I really don't see the need for better gear than we already have. The game has become too easy, way too easy. If you want to stand any sort of chance of winning any tournament you need to birdie every hole and ideally have an eagle or 2 somewhere in the round.
I think I'm an average player and I get annoyed with myself if my approaches are more than 10 feet from the hole. A score that isn't in the 20's for 9 holes or 50's for 18 holes feels like a bad round.
I honestly think it was more fun and certainly more challenging when I used to play Raptures and was very happy to make 3 or 4 birdies per round.