A 15 year old beat Tiger by 3 today at the US Open. *
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well played my friend........the Eldrick we used to know is gone....Greg Norman made a telling statement yesterday. He said when one part of your body is messed up then another part takes up the strain for the injured part and before you know it your body is all screwed up.......his head...(.whether he's getting some )...or just his head....well,that's another story:boom:
I am not a Tiger fan nor a Tiger hater. I have been rooting for him to recover and become a top player once again. It is downright painful to watch him play this year. His game is so ugly right now and golf as a whole is worse for it. I have no problem with the networks talking about Tiger as him failing is a huge story but quit showing him so much and focus on the players that are performing well.
I love the layout of Chambers Bay but I am in disagreement that the US Open should be played on a brown course with greens that have about 10 different grasses growing on it and the ball is bouncing all over the place. Yes, it is the same course for everyone but I am going to again say the USGA has taken the course to a level that has gone over the edge. And that is a shame.
I love the layout of Chambers Bay but I am in disagreement that the US Open should be played on a brown course with greens that have about 10 different grasses growing on it and the ball is bouncing all over the place. Yes, it is the same course for everyone but I am going to again say the USGA has taken the course to a level that has gone over the edge. And that is a shame.
I played Chambers Bay last November and the greens looked much better.Of course that is the rainy season. I'm sure they were much slower then than now. They don't look good on tv but I bet they are much better in person. And the whole place was greener then too. The USGA has adopted a water conservation position that encourages courses-especially public courses-to water less and allow non-played areas to brown. Golf Digest has joined that effort. In rating courses for Golf Digest, the conditioning element had previously been defined as lush, green, smooth, etc. Now the definition of a well-conditioned course is hard and fast fairways, and firm yet receptive greens. No mention of green ort lush.
I loved Chambers Bay and love watching it on tv. TV does not do it justice of the beauty of the place. I am somewhat perplexed at some of the tour player's criticism-especially the greens. Bandon Dunes is the #1 golf resort in the world and all four of their courses are ranked in the top 100 in the US and Pacific Dunes is ranked highly in the world rankings. Pacific Dunes is also ranked as the #2 public course in the US. The courses at Bandon have exactly the same fescue greens as Chambers Bay. Fescue greens are a bit slower than bent or the hybrid bermudas. But they roll smooth and true. It is obvious to me that many of these pros have never been to Bandon. It's funny that you never hear these guys bitch about British Open greens which are also mostly fescue. And another thing, I've heard some talk about what a tough walk it is. I didn't even notice that when i played it. It was just like walking a hundred other courses I've played. Anyway, here are a few pics of what Chambers looked like in November.
Your pics is how the course should look for the US Open, imo. Absolutely beautiful with the contrast with the green and the waste areas. I even wouldn't mind it not so green. But brown is too much for a US Open. Not a British Open as that is how it is over there most of the time.
Here is what I think is the problem with the greens and Snow can correct me if I'm wrong with my assessment. Since they are not watering the greens, the fescue is not responding in the afternoon and the poa annua is. As anyone that knows poa annua, it flowers in the afternoon with additional growth. So if the fescue is basically burnt out, this will lead to a terrible putting surface and that is what I saw yesterday. The British ROTA from what I have seen doesn't have an issue with poa annua so their greens are more true when the fescue burns out. That is the difference.
Here is what I think is the problem with the greens and Snow can correct me if I'm wrong with my assessment. Since they are not watering the greens, the fescue is not responding in the afternoon and the poa annua is. As anyone that knows poa annua, it flowers in the afternoon with additional growth. So if the fescue is basically burnt out, this will lead to a terrible putting surface and that is what I saw yesterday. The British ROTA from what I have seen doesn't have an issue with poa annua so their greens are more true when the fescue burns out. That is the difference.
I think your hypothesis is likely correct. It is hard for me to imagine that the USGA has allowed poa to invade these greens. There really isn't any poa on the Bandon greens that I recall seeing. And none at Cabot Links either. Regardless, I enjoy watching these guys put out of their comfort zones. This course and these greens do that. Like Nicklaus essentially said....shut up and play.
I couldn't agree more. I just finished watchig a replay of the first round and watched a lot of Speith. I really like the way gets around the course. Always calm always seems to play within himself and when he gets within 20 feet I assume he's going to make the putt. I like watching this kid a lot.
For my money, that's the absolute best aspect of the Open.
The last thing these spoiled kids need is another opportunity to post 63.....which seems to happen at least a couple times a month on the regular Tour. To my way of thinking, give them something exceptionally challenging.....tricked-up......maybe even unfair.....once a year and let's see how the best in the game manage it. And if they don't like it.....or can't manage it.....they can catch a bus out of Oregon today and be right back out there at River Highlands next week with another chance to shoot 15 under.
I absolutely agree and I have fought long and hard many times with Bud and others on this exact subject. Leading up to yesterday, I absolutely love this course and the decision to play a US Open here. But as the USGA has done many times in the past, they have crossed a line and have taken a masterpiece and ruined it. I don't support the players with their complaints about the course but rather as a huge fan of golf, I feel mistakes have been made that is making a tournament that could have been a 10 into about a 7.
And Fox telecasting this for four days.....Day 1 was horrible. Very contrived like almost all of their sport programming. Hope they get better over the weekend but I don't have much hope.
Fox is horrible. Joe Buck knows about as much as Chris Berman about golf. Greg Norman is awful. Cory Pavin and Brad Faxon are good. Holly is a little much now. Her new look is a step back. Fox's graphics are terrible. They rarely show entire leaderboard and their graphics are MIA when it comes to what hole a player is on and what shot he's about to hit. I watched a lot yesterday at our clubhouse and we couldn't hear the sound and you certainly can't depend on the graphics to tell you anything. Granted, this is their first foray into golf. But I'll give them a D for day 1.
That sounds entirely plausible to me....poa annua grows like crazy in the sun as you said and actually likes it without a lot of water......I'm torn between the USGA trying to "protect par" and making the course ridiculous and the fans who want to see a 62 or 63.....I like watching low scoring but I also like it when the course wins every now and then.......like Nicklaus said and I think someone has already stated on here......"shut up and play...somebody's got to win
Have you ever played Viniterra at New Kent...played there Tuesday and was in 13 bunkers and still shot 88....perfect sand...I know...I was in it enough...I am not, however, a fan of bermuda
I have not but I've heard good things. I just played a round with my son he shot a 54. Punk has discovered he likes my driver because of the stiff shaft. I'm sure I'll show up to the course one day only to find my driver missing.
After beating it around the first 5 holes I closed out with 4 straight pars. That felt nice.
of the 4 courses at New Kent I like Royal New Kent best.....the state pro super is at Hermitage this October....got to get there soon
I've never been a fan of much pertaining to Fox, whether it's sports or news. And this broadcast has done little to change my mind.
I've long thought of the painfully melodramatic Joe Buck as THE poster-child for broadcasters who would rather be part of the story than report it. Frankly, I've often thought his old man.....unquestionably one of the all-time greats.....would violently disapprove of the kind of personality (rather than a broadcaster) he's become. But like Berman at the WWL, we're stuck with him as host.
As for his cohort in the tower at 18, I've had problems with Shark dating back to a personal experience with him in the late 80s at the Memorial. But I can at least grant his inexperience behind the mic, and anticipate he'll get better. OTOH, I'd say it doesn't initially appear as though he's done enough homework to prepare for this broadcast. I assume he's been practice-calling tournaments in the studio to train for the job. But he's made enough overly simplistic comments.....and just doesn't sound all that comfortable yet.....to overcome my assurance that he needed a lot MORE practice. Not sure that's HIS fault, or Fox's.
I admit to liking a couple of the new technical effects, but Fox seems to have this penchant for acting as though they're smarter than its viewers......and the rest of history's golf coverage. IMO, they are NOT well served by doing this to a fairly conservative ☺ group of viewers who are already adjusted to (and generally like) what they've been watching. It's trouble enough to get viewers comfortable with all their new voices without force-feeding.....with attitude, no less....technological advances nobody was asking for.
Still, over time, experience alone should help their production improve dramatically; and beyond that, Fox isn't the kind of network to sit back and allow the peanut gallery to take potshots at them over otherwise fixable problems. I myself AM willing to grant Fox their chance to get better; of course, it doesn't matter HOW I feel about them since they have such a long contract.
I've long thought of the painfully melodramatic Joe Buck as THE poster-child for broadcasters who would rather be part of the story than report it. Frankly, I've often thought his old man.....unquestionably one of the all-time greats.....would violently disapprove of the kind of personality (rather than a broadcaster) he's become. But like Berman at the WWL, we're stuck with him as host.
As for his cohort in the tower at 18, I've had problems with Shark dating back to a personal experience with him in the late 80s at the Memorial. But I can at least grant his inexperience behind the mic, and anticipate he'll get better. OTOH, I'd say it doesn't initially appear as though he's done enough homework to prepare for this broadcast. I assume he's been practice-calling tournaments in the studio to train for the job. But he's made enough overly simplistic comments.....and just doesn't sound all that comfortable yet.....to overcome my assurance that he needed a lot MORE practice. Not sure that's HIS fault, or Fox's.
I admit to liking a couple of the new technical effects, but Fox seems to have this penchant for acting as though they're smarter than its viewers......and the rest of history's golf coverage. IMO, they are NOT well served by doing this to a fairly conservative ☺ group of viewers who are already adjusted to (and generally like) what they've been watching. It's trouble enough to get viewers comfortable with all their new voices without force-feeding.....with attitude, no less....technological advances nobody was asking for.
Still, over time, experience alone should help their production improve dramatically; and beyond that, Fox isn't the kind of network to sit back and allow the peanut gallery to take potshots at them over otherwise fixable problems. I myself AM willing to grant Fox their chance to get better; of course, it doesn't matter HOW I feel about them since they have such a long contract.
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I'm just now watching some of the US Open for the first time this year. The course is incredibly ugly. The fairways and greens are brown-ish gray and the bunkers are gray. WTF? Did something go wrong or is the course meant to be like this? I can't believe the powers that be are purposely playing a major tournament on a course like this.
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