2020 Professional Golf Thread

[Foxholer]

If they don't have everything in the book then they'll just take 10 times longer pacing everything out half a dozen times.

It's only the greens where the difference is significant....and pacing out is irrelevant there. there MAY be rather more than normal checking of slopes (other than the obvious ones) but, I believe, not all that much - as they'll have done a lot of pre-tournament research of their own from previous eventss.

 

[sunshine]

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

But golf is all about risk v reward. The bolder tee shot (ie 350 yard drive) should carry more risk than a more conservative tee shot with an iron, because it comes with more reward.

 

[USER1999]

Don't be so dramatic. They still hit golf balls with golf clubs, it's golf. Is tennis not tennis because they stopped using wooden rackets and started serving it 150mph? Is football not football because the players are athletes and don't sink 8 pints after a game anymore?

As Beezerk says...

...all sports move with the times as players and team try to gain the next advantage over the rest of the field.

Tennis. Such a great example. Or not. Did you know they changed the tennis ball, because serving was getting to be too much of an advantage? No. I thought not.

 

[USER1999]

He means reachable in two shots I presume.

It now means reachable with a drive and a wedge, as far as I can tell.

 

[sunshine]

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.

All golf courses should favour skilled ball strikers with the ability to hit it long and straight.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

When I first started playing golf it was when Tiger came on the scene. I remember then people talking about Tiger Proofing courses against his driving. As far as I can recall that largely involved moving the tee further back . BDC has simply taken that further, as others have done in the interim.

I think people would warm to him more if he didn't take 5 minutes over every shot, constantly keep referring to his books before he does anything. So many use them now but please take away greens books from pro golfers. Let them work the greens out themselves.

No need to panic, it is his first, not his 10th in a row.

Yes. This needs to be done. I would even go further and ban caddies from the green.
Reading greens is/should be part of the skill of golf. It should be the players who practice it. Their skill alone should be the rule..
Just my opinion.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

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, I'd go along with that. I know I advocated bushes etc "green back to 260yds", but it was on the basis that a wedge out of rough is a lot easier than a Four iron, say.
But, yes, on reflection, leave the accurate 350 drive with his deserved advantage over the accurate 250 drive. And have the bushes etc along most of the hole.
But each must be properly penalised for going off piste. If you can bash it anywhere and then recover with an easy straightforward iron shot to the green, then it does not make for skilful golf, just low scoring golf.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

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.

Very good post. Like you I am not a BdC fan but you cannot fail to admire his unique approach, his bulking up and bomb and gouge method. He's not all sheer power and is quite handy around the greens too. The question is where does that leave golf course set up, especially the majors as he clearly has the power and a game plan to rip most of them apart. Is this the start of a new era of domination like Woods

 

[Orikoru]

Tennis. Such a great example. Or not. Did you know they changed the tennis ball, because serving was getting to be too much of an advantage? No. I thought not.

Is that because everyone was crying that tennis wasn't tennis anymore?

 

[robinthehood]

Rory gained 3.5 strokes putting this week, which is pretty decent for an area of his game considered to be a weakness. Bryson was 4.5 so better but only to the extent of a single shot over four rounds.

Rory out performed Bryson in strokes gained off the tee but it was his approach play and around the green stats that were rubbish.

Yeah I watched him. Pretty uninspiring stuff, shame as he was so many good positions off the tee.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

The spectators won’t be able to see that’s why these courses don’t have a lot of bushes.

Yes, I understand that's a reason, which has some merit.
I'd like to see something tried though. Cannot there be some bushes and spectators .
Just a thought. If not, it looks like there isn't much of a remedy then, unless the ball is changed.

 

[davidy233]

Yes, I understand that's a reason, which has some merit.
I'd like to see something tried though. Cannot there be some bushes and spectators .
Just a thought. If not, it looks like there isn't much of a remedy then, unless the ball is changed.

One boy broke par out of 160 and we're complaining that it's too easy.

 

[clubchamp98]

Rory gained 3.5 strokes putting this week, which is pretty decent for an area of his game considered to be a weakness. Bryson was 4.5 so better but only to the extent of a single shot over four rounds.

Rory out performed Bryson in strokes gained off the tee but it was his approach play and around the green stats that were rubbish.

Yes he was fighting a pull with his mid And short irons.
Missing the green from the middle of the fairway at this level is just not good enough.
It’s hard to understand someone so good can’t sort that out mid round.

 

[clubchamp98]

One boy broke par out of 160 and we're complaining that it's too easy.

To be fair the complaints about bombers started a long time ago.
Some like it some don’t.
It’s not great to watch imo.

 

[Grant85]

Sorry, but what does that actually mean?

He means reachable in two shots I presume.

Absolutely. And that you can even be aggressive with the 2nd shot, such will be the amount of loft in his hands.

 

[Diamond]

I think I need spotters on every hole at my club.

 

[USER1999]

Is that because everyone was crying that tennis wasn't tennis anymore?

No. It was because their governing body recognised that serving was becomming the dominant factor in winning tennis matches, at the expense of other aspects of the game.

 

[Orikoru]

No. It was because their governing body recognised that serving was becomming the dominant factor in winning tennis matches, at the expense of other aspects of the game.

Do you have any info about it? I honestly Googled it and couldn't find anything.

 

[YandaB]

Do you have any info about it? I honestly Googled it and couldn't find anything.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/547256-how-the-humble-tennis-ball-has-hepled-change-the-game

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Do you have any info about it? I honestly Googled it and couldn't find anything.

You must be too young . From memory it was round about the end of the Sampras era. At Wimbledon in particular people were getting mad amounts of aces and games were incredible dull. Bob average players were doing well purely because they could blast super powered serves. Taking pressure out of the balls negated the total power players and meant you had to have more of an all round game again.

The downside was that it took serve volley largely out of the game because the ball stood up a little more and players could pass more easily. Perhaps that was the price to pay.