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Professional Golf Pro Golf Majors 2018

Jim Kenney

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Holy cow. Did you see Phil Mickelson today at US Open? Hit a bad putt on the 13th and instead of waiting until it stopped, he chased after it and hit it back towards hole while it was still moving. They gave him only a two stroke penalty as accidental, but really he should be DQd for doing it purposely. At this point he ought to withdraw. Fortunately, he's a non-factor to contend. I like Phil, but this move was like a 6 year old at the putt putt course. It's worse that the tourney officials let him get away with only the penalty rather than DQ.
video:
 
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Philpug

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Meh. US open is jokes sometimes .Phil had earned some slack.
I have to agree with you here. I don't see the reason to make the course stupid difficult like this. These guys are the best and they are playing a game at a level that few here can understand, IMHO they should be still shooting under par not over where they are at this point.
 

dbostedo

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I have to agree with you here. I don't see the reason to make the course stupid difficult like this. These guys are the best and they are playing a game at a level that few here can understand, IMHO they should be still shooting under par not over where they are at this point.

That's no fun. I love the open as it is. I like that there's a most difficult event out there. As long as it's fair for everyone, it's fun to see some different strategies and shots.
 

Philpug

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That's no fun. I love the open as it is. I like that there's a most difficult event out there. As long as it's fair for everyone, it's fun to see some different strategies and shots.
I am saying 0-5 under when all is said and done. I still think a player should be rewarded for getting hot and hitting the right shots. But to see a 10' put that rolls past thehole then off the other side of the green is rediculous.
 

scott43

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I am saying 0-5 under when all is said and done. I still think a player should be rewarded for getting hot and hitting the right shots. But to see a 10' put that rolls past thehole then off the other side of the green is rediculous.
Yeah that's the kind of thing that's ridiculous. It's like the mini-putt when you hit the wind mill and it shoots your ball into the creek.. I agree that it's equal for everyone..but.. I like nine-putted a "green" once..it was basically a 45 degree concrete slope painted green with a hole in the middle of it..good luck..
 

Philpug

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Yeah that's the kind of thing that's ridiculous. It's like the mini-putt when you hit the wind mill and it shoots your ball into the creek.. I agree that it's equal for everyone..but.. I like nine-putted a "green" once..it was basically a 45 degree concrete slope painted green with a hole in the middle of it..good luck..
I played Merion in "tournament conditions", it was jsut not fun, I stopped keeping score after 9. The greens were as you described. The members that invited me to play them appologized and invited me back to play under normal conditions..in didn't break 100 that time either.
 

Bad Bob

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USGA has a history of messing up amazing golf courses for the sake of 1 tournament. They made Chambers Bay change the seed mixture on the greens, this created the controversy there, it took years to get that fixed. Shinnacock kind of got the same treatment in reverse.
 

Philpug

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USGA has a history of messing up amazing golf courses for the sake of 1 tournament. They made Chambers Bay change the seed mixture on the greens, this created the controversy there, it took years to get that fixed. Shinnacock kind of got the same treatment in reverse.
Yeah, unfortunately the people who were in the back of the pack were rewarded with an early tee time and the players at the top of the board were penalized. Granted the late winds had something to do with it but later winds are common at a course like Shinnecock and the PGA admitted that they missed on the forecast.

Back to Mickelson, IMHO he got a pass from the PGA because they were taking some of the blame which still doesn't make it right. It shows how even one of the more happy go lucky guys on the tour can get seriously frustrated and loose his cool. He will be at the very back of the pack, it's not that he needs the 66th place prize money and should withdraw.
 

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I can absolutely see Phil's point, and others.

30 years ago, my home course in Boston hosted the US Open. The amount of work involved to get the course ready was just incredible. It was amazing to see the course basically transform, with the long rough, narrow fairways, smaller target landing areas, some extensive bunker changes.....and of course the greens. The greens were insanely fast, and the pin placements were all brutal. We volunteered for the whole event, which was actually a lot of fun, but it was really eye-opening to see the field struggle with the course. The club and the USGA/PGA made it as difficult to play as possible, and my understanding is that that effort is even more so today for the Open. I'm sure that @Started at 53 could fill us in.

After that event ended, members were allowed to play the course before it was returned to "normal". At that time I played quite a bit, and was about an 8 handicap. I was, by far, the worst player in the foursome that I played with that day. One guy was plus one on our course, another a two. I can't begin to tell you how many balls we lost in the rough. I recall sinking a very fast forty foot putt.....for a NINE. Three of us also quit keeping score after a while. It was absolutely brutal. I guess we all admired the pros even more.....particularly Curtis Strange, who won that year, but it sure as hell was not much fun. That was the year that Strange beat Faldo in a playoff {18 holes}, the first of his two consecutive Opens. Wow, was there some serious course management going on there.

We joke that it's a good thing we were and still are friends after that round. My buddies joke that it forced me to give up the game, which is not entirely true! It was probably another 10 or so years before my hiatus. I plan to resume my golf career when I turn 70......years to get ready. Went on hiatus when our kids were growing up, family time was more important, and when I wasn't playing three-four days mid-week with clients in the summer anymore. Moving on up in corporate life took that away! When I do start to play it's going to be on short, easy courses that I can get around in a reasonable time, and have some fun.

I also like to watch the pros having fun, BTW.
 

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Good play should be rewarded and poor play penalized...not the other way around.
Yeah, unfortunately the people who were in the back of the pack were rewarded with an early tee time and the players at the top of the board were penalized.
 

Started at 53

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I can absolutely see Phil's point, and others.

30 years ago, my home course in Boston hosted the US Open. The amount of work involved to get the course ready was just incredible. It was amazing to see the course basically transform, with the long rough, narrow fairways, smaller target landing areas, some extensive bunker changes.....and of course the greens. The greens were insanely fast, and the pin placements were all brutal. We volunteered for the whole event, which was actually a lot of fun, but it was really eye-opening to see the field struggle with the course. The club and the USGA/PGA made it as difficult to play as possible, and my understanding is that that effort is even more so today for the Open. I'm sure that @Started at 53 could fill us in.

After that event ended, members were allowed to play the course before it was returned to "normal". At that time I played quite a bit, and was about an 8 handicap. I was, by far, the worst player in the foursome that I played with that day. One guy was plus one on our course, another a two. I can't begin to tell you how many balls we lost in the rough. I recall sinking a very fast forty foot putt.....for a NINE. Three of us also quit keeping score after a while. It was absolutely brutal. I guess we all admired the pros even more.....particularly Curtis Strange, who won that year, but it sure as hell was not much fun. That was the year that Strange beat Faldo in a playoff {18 holes}, the first of his two consecutive Opens. Wow, was there some serious course management going on there.

We joke that it's a good thing we were and still are friends after that round. My buddies joke that it forced me to give up the game, which is not entirely true! It was probably another 10 or so years before my hiatus. I plan to resume my golf career when I turn 70......years to get ready. Went on hiatus when our kids were growing up, family time was more important, and when I wasn't playing three-four days mid-week with clients in the summer anymore. Moving on up in corporate life took that away! When I do start to play it's going to be on short, easy courses that I can get around in a reasonable time, and have some fun.

I also like to watch the pros having fun, BTW.

Funny story for sure. And a rare look from an amateur’s perspective how good these guys really are.

As @Muleski alluded, the typical scratch golfer (zero handicap) would be doing well to shoot +10 in typical tour conditions playing from the same tees as the professionals, certainly add another 5 shots for a US Open.

I always get a chuckle from people who say they were good enough to play the tour but chose not to, and then there are the 40-something’s who are preparing for the PGA Champions Tour. Most golfers are extremely unaware of the level required to play on tour. When I turned professional I was a +5 handicap, and struggled big time that first year.
A good rule of thumb to see how good you are, go play 4 courses you are unfamiliar with in four consecutive days, if you can’t average 68 on those normal courses (as in normal rough, normal green speeds and green firmness) then you need to reassess your plans to go on tour. AS an example, I once played 7 days in a row at home on a moderately challenging course and never shot over 65. That year I did not win a tournament, but did have 7 top 10’s I think. Guys I was playing with at home thought I should be winning majors, truth be told, I was just a decent journeyman pro.

So yeah, these guys are good.

As for Phil, he had a momentary lose of self control and made a poor choice.

@Philpug
The USGA’s Mike Davis said on TV last night that the course got away from them. It IS ok if it is the same for everyone, not RIGHT, but OK.... But that was not the case yesterday as the earlier starters had a very playable course. The difficulty was 5-8 shots harder for the late starters, and that is just not “fair”.

Should be an interesting day today.
 

mdf

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That's no fun. I love the open as it is. I like that there's a most difficult event out there. As long as it's fair for everyone, it's fun to see some different strategies and shots.

I agree. I don't see why it should be a problem that a harder course generates worse scores.
 

Philpug

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I agree. I don't see why it should be a problem that a harder course generates worse scores.
Except we had a tail of two courses yesterday, the players that went out early played a different course conditions than the ones that went out in the afternoon. I think all the players ask is that the course if fair/consistant for all playing. When the USGA admit there were goods being penalized..you know there is a problem and they admitted it.
 

dbostedo

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Except we had a tail of two courses yesterday, the players that went out early played a different course conditions than the ones that went out in the afternoon.

Yeah, that's a problem I guess. But it's also a regular occurrence at the British Open and is looked at as just the way things are for that tournament.

I wouldn't have minded somewhat fairer pin placements yesterday... but there's nothing wrong with where the leaders wound up, score-wise, IMO.
 

Mothertucker

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To draw a parallel, it's a bit like Shiffrin or Hirscher having to go last on a hacked up rutted out wiggle line that has no semblance to what previous racers went down.
 

Started at 53

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Yeah, that's a problem I guess. But it's also a regular occurrence at the British Open and is looked at as just the way things are for that tournament.

I wouldn't have minded somewhat fairer pin placements yesterday... but there's nothing wrong with where the leaders wound up, score-wise, IMO.

Winning score can be +20 for all I care. Agreed that the BO can be drastic in terms of weather changes, but it was less than a 20 mph wind in the afternoon, so it was not a drastic weather change, but rather a moderate change that was not planned for by an AMATEUR body running one of the biggest four tournaments of the year.

FACT: all 4 majors are run by amateur bodies
1) The Masters is run by a golf club
2) US Open is run by the USGA (amateur body by their own definition)
3) British Open is run by the R&A (amateur body by their own definition)
4) PGA Championship is run by the PGA of America, a bunch of golf professionals that run one tournament of significance a year.

Truth be told, the the level of arrogance among the above organizations is off the charts, point of reference, they make the USST seem like they are on the ball and have an EXCELLENT grasp of what it takes to develop WC ski champions.
 

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