Tiger: Golf has evolved, 'we're running out of property'

The USGA and R&A released their Distance Insights Project last week, in which the sport's two governing bodies outlined the effects of ever-increasing distances on the PGA Tour and said those changes are moving golf "in the wrong direction."

Tiger Woods spoke Tuesday about the issue.

"To see the technology advance as fast as it has, the average distance was - when I first came out on Tour - if you could carry it 270, it took a lot of trouble out of play," Woods said ahead of this week's Genesis Invitational. "Now, guys are hitting their hybrids and 5-woods 270 in the air. So the game has evolved and it's changed, and we're running out of property."

Woods, who owns his own course-designing firm, views the issue from multiple perspectives.

"Trying to design golf courses that are - from the back - 7,800-8,000 yards, it's difficult," he said. "But on top of that, we want to keep the game so enjoyable; we're trying to get more participation, and having the larger heads and more forgiving clubs, it adds to the enjoyment of the game.

"So there's a very delicate balancing act where we're trying to keep the game at, but also, as we've all recognized, the players have changed over the years, too. When I first came out it was Vijay (Singh) and myself in the gyms, and now it seems like everyone has their own trainer and physios and guys have gotten bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic, just like all sports."

The USGA and R&A outlined in the "Next Steps" section of their report that equipment specifications could be set to a put cap on distance. It suggested a Local Rule as one possible remedy, which would "allow committees that conduct golf competitions or oversee individual courses to choose, by Local Rule authorized under the Rules of Golf, whether and when to require that such equipment be used."

An example would be that the Masters could introduce a limited-flight ball intended for play only at Augusta National.

However, it's still unclear when such changes will be made.