Off TRAQ Podcast — Golf's Real Conversations
Jul 7, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min · 14 segments
On this episode of **Off TRAQ**, Charles and Roy ask a deceptively simple question: **is modern golf actually better?** With better equipment, launch monitors, rangefinders, YouTube instruction, and…
Going to our main topic for the day, something that you wanted to talk about.
Yes.
Is modern golf actually better?
Yeah.
So this question I was thinking about because I was actually thinking about us.
I did learn golf when I was really little, but there was a huge gap.
And so I didn't play golf from like second grade until I was in my late 20s.
But you've obviously been playing golf a lot longer.
And I was wondering, there's been so much advancements in the sport from technology, launch monitors, the equipment itself, YouTube instructions.
Even the clubs have changed so much, even since when I played.
But when you look at the handicaps of the average golfer, I think it's only improved by like one and a half.
points.
Right now, the average handicap is around 14.2. And in the early 90s, I think I saw that it was close to like the high 15s.
And so I actually wanted to ask you, what have you experienced with like these shifts? And you know, we can definitely go kind of item by item.
I do have a couple categories I want to touch up on.
But before we get into the nitty gritties, I did want to kind of hear from you.
What has changed from when you first picked up golf till the golf that it is today?
Yeah.
So when I started playing, so this is like right around the turn of the millennium.
Sorry, it feels weird to say it that way.
But it was like a little over 20 years ago, I guess.
This is I think that was right when the quote unquote modern era of clubs and balls started coming out.
So I never played like a lot of balls.
Right.
But I do remember like my first driver.
Going to our main topic for the day, something that you wanted to talk about.
Yes.
Is modern golf actually better?
Yeah.
So this question I was thinking about because I was actually thinking about us.
I did learn golf when I was really little, but there was a huge gap.
And so I didn't play golf from like second grade until I was in my late 20s.
But you've obviously been playing golf a lot longer.
And I was wondering, there's been so much advancements in the sport from technology, launch monitors, the equipment itself, YouTube instructions.
Even the clubs have changed so much, even since when I played.
But when you look at the handicaps of the average golfer, I think it's only improved by like one and a half.
points.
Right now, the average handicap is around 14.2. And in the early 90s, I think I saw that it was close to like the high 15s.
And so I actually wanted to ask you, what have you experienced with like these shifts? And you know, we can definitely go kind of item by item.
I do have a couple categories I want to touch up on.
But before we get into the nitty gritties, I did want to kind of hear from you.
What has changed from when you first picked up golf till the golf that it is today?
Yeah.
So when I started playing, so this is like right around the turn of the millennium.
Sorry, it feels weird to say it that way.
But it was like a little over 20 years ago, I guess.
This is I think that was right when the quote unquote modern era of clubs and balls started coming out.
So I never played like a lot of balls.
Right.
But I do remember like my first driver.
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