Hunter Mahan and the new, top golfers ...

uihawk82 said:
Oh so you are a scratch or below golfer and know their games inside and out. If Stricker can keep his driver under control he can be a threat.
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If you need to know I have a 5 handicap and I know that Tiger typically handles Augusta well. Stricker typically not so well missing 5 cuts in 11 appearances and best finish T6th..
 
uihawk82 said:
Johnny Miller was talking about the need to hit high fades into augustas greens.

What I said that people are mistaking is the tee shot. It has been noted for years that players like Lee Trevino even when he was one of the best players in the world had difficulty at Augusta because his tee shots were big fades.

Look at the famous back 9: #10, 11, 13, 15, set up for big right to left shots off the tee. holes 12 and 16 are par threes so not in the discussion. holes 14 and 17 are better straight or slight draw. 18 is better with a slight fade but a draw off the tee doesnt hurt.

This is why Ray Floyd and others who could draw off the tee ate up Augusta.

Will tiger alter his new driver ball flight and try to hook the ball this week.

Oh and by the way, for whoever said it, I will lay down the bet on whichever player has 4 good rounds.
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The fade is Tiger's "Go-To" shot but he didn't eliminate the draw from his arsenal. He can still hit the draw when needed but he has significantly reduced the number of snap hooks that he hits by crafting a consistent swing that promotes a controlled fade.
 
which btw so do the majority of other golfers on tour. guys used to need to turn it over a bit to drive it 300. with modern equipment they can hit hard high fades 300 yards all day and a fade is much easier to keep in the fairways.
 
superfan12 said:
Tiger or the field?

I'll take Tiger.
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My god, people are still thinking like this? 100 times bitten, twice shy my friend. The days of picking Tiger over the field are long, long since over. In fact, I'd put money on Rory before I'd put them on Tiger.

Tiger looked good at Bay Hill, yes. But, did you see him limping on 18? Have you seen him fall apart in every significant tournament (with the exception of the President's Cup) in the last 3 years, not just physically, but mentally?

Until Tiger proves me wrong, I'm not buying.
 
UIHawkGrad said:
I, too, despise his personal behavior and am glad that he experienced problems in his life and career because of them. However, golf is much better and more interesting when he is dominant. As a golf fan, I hope he returns to form and starts winning majors again.
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I could not disagree more.

When everybody else conceded tournaments to him and pretty much fought for second place every week, I have never found watching golf to be more boring.

Tiger's level of play at that time was amazing, but I like to see competition.

Tiger was always a world class A-hole on the course, and once we found out he was even worse to his family, I was glad he struggled.

I hope he misses the cut at Augusta, or injures himself again and can't play. I watch more golf when he's not being featured on TV every 11 seconds.
 
shonblatt said:
I could not disagree more.

When everybody else conceded tournaments to him and pretty much fought for second place every week, I have never found watching golf to be more boring.

Tiger's level of play at that time was amazing, but I like to see competition.

Tiger was always a world class A-hole on the course, and once we found out he was even worse to his family, I was glad he struggled.

I hope he misses the cut at Augusta, or injures himself again and can't play. I watch more golf when he's not being featured on TV every 11 seconds.
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While this may be true it.puts you in the distinct minority. TV viewership for golf plummeted while tiger was away. It's dramatically higher when he plays versus when he doesn't, and its dramatically higher when he's in contention.

Golf is significantly better with a a dominant tiger, its not even really debatable. TV ratings are higher, purses are bigger, and sponsors pay more money.
 
Well, it certainly is debatable whether "golf is better" with a dominant Tiger, Duffman. I think any sport suffers when a player becomes larger than the game. Besides, I love playoffs, and we have a lot of them on tour nowadays. What isn't debatable is that more people like golf when Tiger is dominant, and that golf makes more money when Tiger is dominant.

Bigger does not always mean better, however.
 
wundergrape said:
Well, it certainly is debatable whether "golf is better" with a dominant Tiger, Duffman. I think any sport suffers when a player becomes larger than the game. Besides, I love playoffs, and we have a lot of them on tour nowadays. What isn't debatable is that more people like golf when Tiger is dominant, and that golf makes more money when Tiger is dominant.

Bigger does not always mean better, however.
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You are correct. When I say golf is better with a dominant Tiger I mean....

The PGA tour is more popular, golfers make more money, it's easier for tour events to find sponsors, more golf is on TV because TV sponsorship money is easier to come by for TV networks, event attendance is higher which means the events themselves make more money selling tickets/souvenirs/food/beverage, more people at events means the events needs more workers so proles make more money, more people get out and play golf themselves so golf courses make more money, they buy more clubs and equipment so companies that design that stuff makes more money…

But you are right. Bigger isn’t better….
 
The popularity and expansion in golf credited to Eldrick was never sustainable. He would never have dominated forever. Fast buck developers overbuilt and now look where they are.
 
A high fade will play at Augusta National off of the tee.

I think Tiger's natural ball flight is right to left, as is mine, so a long fade would be the toughest, presumably, for him to learn. It really is amazing how these guys can move the ball, both in terms of flight, and direction. I can do it. Kinda. They really, really can do it.

I knew some of the greens had air conditioning unit underneath them, I didn't realize it was all of them?

Last time I was there, I thought they said some greens.
 
I used to able to move it however I want'd. Fun. I still try to, but don't play enough now to do it consistently. That's the beauty of the game.
 
wundergrape said:
My god, people are still thinking like this? 100 times bitten, twice shy my friend. The days of picking Tiger over the field are long, long since over. In fact, I'd put money on Rory before I'd put them on Tiger.

Tiger looked good at Bay Hill, yes. But, did you see him limping on 18? Have you seen him fall apart in every significant tournament (with the exception of the President's Cup) in the last 3 years, not just physically, but mentally?

Until Tiger proves me wrong, I'm not buying.
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Tiger is playing better now that he has in a long time and he is very familiar with the course. There is a reason why he is the Vegas favorite at 3-1...If he is the clubhouse leader going into Sunday then it is a wrap!
 
MiniMoeHawk said:
Tiger is playing better now that he has in a long time and he is very familiar with the course. There is a reason why he is the Vegas favorite at 3-1...If he is the clubhouse leader going into Sunday then it is a wrap!
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i think Tiger will win and i see a strong run by Phil. on Rory i am not sold on him,
i remember not to long ago another kid being hyped, but has not lived up to it, it was Sergio Garcia, i will wait for a couple years to annoint him the next great one, and i will be curious to follow him on sunday when the 10th hole rolls aroung, bad memories on certain courses tend to stick in the back of players mind for a long time
 
herbyhawk said:
i think Tiger will win and i see a strong run by Phil. on Rory i am not sold on him,
i remember not to long ago another kid being hyped, but has not lived up to it, it was Sergio Garcia, i will wait for a couple years to annoint him the next great one, and i will be curious to follow him on sunday when the 10th hole rolls aroung, bad memories on certain courses tend to stick in the back of players mind for a long time
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Big difference. Sergio never won a major. Rory already won his last year at the US Open. Rory is head and shoulders above Sergio. And by winning the major that comes right after the Masters I think he showed that he put that bad tee shot behind him.
 
uihawk82 said:
Johnny Miller was talking about the need to hit high fades into augustas greens.

What I said that people are mistaking is the tee shot. It has been noted for years that players like Lee Trevino even when he was one of the best players in the world had difficulty at Augusta because his tee shots were big fades.

Look at the famous back 9: #10, 11, 13, 15, set up for big right to left shots off the tee. holes 12 and 16 are par threes so not in the discussion. holes 14 and 17 are better straight or slight draw. 18 is better with a slight fade but a draw off the tee doesnt hurt.

This is why Ray Floyd and others who could draw off the tee ate up Augusta.

Will tiger alter his new driver ball flight and try to hook the ball this week.

Oh and by the way, for whoever said it, I will lay down the bet on whichever player has 4 good rounds.
Click to expand...

Jack Nickalaus' shot was almost exclusively a high fade. Sure he could draw it when need be, but it wasn't his preferred or "natural" ball flight and I think he did alright at Augusta through the years! :)
 
herbyhawk said:
i think Tiger will win and i see a strong run by Phil. on Rory i am not sold on him,
i remember not to long ago another kid being hyped, but has not lived up to it, it was Sergio Garcia, i will wait for a couple years to annoint him the next great one, and i will be curious to follow him on sunday when the 10th hole rolls aroung, bad memories on certain courses tend to stick in the back of players mind for a long time
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Whoa. I think you're way off, herby. Rory's 22 years old. He's won at Dubai, Quail Hollow, The Honda Classic, The US Open (by 8 strokes), and he's held the #1 ranking in the world.

When Sergio was 22 he'd won three mid-level tourneys and lost to Tiger a bunch of times. Big difference between the two.
 
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