golfrewind.com

The edition of Golf World magazine covering the Arnold Palmer Invitational mentioned that if they really want to Tiger-proof Augusta National, then they can reduce the par from 72 to 70 (making 13 and 15 par 4's).

It is interesting to note that Tiger has won only two majors where par was not 72 (U.S. Open in 2000, 2002). Odds are that he won't win the PGA or Open Championship, since neither are on par 72's. The U.S. Open is the toughest major for Tiger to win, since it never seems to host par 72 courses.

Also, Tiger's stroke average on the par 5's is his main reason for dominance (I believe stroke average 4.35).

For the record, I still think Tiger is the best golfer on par 70 and 71 golf course, but the gap between him and the other players is significantly smaller than on par 72's.

Whether Augusta National plays to a par 72 or a par 70, isn't it still the same course? If they turn those 2 par 5's into par 4's and Tiger still averages 4.35 on them and the other pros average what they do, it would not make any difference.

I suppose converting par 5's to par 4's may change the way people play them but if I were Tiger, I would just play them the same way. Unless ego gets in the way.

who cares??? really? tiger is not getting younger, hes not going to maintain this level forever, you want to change the nature of golf for just a short time because one man is finally looking like he has some dominance over an impossible game?!?!?!? outrageous term created by the media.

I think GF is suggesting that the holes are actually changed (shortened) into par 4's, not just re-labeled as par 4's.

Reducing the impact of Par 5's is the best way to reduce Tiger's head and shoulders advantage over the rest of the field. As you indicate, he would still be the best, but his advantage would be reduced.

If you take Par 5's out of the game (unfair to do that), Tiger's numbers are impressive, but his scores come back to earth. I think his iron game is way above average, but he is not the best iron player and probably has many people who can play with him on any given week. He has a great GIR throughout his career, but much of that has to do with his skills with the wedges and automatically hitting Par 5's in regulation. Look at his Par 3 scores to see that he is not that much better than most of the elite players on Par 3's.

Oakmont is similar to Winged Foot in difficulty and should be interesting. Carnoustie can be even harder. I forget the thread title, but there were many people on this web site predicting Tiger to win all 4 majors this year. The Masters is his best chance to win. I think he will be happy to win 2, but our expectations of him are off the charts. He really is that good a player.

You are correct...

Make the course easy and he won't play at all.

There is no way to Tiger proof a course. He'll find a way around it.

Ha Ha!! Good one!


Frankly, I'm sick of this Tiger proofing bull. If the course management has to go to these lengths to (supposedly) make it too difficult for our dear Eldrick, then why is he still winning on these courses? It's a joke, and a very sad one at that.

It'll be interesting to see how he handles Sawgrass...TPC courses tend to balance the scales between the long and not-so-long hitters. Of course Tiger's not just a long hitter but imo his advantage is marginally less on this type of course. Coming off a win at Wachovia but with a shaky finish and a possible injury (anybody heard anything about that?) While the playing field is leveled at times, I have to agree, however, that if the course is made harder for Tiger it'll be harder for almost everyone else, too.

Shade

In regards to a possible injury, on the Final Hole of the tournament Tiger had a 3I for his 2nd shot and after he hit it he was grimacing and did bend down to hold his left knee.

I agree, also much of what we are doing is just challenging all the pros. I see Tiger consistently preforming well, However, even at Wachovia he won buy just two strokes. There is a field of talented golfers chasing him (one a former Illini I might add).
Instead of length we should make courses that require more than the bomb and gouge.