美国国家公共电台 NPR--There's drama brewing in the golf world over a new ball for the professionals

There's drama brewing¹ in the golf world over a new ball for the professionals

Transcript³

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Pro² golfers are driving balls much farther, so the rules may change for the official golf ball. Here's NPR's Gus Contreras.

GUS CONTRERAS, BYLINE⁴: Golf equipment has evolved a lot through the years.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER: And that's where he's headed - just a little bit wide. This ball appears to be hammered.

CONTRERAS: Clubs used to be made with wood, and the original ball was made out of leather stuffed with goose feathers, a far cry from the modern tech that utilizes⁵ titanium drivers and highly engineered golf balls.

JONATHAN WALL: If you go all the way back to when Tiger Woods first entered the professional golf scene in the late '90s, you know, that was, in my opinion, when equipment had this massive spike⁶ in technology.

CONTRERAS: That's Jonathan Wall, managing editor for equipment at golf.com.

WALL: And I think that's when the governing body started to take a closer look and say, all right, the balls may be going too far now. So what are we going to do to help rein⁷ back in distance?

CONTRERAS: The solution back then was to stretch out classic golf courses to their maximum distances, in theory, to make it more challenging for the long hitters. But now the sustainability of that model is being questioned. Longer courses need more attention, land and water. So the new proposed solution is to create two separate golf balls - one for professionals and one for the everyday player.

They don't want the pro ball to go as far as it currently does. A typical drive would be 20 yards shorter. The best example is like in baseball. There's a wooden bat used in major leagues and a metal bat used in college and recreational play. The wooden bats require that extra bit of skill to pound the ball 300-plus feet.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "NO LAYING UP")

BILLY HORSCHEL: There is many factors that go into this, and I don't believe the golf ball should have been singled out.

CONTRERAS: Professional golfer Billy Horschel was speaking on the "No Laying Up" podcast. He's won many tournaments.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "NO LAYING UP")

HORSCHEL: Yes, distance has increased on the PGA Tour. There's no doubt about that. We are making a change for 0.1% of the golfers in the world.

CONTRERAS: Horschel disagrees with the proposed rule change. He doesn't think there is a problem with distance or the ball. But at the local level, where the majority of recreational golfers play, there's a trickle-down effect, says Will Smith. He's co-founder of National Links Trust, the nonprofit organization that manages the three public golf courses in Washington, D.C., including East Potomac Golf Links.

(SOUNDBITE OF CLUB HITTING GOLF BALL)

CONTRERAS: Smith points out that this course is almost outdated⁸ now.

WILL SMITH: Eighteen full holes opened in 1923. So here we are a hundred years later, and we're trying to build a golf course that can then challenge and be interesting to golfers who hit the ball probably on average 30, 40, 60 yards further.

CONTRERAS: Smith and his organization plan to renovate⁹ the D.C. courses, including making some holes longer, to stay relevant with modern equipment.

SMITH: When people make their decisions about where they want to play golf, one of the things they look at is yardage, and rightly or wrongly. Someone who's really good at golf might think that that's not a worthy¹⁰ test.

CONTRERAS: Golf equipment companies are in the business of helping¹¹ people hit the ball further and argue the new pro ball will take the fun out of the game. Again, Jonathan Wall.

WALL: Everybody's been playing the same golf ball for eons. So to now tell them that there's going to be a pro ball and an amateur ball, it's just something that doesn't compute¹² with a sport that's steeped in history.

CONTRERAS: Golf's ruling bodies hope to finalize¹³ a new ball by 2026 but are making it clear this change won't stop long drives or affect the weekend golfer for now.

Gus Contreras, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF RAY BARBEE'S "CHEEKS")

1 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 utilizes   

v.利用，使用( utilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One highly successful approach utilizes a triplet aspheric lens array. 一种很成功的方法是利用一个三合非球面透镜阵列。 来自辞典例句
• The first utilizes a blend of finely ground ceramic powders. 第一种用的是一种磨细的陶瓷粉末混合物。 来自辞典例句

6 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

7 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

8 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

9 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

10 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 compute   

v./n.计算，估计

参考例句：

• I compute my losses at 500 dollars.我估计我的损失有五百元。
• The losses caused by the floods were beyond compute.洪水造成的损失难以估量。

13 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。