THE PGA Tour’s annual visit to Hawaii has always produced tremendous contrasts. The first week involves a visit to the Plantation Course in Kapalua for The Sentry before the circuit moves on to Waialae Country Club in Honolulu (home of this week’s Sony Open). The former boasts lengthy holes, significant elevation changes on the clifftops above the Pacific Ocean and enormous greens. The latter has short holes, is a completely flat property at sea level and has tiny putting surfaces.

Last week Max Homa thumped one drive a PGA Tour record distance of 477-yards and only one golfer in the 59-man field (Korea’s Tom Kim) didn’t register a blow beyond the 400-yard mark. This week it will be very different with the many tree-lined holes demanding that most players hit to the doglegs from the tee box.

It wasn’t windy last week, the fairways were fast-running and the holes those mammoth hits were registered on were steeply downhill so the numbers are a little deceptive but the sheer weight of preposterous drives was a reminder that equipment and fitness have transformed the sport. And, of course, while some celebrate these improvements, others are appalled by them.

The rules men have announced future limitations on the ball and it’s often said by detractors that there is no sporting precedent for the harnessing of advances yet that’s not strictly speaking true. The javelin, for example, has, by necessity, been tweaked to ensure that the throwers don’t hurl the spear beyond the in-field. Without such limits, the runners, then the crowds and, finally, folk actually outside the stadium would be fleeing in fear of being skewered in the name of athletic prowess.

The argument is often reduced to a binary dynamic. Traditionalists insist that the sport is an art, modernists preach that it is a science. A happier state of affairs would be to conclude that golf is neither. Instead, it is a sport which can be tackled with either an arty or a scientific approach.

Which is why, of course, this Hawaiian fortnight appeals. The booming efforts of last week are replaced by the craft of this – and even within that simplification there are subtleties. Last week’s winner Chris Kirk, for example, was very far from being the mightiest hitter from the tee and the shot which secured him the title was a 5-iron to tap-in range on a par-4, not the kind of blow the biggest hitters found themselves faced with. This week a big-hitter might prevail, but to do so with driver permanently in hand he will have to excel as a consequence of high-quality execution of a tightrope game plan.

The debate might be played out in microcosm by the performance of the favourite, the young Swedish star Ludvig Aberg. In the seven months since he turned professional he has wowed onlookers with not only his demeanour but also the stellar numbers he’s recorded from the tee. However, a run of eight consecutive top 15 finishes, which also included a superb Ryder Cup debut, was interrupted by T47th last week.

Perhaps he was rusty after the holiday because he did close with a final round 10-under-par 63 but it will be intriguing to see what happens next. His driver has undoubted power but, in winning at Crans and Sea Island, he has already indicated that his greatest strength might be the brains that utilise it as much as the raw material itself. A neat Scandi-combination, maybe, of science and art.

Here are three picks for the Sony Open.

Each way – Harris English at 33/1

Winners at Waialae tend to have at least three factors in their favour: eight of the last 10 had played the week before at Plantation, they typically have a good course record and they’re also proven in similar conditions (short, tight layouts, small greens, blustery breezes).

Harris English fits the bill nicely. The 34-year-old finished T14th last week and headed into the final round just three shots off the lead. He’s also made 11 visits to Waialae, missed the cut just once, has two top four finishes and was one shot off the first round lead 12 months ago. His wins at Southwind and El Camaleon show a fondness for this sort of test, as does a runner-up finish among the doglegs at Colonial. He’s also been a winner in Hawaii already at Plantation. Two Englishmen (Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton) are well-suited and vie for favouritism but Harris might trump them both.

Each way – Chris Kirk at 25/1

While English is chasing the career Hawaiian double, Kirk is hoping to emulate Ernie Els and Justin Thomas in landing it in the same fortnight. It’s a tough task but not an impossible one as Lucas Glover reminded us of that last summer with his back-to-back triumphs. Moreover, Kirk does have a very fine course record that includes four top five finishes, two of them in the last three years and two of them runner-up efforts that saw him one shot outside a play-off.

Each way – Nick Taylor at 80/1

The Canadian made a quiet start to the year but he wouldn’t be the first Sony Open winner who had plenty of rust to remove the week before. He was the clear halfway leader at Waialae in 2021 and seventh last year. 2023 also saw him finish a fine second to Scottie Scheffler at Scottsdale and win his home Open. He’s also claimed victories at the seaside Pebble Beach and on Bermuda grass at Jackson CC.