Masters 2012

Public Forum—Concepts in Advanced Ball Striking
81

The crowd is now sounding like a football game, and the TV music also sounds like we are watching a football game. I miss the contrast between the very serene relaxing music and the pressure and tension the golf would create on Sunday from the TV perspective.

In all honesty I felt myself rooting for Bubba. Maybe it’s because he bought the “General Lee” Dukes of Hazard Car.

But looking at it objectively… as much as I possibly can… I just can’t agree that a player could ping pong the golf ball around in the Georgia pines three times on the back nine and walk away with a green jacket. Even Seve as wild as it seemed he could play… never hit it that bad when he won.

The drives of the leaders on 17 where just horrible, and the same on #10…

Phil blamed his loss on a bad break when it hit the bleachers. He needs to play where I do.

I guess I can take some solace in knowing that the course that I play, if played with persimmon and blades is actually a better test of golf than Augusta is now with the modern gear. There are six holes at Mare that would give you a lie like Phil had on #4 in the garbage just 5 paces off the edge of a green or less. It really is much more terrifying that anything Augusta offers up these days.

While I have no idea of how or why Bubba should be able to get the ball onto the green from deep in the Georgia pines three times coming in… he was able to do it.

Congrats to Bubba, he played the best golf and deserves the win in this modern age of bomb and gouge.
He does try to hit different kinds of shots and I feel like I am watching a feel player. I think that’s good.

I don’t see that any of the other guys deserved it.

He’ll look great in that jacket driving General Lee, even with that pink club next to him.

82

Its great to watch a feel player… no regard to alignments,positions just hit the shot find a way to move forward. He hit alot of bad shots but he found a way to get the ball in the hole. Bubba’s not the type of guy to have alignment sticks or swing thoughts.

83

Would Zach have played the course any differently this week than he did in 07? He would have laid up on all the par 5s and been forced to make birdies with wedges, just as he did when he won.

84

Zach Johnson needed record cold temperatures along with high winds. I played that week in Atlanta and it was something like 45* with 30 mph winds. The azaleas were in bad shape from the cold.

That’s why guys like Crane had a chance early on…wind. But, if it’s not super-breezy there, it’s bomb and trick shot. It’s real life Golden Tee.

3JACK

85

Last year’s champion, Schwartzel, hits it an average length by tour standards. He’s 99th in distance this year. Was somewhere between 40-50 last year. Certainly no bomber.

Also…

Bubba (16th in the world rankings)
Louis (27th-major winner)
Westwood (3rd)
Kuchar (18th)
Hanson (25th)
Phil (14th)
Poulter (24th)
Justin Rose (9th)

So, did the tournament separate the bombers from the short hitters or did the best players (who were also on top of their game) simply rise to the top? And isn’t that the point of a major? To have the top players, who are at their best, finish on top.

86

Zac won the event at +1, just like 3jack said it was cold and windy all week.

I was just checking out Augusta via google earth to see what room they have left and it’s pretty much stretched to its limit now, it’s quite amazing to see how far some of the tees have been pushed back, 11 is nearly on the roof of a house and 18 is almost on the 15th fairway! Maybe it will take someone as powerful as August National to think “Holy shit we cant go any longer” and take it up with the USGA and the R&A to do something about the ridiculous distance the ball is going. Pipedream?

87

Better yet, Hall of Fame players at their best. Who on the board is likely going to be a Hall of Fame candidate other than Phil?

Without Tiger and Phil… where are they?

Someone is going to win the event… so each year there are four new major champions… just as there is a new winner of any event. It feels more like a lottery now. Who gets lucky… holes out from the fairway… makes 200 feet worth of putts… that sort of thing.

Even Bubba didn’t give me the feeling of greatness… that he was going to make it happen and just take the title that no one seemed to want. Missing the eagle putt… driving it deep into the trees… missing the putt on 18. It’s not the stuff Nicklaus or Tiger showed us.

If the golf hall of fame wants to add modern inductees, they are going to have to radically lower their standards… and then you will have to let in guys like Andy North, Scott Simpson, Janzen to be able to allow Goosen, Cabrera, all the guys with two majors.

88

You’re using this year’s stats and Schwartzel hasn’t played many events. He was 43rd in driving distance (out of 186), so he was WELL above average in distance. He also averaged 116.4 mph of clubhead speed (31st).

So, where was Luke Donald, Zach Johnson and others who don’t bomb it but are top ranked players?

I don’t think we are asking for much. If you bomb one and you find the first cut of rough, you should still have an advantage. But, when you have guys finding the middle of the woods and bitching about bad breaks after they hit the grandstand and they’re not getting much penalty for it…I don’t think that is what golf is about, much less major golf

I still enjoy the tournament, but my love for the Masters has tapered greatly because it’s absurd watching some of the shots being hit and golfers still winning the ‘greatest tournament in the world.’

Like I said, there were a ton of great shots. Hell, we had a double-eagle. But, you should be penalized when you hit shots off the grid.

The way I look at it, unless the US Open makes a turnaround this year after last year’s debacle, the only real major anymore is the British Open. And even that is way too dependent upon the wind.

3JACK

89

If you randomly dropped golf balls across Augusta out of an airplane there would be lots of great shots also.

Championship golf should be more about not hitting BAD shots… throw in a few great ones and crown the champion.
Too many bad shots for my taste.

90

Come on lag, surely u jest. The lay up shank on 12 was just his game plan, and the snipe hook into pines was just to showcase his recovery prowess.

91

And so goes another Northern Georgia Invitational©. What does this mean? About the same as the rest of em, not much. Next stop Olympic and we get to have this same tired talk again when it plays just like Pebble. We’ll bitch again about 18 green because it’ll either be slow as molasses or else because there’s a bunch of four putts and we’ll argue whether the Christmas Trees getting removed is good or bad (it’s good BTW) and hardly anybody will notice that 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 16, & 17 will have pretty much been ruined and don’t make sense anymore. On to the next stop kids, all aboard…

You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again,
after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”
And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife”

92

I love that Bubba can bend the ball but if he ever got a balata in there by mistake, he’d hit his own ass with it hitting a wedge shot. There’s bending the ball when it’s called for but to do it just to do it, makes you wonder.

Hmmm, Bubbas’ last round recap. On a nice sunny warm day with almost zero wind.

Hole 1 - Let’s start this off right. DOH!!! Bogey…
Hole 2 - 40 yard slice from the fairway with an iron to the the left bunker. Gets up and down from the pristine white sand there for birdie. Oh par 5 is it?
Hole 3 - Par. It’s a short hole and that’s all he got?
Hole 4 - Hits green. Leaves long putt short about 3 feet. Par
Hole 5 - 3wood to FW. Iron on. Makes about a 30 footer for birdie.
Hole 6 - Flies over the green. Up and down for par
Hole 7 - slices a 3 wood (what no pink 3 wood?) into the pine trees, lays up while butt-humping the pine tree. Up and down for par
Hole 8 - lips out putt and tries to blame it on a spike mark… makes par
Hole 9 - blows a soft wedge past the hole 30+ feet . Starts the putt, looks like he doesn’t like it and then it almost goes in then looks pissed he missed. Par
Hole 10 - Hooks pinky into the trees/gallery. Gets a decent lie/great angle into green and 2 putts for par.
Hole 11 - Pinky finds the fairway. On green 2 putt par.
Hole 12 - Flies over green about 5 feet. Putts past the hole 6 and to the right of hole about 3 feet. Misses putt. Bogey.

So far even for the round. But now the magic happens.

Hole 13 - Pinky in the FW. On in two with medium iron that looks like he’s swinging a light saber to block Darth Vader. 30 ft er. Leaves the first putt 5 feet short. Makes the putt for birdie. Oh this is a par 5? really?
Hole 14 - Pinky is hot. FW again. Short iron again and almost flies the green but catches the edge and rolls back to 4 feet. Has that “Whew!!!” look on his face after that shot. Birdie.
Hole 15 - Pinky I love U! FW again. Middleish iron onto green about 18 feet. Comes up short and off line. Tap in for birdie. What Par 5 again? really?
Yes really, 15 is giving out birdies and eagles like a avian gumball machine. Top 10 in the tournament on Sunday go (7 birds, 2 eagles) Might we discuss this with the powers to be and call it what it really is? A par 4!
Hole 16 - Iron shot, not the traditional Sunday past the flag have it roll back shot. Just gets it on the front of green by about 1 foot or so. 6 foot putt. Birdie.
Hole 17 - OH NO PINKY! I hate you!!! Slice left into the trees. Nice lie, just go over trees straight shot to green. 40 foot putt luckily hits hole and leaves only 3 feet. Could have been 5 or 6 feet. Par.
Hole 18 - Pinky I luv u again! FW. Wedge for 22 foot putt. Miss then Par.

Hey I’m in a playoff!

Hole 18 - Pinky is en fuego (FW). Short Iron to 12 feet. Miss and par.
Hole 10 - PINK!!! Yer killing me. Hook right into the trees/gallery. Ah another miracle window and decent lie. This is where having a 30 yard hook wedge pays the dividends. Best shot of the day onto the green. 9 foot putt for the win at the Masters to finish in style with a birdie. Baaaaahnt!!! Brick. Tap in for par. Oh wait, the other guy bogied!!!

One green jacket in lefty please!!!

Not what I would call the greatest Masters ever but I guess someone in the field had to win this week.

Best part of the show was the highlights from the older Masters. Man, the look on Greg Normans face when Larry Mize made that chip in to win. Or when Ben Crenshaw won after Harvey Penick died with Davis Love III trying just as hard to win for him too. That’s an amazing Masters.

It’s like looking at a beautiful, classy Hollywood star that’s past her prime, but you still have fond memories of the good years…

93

I play both codes of the game depending on which course I’m playing and its definately easier to hit fairways using persimmon than it is with titanium. Horses for courses, we need to change to the courses and put a premium on accuracy, not length.

94

Fair play to Bubba, I know it’s very easy to point to his bad shots, but he’s still just a guy trying his heart out to win an historic golf tournament- the people are still people, that hasn’t changed. Lots of guys miss the 10th fairway, particularly with how far the ball goes with modern equipment, but he also hit some great tee shots when it mattered- the 2 on 18 were stand out to me, as well as 13 and 15. It’s not the kind of golf I like watching myself, but anyone who has the balls to put the tee in the ground and try their best, gets my respect, no matter what level of golfer they are. It doesn’t take much to disparage, particularly when you’re sitting at a computer. It’s actually pretty impressive to be able to hit it that far and hit fairways. Though I would say that the low point for me was watching Rory and Sergio ‘hug it out’ on twelve in the third round- it reeked of giving up, or making light of the situation. I couldn’t see any of the great competitors indulging in that sort of thing, they’d be thinking of eagles on 13 and 15 I would say.
I thought Harrington could have won, or maybe posted the number had he holed a few putts. He hit it very close all day but never looked like holing them- does that mean he’s ABS flavour of the week? :confused: … sorry, couldn’t resist…

95

Yes, you’re absolutely right. The game is just so watered down these days. I would like to see Westwood get 1 or 2. He’s been a really good player for a long time and it’s cool that he lost his game and was able to get it back.

96

Well, that’s exactly what I’ve been saying.

However, the fanboys will point out the great shots. And they did hit some shots that were tremendous. Not every day we see an albatross. And even with the modern equipment, there were some shots that Bubba and Phil hit that I’m not sure the old pros could hit.

But to me, when you miss badly you should rarely even have a shot at the green. I think Mackenzie and Jones thought the same way as well.

3JACK

97

I’m confused. Have they been removing trees in recent years to make these shots out of the trees possible? If so when did they start doing so? It sure doesn’t look much different from what I see in the tournament from the 80’s that Lag posted. I know Faldo made the comment that the tee shot on 18 is tighter than it used to be.

98

Not so much that any trees were removed but when you are 50-70 yards further down into the trees, they aren’t set up as the penalty they used to be. That’s why they cluster them in certain areas for tee shots and thin them out past there. Not like a corridor of trees equally placed. They can move the tee boxes back and move the fairway bunkers up, but moving the trees is a bit much even for Augusta.

And between the generous gallery bounces, it’s like bowling with the inflatable gutter rails.

Am I crazy or does it look like the pine straw is groomed as well as the greenside bunkers? Even when they were in the pine straw, it seemed they always get an pretty decent lie.

As for Bubba, I’m sure he’s a great guy and I doubt anyone here is disparaging him personally. Kudos to him for winning the Masters. It’s just that his win didn’t feel like the Titans of golf were showing why they are so great. They didn’t really battled it out to have a true Champion emerge victoriously by virtue of his perfection of skills. It was more like who could hack through the round less than the other guys and get hot with the putter.

What’s even worse is the way CBS makes it sound like this was the greatest Masters tournament ever in the history of the world before and ever into the future. Of course they do that every year. Gotta keep up viewership since it’s been sinking.

99

Before the final round, they showed highlights from the '87 Masters. Larry Mize won it, despite finishing 128th on Tour in driving distance. Roger Maltbie had the lead in the 4th round, and he finished 81st in driving distance. You also had guys like Crenshaw, Langer and Jay Haas…all in the top-7 and none of those guys finished better than 86th in driving distance that year (surprisingly, Crenshaw was the longest off the tee of those 3 that year).

One thing that struck me was on 18, Greg Norman blasted his drive wayyyy left. I remember that back then as the ball started to fly longer and longer, the guys who were the longest on Tour would purposely aim over there because there was virtually no trouble over there and the grass wasn’t long. This continue on until 1991 when Woosnam won the tournament and made it even more obvious that he was aiming dead left because it was an easy shot there with his length. The committtee immediately moved the tee back and that prevented it from happening until '97, when Tiger used the Woosnam/Norman strategy. I think now 18 plays somewhat like it was originally designed to play like.

So the ‘Jones and Mackenzie wanted this type of golf’ doesn’t really fly with me. The problem of course is how much further can you extend the course? I think they can, but they could probably better counter it with reasonably thicker rough and maybe planting some more trees, if that is feasible to do. I think you can get the same drama and perhaps even more because now you would be allowing a wider variety of styles to possibly win, just like Mize did in '87.

3JACK

100

Ok well I’m not going to accept that they are 50-70 yards further. Think about it. Yesterday, Bubba killed one on 15 and had something like 185. So that means that in previous years the absolute longest guys on tour would have somewhere around 240-250, when they really caught it off the tee. I have only seen full tournaments dating back to the mid 80s but we all know that’s just not the case. Another example was 18 on Friday. Playing it into the wind just about everyone was hitting long irons or even fairway metals into the green. I understand that some of these holes are playing shorter due to equipment, but your blanket statement of guys being 50-70 yards closer to the green is just not true.

My point being that you guys are making it seem like they were playing a course that was set up drastically different than years past and I just don’t see it.