn’t hit the ball too far if courses were 10,000 yards. They’re not.

"They’re 7,000 yards, now he’s hitting the ball too far for that particular golf course.

"I would love tournaments to go back to Sunningdale Old, Woodhall Spa, to these classic inland courses that are 6,800 yards but you can’t. They’re too short now.

"Now is that because he’s hit the ball too far? But the courses haven’t changed, they’re fantastic courses I’d just love to be able to use them that was all.

"So it’s not that DeChambeau hits the ball too far, he hits it too far for a 7,000 yard course, not for a 10,000 yard course but we can’t afford to build 10,000 yard courses.

"That’s the problem and the cost of maintaining them.

"That’s the issue so we’ve got to balance somehow."

Listen to Montgomerie on this week's Clubhouse Podcast at 24 minutes:

Bryson DeChambeau won his sixth PGA Tour title at the Rocket Mortgage Classic where he became the first ever PGA Tour winner to average over 350 yards off the tee.

Montgomerie also said that the biggest struggle golf faces is the time it takes to play.

"We’ve got to get back to the three hour round of golf," he said.

"I was brought up on golf took three hours whether it was a two ball or a three ball.

"Four balls took a bit longer because one out the four sort of lost their ball off the tee. But two and three balls should take no longer than three hours to play and we’ve lost that and that’s why a number of people aren’t playing the game that they used to.

"Family commitments and all the other stuff that comes into life nowadays and we need to get back to three hours.

"How we do that? That’s the powers that be but we have to get back to three hours playing golf."

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