US Open for me. I love the fact that it's open to qualifiers, and even though they've had some ridiculous course setup issues in recent years, I still believe it's the toughest and most prestigious tournament out there.
In my opinion The Masters is easily the most anticipated, dramatic and significant golf championship in the world. No other tournament comes close.
One of the things I appreciate most about The Masters is it's penchant for revealing, truly, the best golfers in the world. Almost without exception The Masters is not only won by one of the game's elite players, but, more so than any other event, the leader boards, at Augusta rarely place a surprise player, or "nobody" in the top ten.
In my opinion The Masters is easily the most anticipated, dramatic and significant golf championship in the world. No other tournament comes close.
One of the things I appreciate most about The Masters is it's penchant for revealing, truly, the best golfers in the world. Almost without exception The Masters is not only won by one of the game's elite players, but, more so than any other event, the leader boards, at Augusta rarely place a surprise player, or "nobody" in the top ten.
It's easier to win the Masters because of the selecton process-only 44 players make the cut (as oppossed to the top 60 or 70 for the other majors) and a lot of the ones who don't make the cut at Augusta are either players way past their prime or an amatuer. Because it's an elite invitational, only the top players by the selection process get to go. You can't have a Todd Hamilton, Shaun Micheel, Jack Fleck, or even JD in '91 type of player who happens to catch lightning in a bottle and win their first or second tournament. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's far easier to have the big name players rise to the top if you only invite the big name players to begin with. That's not true for the other majors - their selection and qualifing process allows far more golfers in. Still a great major.
I'm going against most opinions on this, but you would be hard pressed to beat the drama the PGA has had in the last 10-15 years (this years Masters excluded), so right now I would say this event is becoming my favorite. And the course set up is way more in line the way it should be. Like the British Open, the tournament officials are more concerned with making the course play the way it's meant to be play and don't trick things up just to hold par as some sort of holy grail.
They'll make WS play more difficult than it did on Thurs, but they won't cross the line - that's the major reason why I am listing the PGA my favorite.
Last edited by greenguy : August 13th, 2004 at 11:02 AM.
Anything but the Masters. My favorite changes from year to year depending on the course. PGA this year. I always look forward to the Masters because it kicks off the golf season in this part of the country, but Augusta has to be the most overrated layout around. If they didn't shave the greens & surrounding areas it would take -20 or better every year. J1MO
If they didn't shave the greens & surrounding areas it would take -20 or better every year. J1MO
You could say the same thing about any other course in Golf Digest's Top 20. An excellent example is the "venerable" Shinnecock Hills. Had the weather not done a 180-degree turn, over the weekend; and had the USGA not "tricked up" (other folks' opinions) the course, -16 would've been the winning score at the United States Open.
There are very few courses which are designed to limit the best players in the world to par golf, without tightening the proverbial screws.
Augusta National has more shot values than just about any course you might be able to think of. It is most certainly one of the finest in the world. Just ask any pro who has played there. They'll tell ya.
"THE MASTERS" without a doubt. It seems to be the most anticipated tournament the pro's play, and besides, if i could win just one tournament of all of them, that would be the one.
There's just something about that green jacket, it was quite obvious Phil couldn't wait to get it on, lol.
You could say the same thing about any other course in Golf Digest's Top 20. An excellent example is the "venerable" Shinnecock Hills. Had the weather not done a 180-degree turn, over the weekend; and had the USGA not "tricked up" (other folks' opinions) the course, -16 would've been the winning score at the United States Open.
There are very few courses which are designed to limit the best players in the world to par golf, without tightening the proverbial screws.
Augusta National has more shot values than just about any course you might be able to think of. It is most certainly one of the finest in the world. Just ask any pro who has played there. They'll tell ya.
You didn't think the greens were tricked up at Shinnecock, making certain holes play no where near the way the hole was designed (#7 and #10 in particular)? Not flaming, just curious. I agree that if the greens at all majors aren't stimping over 12, then these guys would shoot lights out no matter what the course. Just look at WS this week - greens are at a reasonable pace for the tour players and they are treating it like a moderately difficult 'normal' tour event - cut about 1 over par, leaders are at -9 halfway thru. These scores are probably close to what you would see at a course like Murfield Village - a great course that the pros have to play in something close to par just to make the cut. I am now convinced that these guys are so good that you can't make a course, without letting the greens die, so tough that these guys can't shoot significantly under par.
On a side note, Tiger was fantastic in how he played the last nine yesterday just to make the cut. Couldn't hit a fairway, had difficulty getting hitting greens but hung on like a true pro. Then when he got straightened around and starting hitting greens late in the round, he got the birdies he needed. There seems to be a lot of people (not necessarily on this board) that don't like the guy, but the fact the guy never gives up is my definition of what a pro should be like on the course. With a lot of big names on the first page of the leader board, this looks like another great finish for the PGA - they've had a lot of very dramatic finishes the last 10-15 years.
You didn't think the greens were tricked up at Shinnecock, making certain holes play no where near the way the hole was designed (#7 and #10 in particular)? Not flaming, just curious......I am now convinced that these guys are so good that you can't make a course, without letting the greens die, so tough that these guys can't shoot significantly under par.
Firstly, greenguy, no...I do not think the greens at Shinnecock Hills were "tricked up." You must be careful with your wording. Using the term "tricked up" implies an intentional move, by the USGA, to make things unfair. I always support the USGA and I realize the tremendously difficult task they face in presenting a course which is demanding enough to protect the integrity of par, without making things ridiculously unfair.
In my not-so-humble opinion, the USGA "lost" three or four greens at Shinnecock Hills. You have to remember what the prevailing conditions were: on Thursday and Friday, off early-week precipitation, the skies were overcast and the humidity was in the 75-80% range. This made the greens quite receptive and the result was low scoring from the field. Just go back to the leader board and you'll remember that, through two rounds, it looked, again, like we were going to see more surprisingly low U.S. Open scoring (remember Olympia Fields.)
The USGA had to make a tough call. They decided to deprive the course of water, thinking that the greens, which were stressed to their limits, already, would hold up through the weekend.
Then, suddenly and drastically, the weather changed greatly. It warmed up, cleared up, and the humidity dropped significantly over the weekend. The greens got baked out and the USGA was caught off guard. They took a calculated risk and it ended up back-firing in their face. But all this shows how truly difficult the USGA's job is. Had they watered the greens and protected them from the baking sun, -10 or -13 likely would've been the winning score at the U.S. Open and not only would Shinnecock Hills have been embarrassed and humiliated, but fans and golf writers would've panned the U.S. Open as being too easy. Tough situation for the USGA.
Secondly, I appreciate your next comment. It is all too true. The only way to design a championship golf course which limits the world's best pros to par golf, without "tricking it up," would be to build a course which no one else could play, and enjoy.
I think we need a new and creative era in golf course design. Architects must employ new concepts and ideas in order to build courses that both 20 HCP'ers and Ernie Els can be challenged by. There just are not that many true artists designing courses today.
(Secondly, I appreciate your next comment. It is all too true. The only way to design a championship golf course which limits the world's best pros to par golf, without "tricking it up," would be to build a course which no one else could play, and enjoy.
I think we need a new and creative era in golf course design. Architects must employ new concepts and ideas in order to build courses that both 20 HCP'ers and Ernie Els can be challenged by. There just are not that many true artists designing courses today.
I really thot that this week we would see the course that could challenge these guys, even without a lot of wind or weather that would catch the tournament officials off guard and the greens becoming concrete. That's not happening. You seem to be up on course designs - I know that Dye was recreating a links style course with all the fesue and random bunkering. But he did deviate from a true links by using bentgrass approaches and not using more Scotish bunkers - I saw only a few bunkers that truely could be considered a links style bunker and a couple of others with railroad ties for bunker faces. But for the most part the bunkers around the greens had the consistency of bunkers that these guys see every week on Tour. Maybe just a little less firm, but closer to the sand you see in the States as opposed to 'sandier', for lack of a better term, with deeper sod faces that you see across the pond where you can actually get a buried lie now and then. I think another thing that could have been done different was to use a bluegrass-ryegrass mix for the roughs to make it more penal. I love fescue in rough - the contrast in colors make the course look like how I like it, but it just isn't hard enough to hit out of if for these guys when they miss the fairways. Good grief, some of the guys were putting spin on the ball out the fescue rough. Since Dye really created a unique American 'links', it wouldn't have been sacrelgious to use bluegrass roughs at 5 inches to really punish a missed shot. The approach shot to the greens have few forced carries - most are open if you are in the correct side of the fairway. Not sure forced carries are the answer to protecting par - these guys, when they are on, just dial in a yardage. Forced carries are only difficult for pros on their off day and amatuers. The use of island greens or other contrived holes would not fit at all at WS.
If a course like this was built with more difficult bunkering and a more penal rough, then maybe, and only maybe, the pros would find par a real challenge. But then it would be impossible for the average hack like me - and WS is a public course trying to attract as many golfers as possible and make $$. Making it harder for the 20 hcp only hurts revenue.
Today, with virtually no wind in the late afternoon, VJ hit a 3 wood for position on the 500 yd par 4 18th hole. If I were a golf course architect and heard the phrase 'he's teeing off with a fairway metal for position' on a 500 yd par 4, I would quit! And I couldn't believe hearing 'he's got 225 to the flag and he's hitting a 4 iron'. Even when Darrin Clarke literally shanked his long iron shot on 17, he darn near got it up and down from a place where an average golfer would have taken a 8. Els birdied #5 after hitting a tee shot that can only be described as a complete mental breakdown. Nope, you couldn't make a course much more difficult than this and still have it playable; these guys are way too good for any sane design to defend par.
Last edited by greenguy : August 14th, 2004 at 11:47 PM.
August 9th, 2004, 07:46 AM
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