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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 1, 2018 12:29:11 GMT -5
AGREED...WE were very disappointed by USA's Play. Very Early Sunday, when the Matches were not even half over; Tequila screamed, "Cartoon Channel Please." That says it all. Dome, Tequila would see better golf from Elmer Fudd. Mickelson now holds the record for most Ryder Cup losses -- one ahead of Tiger Woods. Tiger is 8-17-1 all-time in foursome matches. Bubba Watson is something like 1-7 in foursomes. I was reading an article that summed things up pretty well. US courses reward players who hit for distance, with wide fairways, gentle rough, few really challenging water hazards. European courses reward accuracy, with narrow fairways, miserable choking rough, and lots of significant water hazards. We would do better selecting a squad tailored for those conditions. Another suggestion was increasing captain's picks to six, just for that reason. If our PGA courses introduced narrower fairways and thicker rough and more water -- instead of continually trying to lengthen the courses to make up for advanced ball and club technology -- it would have more impact on the game. Of course, our players and our fans have come to expect the bomb and gouge style of play, so I doubt that will happen. Yeah, I enjoy watching Mickelson hit it 350 yards into the trees and then make a great recovery shot and wind up with a birdie, but that doesn't work on Ryder Cup courses in Europe. I will go somewhat dormant on golf now until those January matches from Hawaii. Don't especially care for this wrap-around season business. And I sure won't pay to watch Phil and Tiger do their made-for-TV carnival in Las Vegas. I'd rather watch reruns of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf or Bobby Jones instructional films (or like Tequila, the Cartoon Channel.) Happy to talk golf with you guys anytime. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2018 18:21:57 GMT -5
Our team had 11 of the top 17 players in the world.
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Ryder Cup
Oct 1, 2018 18:30:47 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Oct 1, 2018 18:30:47 GMT -5
Our team had 11 of the top 17 players in the world. Which would indicate an issue with the ranking system. American golf is a big draw because of the money. If we care about who can really play the game, American golf should more closely resemble what golf is in the rest of the world. Therefore... tighten up those fairways, grow the rough more and let our guys hack away in the hay...or loosen up fairways and shave the rough down elsewhere to level the playing field. Either one or the other...OR...change the conditions for the Ryder Cup matches. I’d say you can’t have it both ways, but the truth is that you can...Who is most important to please? The affluent American golf fan and advertisers, or the fans of Ryder Cup golf? |
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Ryder Cup
Oct 1, 2018 18:53:03 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Oct 1, 2018 18:53:03 GMT -5
Pipps, real quick and then I promise to stop... Wyncote (Oxford, PA) or Hartefeld National (Avondale)? I think I only hit them once each, but at least I can say I birdied a long par three (#11, or was it 12?) at Hartefeld National... Don't know about Wyncote. Hartefeld is a nice course, very challenging. Yes, near Avondale. If you birdied any hole there, you're a lot better than me. Love the mushroom soup there, though. Wynecote is a links style course that gained noterity shorty after opening when it became a popular haunt for Charles Barkley and his “unusual” game... I understand that after Sir Charles abandoned the course many of locals began to call it over-priced, leading to a drop in play. I’m not sure how they’re doing these days. If you want to suggest an out of the way treat for your friends, I particularly enjoyed a course in Peach Bottom, PA called “Pilgrim’s Oak” that isn’t too far from an inexpensive 1930’s built track called “Tanglewood” that is a fun play. Of special note is a tee shot that is struck from the top of a bluff onto a fairway below that’s partly obscured by the treetops. “Pilgrim’s Oak” is not well suited to walking, though I have walked it. I can. Eva torturous trek, especially during a dramatic elevation climb from a testy par three #12 up to a short and undramatic #13 par 3 that will drain every once out of your body during the climb. Even the golf carts feel like they might...not...make...it...up...that...hill...That #13 is for my money the worst hole on the course and almost seems to have been inserted as an afterthought. But other than that one hole, the course definitely has some teeth and there is no free ride home on #18. Many delightful holes on that course and the “beware of poisonous snakes” signs will get your attention if you consider wandering into the hazards to fetch your ball on the water holes. Copperheads and water moccasins both inhabit the local streams and wetlands. You’re actually unlikely to encounter either one of those delightful creatures if you stay out of the marked areas... |
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Ryder Cup
Oct 1, 2018 19:04:39 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Oct 1, 2018 19:04:39 GMT -5
I have to toss in my birdie story from Hartefeld. First, I failed to read the blind tee shot on the prior hole and took an embarraing 10 on that par 5 after taking a very scenic route to the green. I followed that up by correctly noting that the 180-something yards stated on the par three tee was much shorter than the actual distance and pulled a three iron (220 yard club for me) that miraculously rolled less than a foot and a half short of the cup (the miraculous part was that it was right at the pin, not that it stopped short). Almost an ace. And I’ve never had one...so the story could have been much better. Straight putt. I was nervous as all get out because of the venue, and I was playing there with my boss who was cheering me on though blatantly jealous... (:
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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 1, 2018 20:31:20 GMT -5
I have to toss in my birdie story from Hartefeld. First, I failed to read the blind tee shot on the prior hole and took an embarraing 10 on that par 5 after taking a very scenic route to the green. I followed that up by correctly noting that the 180-something yards stated on the par three tee was much shorter than the actual distance and pulled a three iron (220 yard club for me) that miraculously rolled less than a foot and a half short of the cup (the miraculous part was that it was right at the pin, not that it stopped short). Almost an ace. And I’ve never had one...so the story could have been much better. Straight putt. I was nervous as all get out because of the venue, and I was playing there with my boss who was cheering me on though blatantly jealous... (: A ten on a par five would be fairly normal for me. Well, at least not unheard of. And I did not know Sir Charles was playing down Oxford way. Definitely an unorthodox golfer. An unorthodox anything, when you think about it. Thanks for the recommendations!! |
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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 1, 2018 20:37:53 GMT -5
Our team had 11 of the top 17 players in the world. Chuck, it seems to me that we typically have more of the top-ranked players, because those rankings are based largely on events played at PGA courses. Tiger Woods was lousy at Ryder Cup matches when he was far and away the greatest golfer on the planet. The Euros have better team cohesion. Ultimately what most golf fans (at least US golf fans) remember is how golfers performed in tournament play. As Woods has said on more than one occasion, nobody remembers what Jack Nicklaus did in Ryder Cup play. It ticks me off while it is happening, but soon enough I revert back to counting tour victories. |
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Ryder Cup
Oct 1, 2018 20:48:06 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Oct 1, 2018 20:48:06 GMT -5
This use of my mobile app is causing me to have some litdbit-like posts of my own. I tend to fail to conduct proper proof-reading. My apologies for some of the appearance lack of common communication skills. Blah! Bah. Humbug!!!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2018 1:24:06 GMT -5
Chuck, it seems to me that we typically have more of the top-ranked players, because those rankings are based largely on events played at PGA courses. Tiger Woods was lousy at Ryder Cup matches when he was far and away the greatest golfer on the planet. The Euros have better team cohesion. Ultimately what most golf fans (at least US golf fans) remember is how golfers performed in tournament play. As Woods has said on more than one occasion, nobody remembers what Jack Nicklaus did in Ryder Cup play. It ticks me off while it is happening, but soon enough I revert back to counting tour victories.
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Great observation, pipps..I guess to me, the Ryder Cup being a team event is like the World Series and the US is always in it and Europe are always in it and every time we play in their house and half the time they play at our house, we lose, even when we have Ruth, Mantle, Jeter and Joe D and they have good, but not great players.
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Post by inger on Oct 2, 2018 10:44:38 GMT -5
Chuck, it seems to me that we typically have more of the top-ranked players, because those rankings are based largely on events played at PGA courses. Tiger Woods was lousy at Ryder Cup matches when he was far and away the greatest golfer on the planet. The Euros have better team cohesion. Ultimately what most golf fans (at least US golf fans) remember is how golfers performed in tournament play. As Woods has said on more than one occasion, nobody remembers what Jack Nicklaus did in Ryder Cup play. It ticks me off while it is happening, but soon enough I revert back to counting tour victories. ---------------------------- Great observation, pipps..I guess to me, the Ryder Cup being a team event is like the World Series and the US is always in it and Europe are always in it and every time we play in their house and half the time they play at our house, we lose, even when we have Ruth, Mantle, Jeter and Joe D and they have good, but not great players. The problem is that our team has inflated stats due to their "home park"... |
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