Everyone's complaining that it's too tough. Well, blame mother nature. Don't blame Augusta. It's the same setup it was 2 years ago when Woods won with a score of -12. Difference was it rained that year. This is what happens when you get the driest month possible, windy conditions and cold temps. What's amazing is Goosen starts the day 11 shots back, shoots a 2-under round and is only 4 back. Crazy stuff.
Well, you have to hand it* to Tiger: Even after these difficult, unspectacular first three rounds, he ends up in the final group with Appleby, one shot back. The winner usually comes from the final group at the Masters. I wonder who will win!?
__________________________
* The Trophy?
I think it is going to be impossible to project a winner for this one. I never thought I would say that someone that is 6 over has a legitamte shot at winning any event.
I agree that the tournament is pretty dull. I guess I shouldn't be surprised with the conditions though. I can't remember the last time a Masters had decent weather. I don't see any excuse for the greens being dry though. Anybody ever consider doing something really exotic, such as say, watering them?
Anybody ever consider doing something really exotic, such as say, watering them?
With overnight lows in the 20's? They're not going to risk anything more than a light mist on them tonight, if that. The Masters isn't golf at the local muni. It's professional tournament golf, and the greens don't get much water during a tournament unless it rains.
My question is, with it being this tough at The Masters this year, what's the USGA going to do to top it in the Open? It's probably going to be U G L Y.
why not? it would sure make for better playing conditions.
And scoring conditions. The USGA messed up so badly a couple of years ago that they did have to water the greens during the tournament, just so the players could hold the green on the approach shots. Not watering the greens makes the conditions tougher as the tournament goes on. It means that the winner survived.
If any water goes onto the greens tonight, it will be a light mist, and that only to keep the grass warm under the thin coating of ice. Any more water than that, and it might take too long to thaw the greens tomorrow.
I'm about 200 miles north of Augusta, and temperatures tonight are expected to be low 20's, so it won't be much warmer there. The municipal courses here won't be watering tonight either, but that's so they can get players out early to make as much $ as they can. No more rain than we've had in the past month, tomorrow's going to be fun for us hacks too.
I look forward to more high scores tomorrow.
Anybody ever consider doing something really exotic, such as say, watering them?
ANGC has a SubAir system underneath every green. That's how you go from 11-12 on the stimpmeter on Wednesday to off the charts by Thursday. Does anybody honestly believe mother nature changed that course so dramatically overnight? Please.
Keep in mind this is the first Masters where the competition committee is chaired by Fred Ridley (ex-USGA President). Throw in the second cut, 100s of trees added by Fazio in the last 8 years, 500+ yards, and the first year since all of those changes began that we have had firm and fast conditions.
Voila! Welcome to The Augusta National Funeral Invitational, sans the typical roars that accompany someone landing on a par five in 2. Birdies, eagles, double bogeys? No thanks, we'll take a Bataan death march to the finish. The calendar may say April, but this tourney sure feels like mid-June.
The thing to remember about Augusta National is that the powers-that-be can make this golf course really difficult without tricking it up. First off, it is an architectural masterpiece -- no matter what you think of the renovations over the past five years. The fairways are seductively wide and the greens are misleadingly large. The fact is there is only about one-third of the fairway on each hole you want to use, and only about one-quarter of each green. As Nick Faldo said back when he was winning three green jackets, "There is a route around this place. You just have to find it and follow it."
Because every one of the steeply contoured greens has a sub-air system beneath it that sucks water from the putting surface, guys like Ridley can make the greens run at whatever speed they want no matter the weather conditions. That means not only will they be fast, they will be uniformly fast. The point is this: No matter what the conditions, quit whining and adapt to them. Everyone is playing the same course. What could be more fair than that?
Believe it or not, they actually moved some tees up and watered the greens in a last-minute but ultimately futile effort not to make things any more embarrassing than they already were.
Nice Shade. I hope it's a good bit warmer in Augusta tonight than it is here. Otherwise, they're going to have to spend a little while in the morning waiting on the greens to thaw.
still better than ohio here. I was gonna hit the range today but had to wait due to random snow squalls coming off of the lakes. Anyway what a tournament so far. I cant believe how high these guys are scoring. The conditions sure arent helping thats for sure. But i found it exciting to see players missing three footers all over the place. Something different from the bombardment of birdies they give us each year. But here's hoping for good conditions tomorrow.
Like many I have been watching The Masters for many years, probably too many to be truthful. After three rounds I can already declare that this is the worst spectacle that I have seen. The so-called powers to be at the committee of The Masters have something to answer for. They have turned this once great event into a farce , a farce where professional golfers are made to look like hackers at your nearest public golf course. Why make the course so difficult I ask you all. Sure we need to see the course set up tough so that the players have a real test where every club in the bag is tested. The pin placements on rock hard greens are in most cases impossible to get close. I don't care who these loonies are on this tournament committee any more because quite frankly The Masters has lost me unless some common sense prevails in the future. Go Apples ................
Like many I have been watching The Masters for many years, probably too many to be truthful. After three rounds I can already declare that this is the worst spectacle that I have seen. The so-called powers to be at the committee of The Masters have something to answer for. They have turned this once great event into a farce , a farce where professional golfers are made to look like hackers at your nearest public golf course. Why make the course so difficult I ask you all. Sure we need to see the course set up tough so that the players have a real test where every club in the bag is tested. The pin placements on rock hard greens are in most cases impossible to get close. I don't care who these loonies are on this tournament committee any more because quite frankly The Masters has lost me unless some common sense prevails in the future. Go Apples ................
And if it was raining like it has been for the last 10 years at the Masters, you'd be complaining that the course is "too easy." This is the same exact setup that it was 2 years ago when Woods finished -12. Difference was it was wet that year. This year it's the dryest it's been in years, and add cold and windy conditions and you get the scores you get. Rain has been such a huge factor in this tournament since really 1990, and this is one of those fluke years where it hasn't rained in like a month and the wind is blowing the way it is.
And it's not like you can water these greens overnight like you can some places. You water this course with an overnight low of 26, and you turn Augusta National into a Winter Wonderland.
Last edited by The Godfather : April 8th, 2007 at 08:59 AM.
This is the same exact setup that it was 2 years ago when Woods finished -12. Difference was it was wet that year.
Where did you get this information since that time over 40 trees were added, several new bunkers others were enlarged, the tee boxes were pushed back 20 to 40 yards each, and they added equipment under the greens to dry them to almost ice like slickness. But I just read that and it has been report on the golf channel, I could be wrong.
Last edited by rc-combat : April 8th, 2007 at 09:07 AM.
Reason: goofed
April 7th, 2007, 08:52 PM
Shade
Anyway what a tournament so far. I cant believe how high these guys are scoring. The conditions sure arent helping thats for sure. But i found it exciting to see players missing three footers all over the place. Something different from the bombardment of birdies they give us each year. But here's hoping for good conditions tomorrow.
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