larmen
Head Pro
About Brysons putting, does he do better reads or better strokes than the others? His putting looks weird to be, but obviously it works.
2020 Professional Golf Thread
- Thread starter BubbaP
- Start date
D
Deleted member 1147
Guest
Will be interesting to see him putting at Augusta, when he won’t be allowed his green book!
BridgfordBlue
Active member
I’d do that but rather than make the rough deeper near the green, I’d add a few more hazards like bushes into the rough in particular areas. At the minute, I don’t think there’s enough risk vs reward. If it was made that some of the wayward shots could result in a harsher punishment, it would make them really make that assessment call.
Foxholer
Blackballed
Players are, however, supplied with an 'Augusta Yardage Book', albeit it's not as detailed wrt greens as those used in normal PGA events.
davidy233
Tour Rookie
The amount of people on this thread who think the answer is putting in stuff where a penalty drop is the only option, bushes, gorse, water is mind boggling - that's not golf - hit it find it hit it again - like Seve, Arnie, Tiger (at times), Phil do/did. We seem to have a good few people who'd prefer the old days of Scott Simpson winning the US Open with a two over par borefest.
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
I don’t believe you should penalise an offline 350 yrd drive anymore than you penalise an offline 250yrd drive (although I don’t think offline drives of any distance are sufficiently penalised on the main tours most weeks)
Yes the further offline you are the more severe the conditions should be but again that should be true at any length tee shot. You can’t just make the rough 4” deep at 250yds but 6” deep at 350yds (you still need to leave the advantage of being able to hit it further than the next bloke)
And if they’re going to set up the fairways so that even well struck shots with irons end up rolling into the thick rough then why should players bother with irons. Bryson made some players seem a little foolish with their ‘safe’ approach of going for fairways and played the cards he was dealt with the skills he has & this time the house lost
Yes the further offline you are the more severe the conditions should be but again that should be true at any length tee shot. You can’t just make the rough 4” deep at 250yds but 6” deep at 350yds (you still need to leave the advantage of being able to hit it further than the next bloke)
And if they’re going to set up the fairways so that even well struck shots with irons end up rolling into the thick rough then why should players bother with irons. Bryson made some players seem a little foolish with their ‘safe’ approach of going for fairways and played the cards he was dealt with the skills he has & this time the house lost
Grant85
Head Pro
I think we are well past the point where anyone can doubt Bryson's method or his ability to execute.
Sure he may be accused of being a tinkerer, and like many before him, could spoil a good run by trying something that sets him back. But this week, at Winged Foot, he played the best golf. The best golf by a mile. And he'll probably do it again before too many more big tournaments have taken place.
I watched his press conference and he was fairly relaxed about anything the governing bodies might do to settle the distance debate. He clearly had the quiet confidence of a man who will back himself to work out a new strategy to find an edge, and even then, he was still very good at getting the ball around a golf course even before he was a monster hitter.
For my money, Augusta suits his game as well as anywhere else. He has 4 very gettable par 5s and will be hitting wedge or 9 iron into 13 and 15 most days. The low score for 4 rounds at the Masters is -18 and I'd personally be very surprised if that isn't beaten in November or April - by Bryson, or by someone with a similar game plan.
Sure he may be accused of being a tinkerer, and like many before him, could spoil a good run by trying something that sets him back. But this week, at Winged Foot, he played the best golf. The best golf by a mile. And he'll probably do it again before too many more big tournaments have taken place.
I watched his press conference and he was fairly relaxed about anything the governing bodies might do to settle the distance debate. He clearly had the quiet confidence of a man who will back himself to work out a new strategy to find an edge, and even then, he was still very good at getting the ball around a golf course even before he was a monster hitter.
For my money, Augusta suits his game as well as anywhere else. He has 4 very gettable par 5s and will be hitting wedge or 9 iron into 13 and 15 most days. The low score for 4 rounds at the Masters is -18 and I'd personally be very surprised if that isn't beaten in November or April - by Bryson, or by someone with a similar game plan.
Beedee
Assistant Pro
If they don't have everything in the book then they'll just take 10 times longer pacing everything out half a dozen times.
Grant85
Head Pro
You absolutely can do that and courses have been designed with that kind of thinking in mind. Bunkers at 285 to carry. They dominate the yardage book of a Brendon Todd or Webb Simpson, but don't even factor into a Bryson or Wolff. Why is that fair when the whole point of them being placed there was to set the elite players a few yards back, or else play a very accurate shot to miss the bunkers. They were never intended to be carried, and certainly not by 25 yards. So now instead of being 40 yards past a short guy, the bombers are 60 because the shorter hitters have to lay up or else take on a risk that doesn't exist for others.
Of course hitting the ball far is a skill and these players will always have an advantage, but a course should be set up with a range of holes. Some that will reward longer hitters and others that might penalise them or encourage them to lay back. Or at least bring in the same amount of risk that exists for other players in the field.
The problem is the longer hitters are so long that these traditional strategic challenges just don't exist any more and in fact the philosophy of longer holes, narrow fairways and thick rough actually helps the longer hitters.
fundy
Ryder Cup Winner
This sums it up neatly for a lot I think
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
Was a bunker at 285 carry really 'designed' with a raft of players carrying well in excess of 300 in mind? I dunno, it doesn't seem like its sited at the correct length if it was
Anyway I wasn't talking about standalone hazards. I'm saying that the same hazard (the rough) shouldn't be grown longer further up the fairway specifically to prevent a longer drive being employed if both drives are equally offline
NeilG
Member
Personally, I thought the whole tournament was great to watch.
A very difficult challenge taken on by the best players in the world, with the winner being the one who deserved to come out on top.
Bryson is box office, and probably the first player since Tiger who I would go out of my way to watch.
A very difficult challenge taken on by the best players in the world, with the winner being the one who deserved to come out on top.
Bryson is box office, and probably the first player since Tiger who I would go out of my way to watch.
rksquire
Head Pro
BDC is not one of my favourites, or even close to it, but the man arrived with a plan, told everyone what his plan was, and executed it. Credit where credit is due, he's the only one, from a stellar field, who finished below par, and comfortable at that. That doesn't mean we should all panic and think about ways we can prevent these superb athletes, who have spent hours practicing and dedicating their life developing the skills required to do what BDC just did.
One man finished under par. Not because he hit it a long way into the rough, but because even with the extra bulk he had a delicate touch from bad lies and putted well. Loads of guys failed to get up and down. From what I seen, he did this better than anyone and that's why he had. He had 1 bogey yesterday, 11 in total over 4 rounds. He found a way to control his golf ball (distance, direction, control) out of the rough better than anyone else. If we put Zach Johnson or GMac in the same positions off the tee, would they have fared better than BDC this weekend? I honestly don't think so. I think they'd still prefer a 5 iron from the fairway to a wedge from that rough. Winged foot beat everyone except one player this week, and it wasn't the distance, it was his lack of intimidation from the rough.
However, his distance might well destroy Augusta, the only difference is others will be able to play equally as well out of the Augusta rough as him.
One man finished under par. Not because he hit it a long way into the rough, but because even with the extra bulk he had a delicate touch from bad lies and putted well. Loads of guys failed to get up and down. From what I seen, he did this better than anyone and that's why he had. He had 1 bogey yesterday, 11 in total over 4 rounds. He found a way to control his golf ball (distance, direction, control) out of the rough better than anyone else. If we put Zach Johnson or GMac in the same positions off the tee, would they have fared better than BDC this weekend? I honestly don't think so. I think they'd still prefer a 5 iron from the fairway to a wedge from that rough. Winged foot beat everyone except one player this week, and it wasn't the distance, it was his lack of intimidation from the rough.
However, his distance might well destroy Augusta, the only difference is others will be able to play equally as well out of the Augusta rough as him.
bradleywedge
Active member
Correct. He is my new favourite player.
Grant85
Head Pro
just an example, whatever the yardage. Fairway bunkers were generally not intended to be carried, but to demand an accurate shot.
It would have become further away from the tee with every new tee box that was put in, but it's a strategic penalty that was intended to put in some kind of risk / reward dynamic. i.e. play an accurate shot or leave yourself a long approach. But for a lot of players these days, this strategic element simply doesn't exist.
SatchFan
Q-School Graduate
Love him or hate him, it makes a nice change talking about BDC rather then blanket Tiger Woods/ Rory McIlroy coverage.
azazel
Assistant Pro
But with the rough being the same length for all distances, you're penalising the short hitter who can't reach the green with a wedge from their length in the rough, whereas the big hitters can reach the green from where they end up with a wedge. Not sure what can be done - or even if anything should be done - but as it stood, Winged Foot unquestionably favoured the long hitters.
BubbaP
Occasional Player of Golf
Sorry, but what does that actually mean?
Orikoru
Tour Winner
He means reachable in two shots I presume.
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
Remembering that all others things being equal (online or offline) the longer hitter should have an advantage over the shorter hitting guy
