MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[TheCityGame]

There is about 10 people in the gallery at this tournament

Nevertheless, crowd control struggle is real.

 

[TheCityGame]

Usually, I'm not a big "this thing is ugly!!!" guy when it comes to new stuff, but this. . .nub? This. . .goiter?

 

Don't you just want to press on it and squeeze play-doh spaghetti out the face of the club?

 

Every time I'd swing this thing I'd worry about it bumping off the ground.

 

 

[therealsneek]

Crazy tournament. Xander's final round yesterday was insane. He was 12 under on his final 16 holes. I kind of feel bad for Woodland. Basically the only thing he did wrong all day was not get up and down for bird on the final hole. He shot a bogey free 68 (par 73) while starting with a 3 shot lead and it still wasn't enough. I'm sure if you offered that score to him on Saturday night he would have 100% taken it.

 

Looks like we are all now chasing the guys that took X in the One and Done. The Sony Open appears to have a very solid field at first glance. I love prime time golf.

[TheCityGame]

Crazy tournament. Xander's final round yesterday was insane. He was 12 under on his final 16 holes. I kind of feel bad for Woodland. Basically the only thing he did wrong all day was not get up and down for bird on the final hole. He shot a bogey free 68 (par 73) while starting with a 3 shot lead and it still wasn't enough. I'm sure if you offered that score to him on Saturday night he would have 100% taken it.

 

Looks like we are all now chasing the guys that took X in the One and Done. The Sony Open appears to have a very solid field at first glance. I love prime time golf.

I ain't chasing SH*T. It's one tournament.

 

I would say that one mistake Woodland made was not trying to drive the 287 yard par 4. I don't care who you are, the percentages are NOT in your favor trying to get up and down from 75 yards as opposed to greenside chipping. Guy was splitting fairways all day with a little power fade. That hole set up perfectly for him. I thought he hit a chicken-sh1t shot on 18, too. Xander went out to win that thing. Woodland tucked his tail.

[dcmidnight]

IMO there's absolutely nothing wrong with how Woodland played. How many times are you going to get run down by a guy who not only makes a 60 foot putt for eagle but also holes out from 100 yards for eagle? There's no way this happens more than once a season - if that. Sounds like Woodland hit a lousy chip on the last hole.

[therealsneek]

I think Woodland was afraid of doing what Rory did on 14 and pull it left over into the junk. The announcers were talking all tournament that his miss is a pull.

[dcmidnight]

My one and done pool doesnt start until the Farmers I think. Not sure why other than maybe normally it took time to get 300 people to send in checks. This year was the first year he took Venmo and he filled it in under a day.

[TheCityGame]

I think Woodland was afraid of doing what Rory did on 14 and pull it left over into the junk. The announcers were talking all tournament that his miss is a pull.

Yeah. He played like chicken sh1t.

 

He left himself 97 yards in on that hole. He played not to make bogey.

 

On 18, I don't know if Woodland hit a bad chip. . .he had 48 yards and he hit it to 10 feet from the fairway. That's tour average. Guys were knocking that second shot on the green all week.

 

Pros don't get up and down magically all the time from 30 yards, 40 yards, 60 yards. They do two-putt all the time, though. They get up and down from the fringe all the time. I guarantee he's kicking himself today about both those decisions.

 

Woodland is a can't closer. Yesterday was a perfect example of why.

[HighBoomingDraws]

Picking Patrick Reed was a mistake! At least I don’t have to worry about him for the rest of the season now. Hopefully the guys who picked Xander have a missed cut hiccup or two moving forward.

[FAbb]

I would say that one mistake Woodland made was not trying to drive the 287 yard par 4. I don't care who you are, the percentages are NOT in your favor trying to get up and down from 75 yards as opposed to greenside chipping. Guy was splitting fairways all day with a little power fade. That hole set up perfectly for him. I thought he hit a chicken-sh1t shot on 18, too. Xander went out to win that thing. Woodland tucked his tail.

 

As I was watching on Golf Channel following the live leaderboard on my phone last night, that's when I thought for sure thought Xander was gonna win it. When I saw Xander drive it up near the green and make bird, then saw Woodland lay up off the tee - done.

[dcmidnight]

Q. for the guys who are reading a lot of golf architecture stuff or listening to podcasts. Lets say you read a *really* long, opinion based article with tons of uberwoke opinions about how a particular course is being "ruined" by technology. And that most players that play it seem to still love the course even though they probably arent smart enough to appreciate the course's architectural features < authors opinion tinged with my sarcasm.

 

Does your opinion of the article change if 3/4 of the way through it the author reveals that not only has he never played there but he's never even been there? Its essentially an "on paper" exercise - although he is perfectly happy running down people who dont agree with his very long winded opinions?

 

I've been slowly chopping all the golf architecture stuff off my podcast list for various reasons. i think mostly bc I can just enjoy playing certain courses without having to get into the weeds about crap like this. But this article really sort of brought home to me why I am perfectly happy tapping out on this sort of thing altogether.

[FAbb]

It's maddening to watch Rory go into non-factor Rory mode. He just pounds it down the fairway and squanders it from there all day.

[dcmidnight]

It's maddening to watch Rory go into non-factor Rory mode. He just pounds it down the fairway and squanders it from there all day.

 

I could only watch the first 6 holes or so last night but he looked almost bored out there.

 

I did catch Mark Rolfing saying that they are closing the course down for a re-do this year? Anyone watch last night or catch anything more about that? Curious if they are closing the whole course or just doing changes to certain holes.

[TheCityGame]

Q. for the guys who are reading a lot of golf architecture stuff or listening to podcasts. Lets say you read a *really* long, opinion based article with tons of uberwoke opinions about how a particular course is being "ruined" by technology. And that most players that play it seem to still love the course even though they probably arent smart enough to appreciate the course's architectural features < authors opinion tinged with my sarcasm.

 

Does your opinion of the article change if 3/4 of the way through it the author reveals that not only has he never played there but he's never even been there?

Yes.

 

These guys are often breaking down architecture discussions into their atomic components and evaluating courses based on that. You can look at maps and consider widths, and angles and elevation. . .and all of that is correct in some sense, but we're not robots. Is the course FUN?

 

There are courses around that we we all end up going back to time and time again, and courses that we don't. And we try to articulate it, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes you just need to be there and see the shot, and the landmarks, and places where your ball disappears and reappears and comes to rest.

 

To me, the PRIMARY THING architecture should serve is "do I want to play that course again, right now?" or "Do I have fun with my foursome when I play here?"

 

Sure, I believe those things tend to line up pretty well with the elements of architecture these guys discuss, but some of these discussions these days, they've gotten way too far up their own butts.

[FAbb]

Q. for the guys who are reading a lot of golf architecture stuff or listening to podcasts. Lets say you read a *really* long, opinion based article with tons of uberwoke opinions about how a particular course is being "ruined" by technology. And that most players that play it seem to still love the course even though they probably arent smart enough to appreciate the course's architectural features < authors opinion tinged with my sarcasm.

 

Does your opinion of the article change if 3/4 of the way through it the author reveals that not only has he never played there but he's never even been there? Its essentially an "on paper" exercise - although he is perfectly happy running down people who dont agree with his very long winded opinions?

 

I've been slowly chopping all the golf architecture stuff off my podcast list for various reasons. i think mostly bc I can just enjoy playing certain courses without having to get into the weeds about crap like this. But this article really sort of brought home to me why I am perfectly happy tapping out on this sort of thing altogether.

 

I haven't listened to or read much of that kind of stuff in quite a while.

 

I found some of the old stuff on the subject, and Doak's anatomy of a golf course book to be pretty interesting. Talk about the how and why of laying out and building golf courses - that's interesting subject matter, to me.

 

The hipster movement of "everything not golden age is garbage" has gotten old very quickly.

 

Sometimes I'm going to play a wide course. Sometimes it's going to be tight, and tree lined. Sometimes it's gonna be a dumpy cow pasture, with crap greens. And I'm gonna have fun with it regardless. I draw significantly more of my enjoyment from playing than I do from the field upon which I'm doing it.

[HighBoomingDraws]

The golf architecture snobbery is a little off putting. I can see some of their points for sure, but not every course has to be a minimalist width and angles scenario.

 

I will say that I enjoy a minimalist design a lot more than an over-tricked up course. Both can coexist and serve their own purposes.

[SullGolf]

Bubba sure was a good pick.

[therealsneek]

It's maddening to watch Rory go into non-factor Rory mode. He just pounds it down the fairway and squanders it from there all day.

 

I could only watch the first 6 holes or so last night but he looked almost bored out there.

 

I did catch Mark Rolfing saying that they are closing the course down for a re-do this year? Anyone watch last night or catch anything more about that? Curious if they are closing the whole course or just doing changes to certain holes.

 

I did hear him bring that up quite a few times.

 

I just looked it up and they are shutting down from February through November. Re-grassing tees, fairways, rough, and greens. Adding new tees and relocating bunkers as well. It looks like Rolfing is actually a consultant on the project. No wonder he kept bringing it up. I remember him talking specifically about how the 14th green is going to be extended because it is very small right now and gets beat up with all of the traffic. He was also talking about how the 10th hole will play much longer next year with a new tee.

[HighBoomingDraws]

Still boggles my mind that 17 is a ho hum 567 yard par 4 where they hit 9i in from 200.

[dcmidnight]

To me, the PRIMARY THING architecture should serve is "do I want to play that course again, right now?" or "Do I have fun with my foursome when I play here?"

 

Completely agree with these two points.

 

I'm trying to post the article but I cant get to Twitter links from work for some reason. It was an article about the Old Course where he basically cant understand how people can enjoy playing there if they cant understand that architectural features of the course itself. Then 3/4 of the way through this massive article he says that not only has he never played there or been there but that he's never been to Scotland.

 

There's a scene in Good Will Hunting where Robin Williams says to Matt Damon something along the lines of I bet you could tell me all about art history but you cant tell me what it smells like in the Sistene Chapel. This article sort of reminded me of that scene. He seems to completely discount the idea that people can enjoy playing there just because its fun and when you finish, you want to immediately walk with your group to the first tee and experience it again.

 

The hipster movement of "everything not golden age is garbage" has gotten old very quickly.

 

Very quickly. It seems like such a short period of time in which I've gone from being interested in reading about the history of golf course architecture to being completely sick of how oversaturated the discussion has become.

[FAbb]

It was an article about the Old Course where he basically cant understand how people can enjoy playing there if they cant understand that architectural features of the course itself.

 

That's just so a$s backwards. Knowledge of golf architecture is in no way a prerequisite to being able to enjoy playing a golf course.

 

I bet the author is the kind of person that just can't enjoy anything in life for what it is. Sad!

[dcmidnight]

"Plenty of people have no problem with the new Old Course - and not just people who dont understand the design features being lost"

 

This is the quote that finally got me - I think this was right after he said he had never even been there or played the course.

[FAbb]

I'm going to be a little bit smart this time, and not disassemble and sell my current club before even hitting the new one I bought. So Rogue SZ-Fubutta J is staying intact. I need to find a shaft for the 10 degree G400 LST head I scooped up. I'm thinking about doing something cheap like the UST Proforce V2, just for shiggles. Maybe I'll see what's floating around on fleabay first. I really liked the Atmos Blue when I played it in an Epic. I don't want to pay 2 bills for something trendy like a pro orange.

 

 

I sold the Rogue SZ head.

 

No driver until G400 LST shows up.

 

At least I didn't sell the Fubutta. I'll keep that around. Maybe buy another PING adapter and glue it up, if I'm feeling it.

[2moreTerps]

It's maddening to watch Rory go into non-factor Rory mode. He just pounds it down the fairway and squanders it from there all day.

 

sounds like someone i know

[2moreTerps]

Q. for the guys who are reading a lot of golf architecture stuff or listening to podcasts. Lets say you read a *really* long, opinion based article with tons of uberwoke opinions about how a particular course is being "ruined" by technology. And that most players that play it seem to still love the course even though they probably arent smart enough to appreciate the course's architectural features < authors opinion tinged with my sarcasm.

 

Does your opinion of the article change if 3/4 of the way through it the author reveals that not only has he never played there but he's never even been there? Its essentially an "on paper" exercise - although he is perfectly happy running down people who dont agree with his very long winded opinions?

 

I've been slowly chopping all the golf architecture stuff off my podcast list for various reasons. i think mostly bc I can just enjoy playing certain courses without having to get into the weeds about crap like this. But this article really sort of brought home to me why I am perfectly happy tapping out on this sort of thing altogether.

 

well i'm not the post's target audience but i tapped out of this stuff about 4 minutes into a NLU podcast when Tron and Soly agreed that good golf courses could only be built on sandy soil. Soly said that again on the pod with Brandel and Brandel was like "that's absurd. most golf courses in the US aren't built on sandy soil and you can still enjoy the game playing those courses".

 

so can you post the article or just allow me to guess the course? augusta?

[FAbb]

It's maddening to watch Rory go into non-factor Rory mode. He just pounds it down the fairway and squanders it from there all day.

 

sounds like someone i know

 

[TheCityGame]

It's maddening to watch Rory go into non-factor Rory mode. He just pounds it down the fairway and squanders it from there all day.

 

sounds like someone i know

 

I don't even know who he's talking about. . .everyone?

[FAbb]

He's talking about TheCityGame, obviously. Splitting fairways like kindling, and thinning wedges over greens.

[FAbb]

Not that it's gonna change anything I do, but I'm still waiting to see the flag in/flag out test results from the other site. I was expecting to see something last week, but I guess it's taking a bit longer to put together than they let on.

[Puppetmaster]

I'm going to be a little bit smart this time, and not disassemble and sell my current club before even hitting the new one I bought. So Rogue SZ-Fubutta J is staying intact. I need to find a shaft for the 10 degree G400 LST head I scooped up. I'm thinking about doing something cheap like the UST Proforce V2, just for shiggles. Maybe I'll see what's floating around on fleabay first. I really liked the Atmos Blue when I played it in an Epic. I don't want to pay 2 bills for something trendy like a pro orange.

 

 

I sold the Rogue SZ head.

 

No driver until G400 LST shows up.

 

At least I didn't sell the Fubutta. I'll keep that around. Maybe buy another PING adapter and glue it up, if I'm feeling it.

 

Did someone say Fubutta?