Day Blasts Modern Golf Course Architects

Jason Day is one of the longest hitters in the game, and while family and health have led to the 30-year-old playing a more compact schedule in recent years, he still racked up two wins on the PGA Tour in 2018. 

With 16 worldwide wins, including 12 on the PGA Tour and a major championship, Day is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Given his stature in the game as well as his style of play, it’s not surprising to hear that Day is not in favor of reining in the ball or equipment.


However, one of the reasons behind his opinions in a recent all-encompassing GolfDigest.com interview is sure to draw some criticism, especially from the golf course architecture subsect. 

“Do I want the ball to go shorter? No. Why? Isn’t it fun watching Dustin Johnson crush a drive over a lake 300 yards away? No one wants to see someone plod it down the right and not take it on. That’s boring,” he said. “If you push trying to rein it in too far, then people will stop watching golf. People want to see risk.”

“The problem is the architects—some of them, anyway—decided that because the ball is going forever, they need to make courses longer to make them harder. No, you don’t. Just be a better architect.”

As expected, architecture buffs didn’t take too kindly to that ultimatum. 

 

Day riffed on other topics too quite candidly, including but not limited to, the highs and lows of his career, whether or not the PGA Championship moving around the world is a good idea and the Presidents Cup.

You can read the full interview here.