Rory/DJ vs Fowler/Wolff on TV May 17 (NO POLITICS, COVID-19 POSTS)

[Pepperturbo]

I was in need of watching some golf so we watched the whole match. Unfortunately, it was rather boring and having players miced was a waste. The course was really nice, though and Wolff surprised us not only by his odd trigger but his extra in the tank.

[Ashley Schaeffer]

If the sponsor(s) were giving out thousands to charity for birdies and eagles, I'm surprised we didn't see a few more conceded 10-footers. "You need to see that?" "Uh, yeah, you're 10 feet away." "Think of the cause!"

[Shilgy]

Birdies and eagles had to be holed. They mentioned that in the beginning.It ran a half hour over the scheduled four hours. Quite possibly the result of waiting for the limited cameras crew to get into position.

[jdowning111]

Boring turned it off after five holes.....talk about four guys with no personality...like watching paint dry.

[Ashley Schaeffer]

Darn it! I thought I was on to something . . .

[MUNIGRIT]

I loved DJ using a tee for a ball mark. I'm sure that grinded someone's nerve.

[Creedo77]

My income is tied to a professional golfer, so I feel that I have a good idea of what the situations are like with players, their thoughts, routines etc during a professional event and playing for their own income based off decisions he and I make.

What I'm saying is that the biggest factor in slow play (and on our tour is like 6-7 guys who are known to be slow) from what I've seen over the last 2 years on tour is pre-shot routines. There is obviously a lot going on mentally at the time as well as outside factors that they've got to judge prior to committing to a shot. Slow play is not a huge problem on our tour compared to the PGA.

My post was more in defense of what I do and hundreds others do a for a living and this notion that we cause slow play, which in my opinion we do not.

[BNGL]

None of them are members of Seminole (I’m very positive but could be wrong, I haven’t been in the area for nearly a year and they were not as of 1 June last year) Rory’s dad is a member.

[BNGL]

Seminole is closed down for the summer so it wouldn’t be much of a bother for their members, this covid stuff threw a wrench in plans but we’d usually close by Memorial Day at the latest.

Side note I’m not sure why this was just sitting around I guess I forgot to hit post in my reply.

[caniac6]

Why is a wall to wall Bermuda course closed in the summer? I know it gets hot down there, but I thought that it would be ok to play in the morning. Do they not have many local members?

[BNGL]

Very very very few of their members are local. Even the ones that are, have a membership the other area clubs; Jupiter Hills, Bear’s Club, Trump Jupiter, Medalist, McArthur etc. so they can go to their other clubs, but a majority aren’t year round residents of Palm Beach/Martin counties.

which is absolutely crazy to think about, because Jupiter area ain’t cheap and to have a property tier that sits empty most of the year is mind boggling to me and I did alright lol.

There is several in the area that close for a period of time in the summer.

[tannyhoban]

Turned it off. Boring as hell.

Funny how this was a fundraiser for ***** and yet the mods do not want **** mentioned.

 

this site is getting lame

[rgk5]

What sort of riveting coversation were you expecting?

[xgolfx]

The event was only a thought a month ago. The pro bono participants did their best on short notice. The negative critics think that they know more about the the value of the course than many great players. My great players list would start with The Hawk, Mr. Hogan, who deemed Seminole worthy of his annual preparation for the Masters. The USGA was allowed to stage the next Walker Cup there. Every year since the 1930's the proam is an event which draws a top field of pros. In my opinion, it is the best course from 100 yards in. Raymond Floyd said it was the best from 150 into the hole.

Mr Hogan said,"If you can score at Seminole, you can play anywhere". That may not be a perfect quote, but it is close to his words

Charley Penna.

[Shilgy]

I’m with you there. I have never thought caddies slowed players down. Except of course when they should! In all levels of play, even at clubs where groups may have multiple foursomes playing a game of some sort we all know who the slow players are. The devils in the details on how and when to attempt to speed them up.

[Creedo77]

I hated trying to rush a group during my club caddie days, especially if it was another 4 ball behind us. I never wanted to jeopardize what cash they'd tip me if how I tried to rush them came off. Luckily most high end clubs have GPS in the shop so they can track the slow groups and come out and move them along.

[manku]

Golfers LOVE exclusivity...the more difficult a course is to gain access to, the more coveted it becomes.

And Seminole has that in spades.

Seminole may have been a great course back in the day...and looks like a lot of fun to play for most recreational golfers.

Bringing in an opinion from 50 years ago (Hogan) doesn't mean much...it's a different game today.

 

[shoot4par]

It would've been h**l with Balata balls and persimmons, I think. Also at 6800 yards, it would've been pretty long for back in the day.

[scratch67]

The most astonishing thing for me compared to what we are used to, no fans. Made me realize how much fans are a big part of watching tournaments. The Ryder Cup will be nothing w/o the fans.

[LeftDaddy]

My thoughts FWIW:

Seminole - I liked it...was great to see a layout we likely wouldn't have seen otherwise. I could see how that would be a true gem to the membership. Maybe it isn't "championship" worthy, but I could see how if it got windy and firm and fast, that it would be a beast.

The format / telecast, etc. - It is hard to get too excited for a golf "game" that means basically nothing. And the TV telecast could have been better without the endless commercials, Bill Murray segments, etc...but it was fine. It was live sports, which we haven't seen much of lately, and was something different. I was OK with it, even if it was a bit boring. I would say that I wish the players had been more "mic'd up" and / or demonstrative, except...

Wolff - Was weird to see him be the "annoying much younger brother-in-law who clearly doesn't belong in the group but can't stop talking maybe because of his nervous energy" character. Everything I've read about him suggests he is a baller, and he can clearly murder the ball. He's supposed to be a good putter. But his game looked rather incomplete, and his mentality/chatter was frankly a bit annoying.

Rory / DJ - Rory was in the best form of the group, and DJ the rustiest. Rory still can't putt a lick, though. I like Rory, and he's a tiny bit of a needle mover, and so is DJ...but this event clearly needed Tiger or Phil or both. Lump Rickie in here, too...they just aren't that fun to watch play golf. Rory is a little bit...I think the format needed Rory and probably Wolff for the "up and comer" angle, but we could have substituted just about anybody for Rickie and DJ and would it have mattered?

Rickie - Was Rickie the alpha in this group, or was it just that Wolff was his partner and Rickie was the older "brother-in-law" who was trying to tone the annoying younger BIL down? Rickie clearly played the best of all of them, considering that he was the only one that could putt. But I seemed to get some alpha vibes from Rickie. Rory probably should have been the alpha, but I'm not sure he has it in him. Rickie, however, showed me a little bit in that department. That said, he has a lot less personality than someone who is supposed to be so popular should have, in my opinion.

Trash talk - OMG, was this brutal...they tried, and maybe it is hard to be "real" when you know you are on camera and your brand matters, but my God guys...my Sunday group could teach these guys a bunch of lessons!

The golf - After the first 6 holes, I found myself thinking..."Dang, these guys are bogey machines just like me on a course that they have little experience with, with little practice, when they are rusty..." It was refreshing, actually. But I was worried after a while, like are they going to actually get the birdies rolling? Thank God Rickie can putt...otherwise the charities would have been sweating the donations!

[stingerfade]

The game isn’t different from 150 yards and in except maybe a 9 instead if 8. I think Hogan would do pretty well today Just a hunch

[Golfnuck]

 

Fully agree with your comments about the livelihood etc.

 

But what about simply preparing for your shot while your partner is playing his .......

'What I don't understand is when it's your turn to hit and your glove is not on, then you start thinking about it,' said Koepka.

 

Koepka about Holmes slow play. this is not simply taking ones time to slow down and not hit a careless shot, it is about preparing for the next shot immediately instead of waiting till it is your turn to start even putting your glove on.

[jmck]

Pre-pre-shot routine of slow players pictured here:

[Shilgy]

At that level in particular the slow players will never understand how the fast guys play so quickly...and the fast don’t see how it cam take so long for the slower players to pull the trigger.

[caniac6]

He'd be 108 years old, so not going to have much of a chance.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

If you could travel in a time machine I'd love to take modern clubs and balls back to the 1930's and see what a guy like Hogan could do with them. Would he master them or would he prefer the old? Would he say, "these are too easy almost anyone can play now!"

[gvogel]

They say it is a course that grows on you after you have played it a few times. Kind of like St Andrews.

[gvogel]

Swing issues? Those "swing issues" worked out OK for Ben Hogan.

[smashdn]

He'd probably really appreciate being able to move some weights around and tame his early-career hook. Probably be a fan of the controllable spin with the modern ball too.

[Stonebridge]

I can understand your point of view, if you only saw the highlights from the match. Hard to reference Ben Hogan’s swing, when it comes to Rickie Fowler.