Golfers Thread

[peasy23]

Watched Bunkered's interview with Billy Foster. He reckons it will be 6 hour rounds because of the way the course is running.

[peasy23]

First time at a practice round and it’s a bit of a bizarre atmosphere/system. Groups randomly combining into 5/6 balls that take about 20 mins on the green then have to stand for 20 mins on the next tee. Players disappearing from one tee time then randomly appearing on a later one. It’s still good but so different to a normal day.

I loved the practice day at Troon I went to in 2016. It was great watching players hit 2 or 3 approach shots into the same green. Watched Bubba Watson hit 2 shots from the same spot. One a fade that moved about 30 yards in the air, then he dropped another ball and hit a draw that did the same. Same with other players hitting "normal" shots then trying to hit stingers and bump and runs.

Bizarre thing on the greens was nobody holed out putts. They would just be putting balls all over the green at spots where they thought the pins could be.

[peasy23]

Paul Lawrie, Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy given honorary membership of the R&A. Well deserved for Lawrie for the work he does with young golfers.

Nick Faldo tweeted last night that Jack Nicklaus had said goodbye to The Open in his speech at last night's Champion's Dinner.

[ICTJohnboy]

It really is an incredible event. Kudos to Sky Sports for the saturation coverage plus all the interviews and it hasn't even started yet!

Watching 52 year old Ernie Els on the practice round.  He's still got a fantastic touch and fans from way back will recall he was one of the best bunker players ever. 

Skybet offering 750/1 - worth £1 EW? Tom Watson was 59 when he very nearly won in 2009 at Turnberry.

[Mark Connolly]

Practice day was class.

Sat on the range for a bit and watched Padraig hit some absolutely ridiculous cuts against the wind with his driver. The best way I can think of to describe it is it was like that big sweeping slice you'll hit off the 1st tee in a medal, but he was meaning to do it.

There is no way someone is shooting 59 round there this week, even if there is no wind.

[Albertlegend]

Some of Sky's build up this week has been excellent, just watched a history of the Open at St Andrews, some proper goosebumps moments! Remembering back to seeing Jacks and Arnold's last opens and Tiger winning in 2005.

Excellent viewing! 

[LoonsYouthTeam]

Some of Sky's build up this week has been excellent, just watched a history of the Open at St Andrews, some proper goosebumps moments! Remembering back to seeing Jacks and Arnold's last opens and Tiger winning in 2005.
Excellent viewing! 

Aye, their shows are class, and the amount of coverage already since Monday along with all the analysis etc. has been fabulous.

It's a bit of a shame that none of it is on the BBC anymore, but fair play to Sky, their golf coverage is outstanding and is a much better viewing experience than you got on the Beeb

[D Angelo Barksdale]

The Open Road Trip has been good, and not just because my wee club was on it.

[HalfCutNinja]

On 12/07/2022 at 19:14, ICTJohnboy said:

^^

Obviously been in the road hole bunker and couldn't get out.

Presumably would like to see St Andrews taken off the Open venues rota. That would be good for the local economy.

Perfect example of how St Andrews is nonsense and a myth. The road hole bunker is just a bunker. There's nothing special about it. Not particularly difficult, many harder greenside bunkers in that course (left of 11 the hardest) and on every decent links course. It's just completely unremarkable.

Slightly small to a small target and you land on a downslope. Probably a thousand more difficult greenside bunkers in Scotland.

 

Of course I would as the course doesn't merit it. St Andrews will be busy for the next 200 years if it never hosts another Open. No damage at all to the economy. And btw they actually lose money to host these things anyway. The course has been closed the last three and a half weeks. How much money you think they're making then?

[HalfCutNinja]

On 12/07/2022 at 20:52, Ervin H Burrell said:

Yes you did.

Because we've already done this at least once Pep.

Well no. The opinion of Hall of Fame course designers and architects, players and officials who agree with me carries much more validity.

That's just a fact mate.

No I didn't. I pointed out I do play an okay standard to back up a point already made. Interestingly after dismissing my standard of golf as of any relevance you have since, twice, referenced the standard of the pros as reason to support their opinion. Didn't really think that through did you?  

And you're completely wrong anyway. St Andrews has definitely NOT influenced golf course design over the world. Many courses in Scotland have St Andrews is not one of them. Show me all these courses with massive greens then. They don't exist. Show me the courses with crossing fairways. Nope. Show me the courses with fairways as wide that are commonly shared with another hole. You won't find them either. Let's see a course that used to be played the other way. No.

So you don't even know what you're talking about. The attraction of the old course is it's unique. You won't find another course remotely like it because one doesn't exist. Partly because you would never get permission to build a course like that now cause it's far too fucking dangerous and you wouldn't want to anyway cause it's stupid and shite.

As always people talking about the old course don't really have much of a scoobie and are completely blinded by the history and twee shite surrounding it. If you judge it purely as a golf course it's garbage. 9 and 20 are the two worst consecutive holes in professional golf hands down. Laughably bad.

Btw Bobby Jones said if you've walked the old course less than ten times and say you like it you're a liar. How many times you walked it?

It's more clever and subtle than it first appears and can be fun but is bland, stupid and shit ultimately.

[HalfCutNinja]

Oh and btw St Andrews is the most Tory place in Scotland and when the opens on it's Tory heaven on steroids. The vibe is very class orientated while presenting itself as the opposite and every single thing about the place is monetised and commidified and apart from the courses themselves all owned outside Scotland. It's fuckin shite and hollow and elitist and as wanky as it gets. Nauseating.

[peasy23]

LIV tweeted this today. Only problem is Grace isn't in the field this week. [emoji23]

[HalfCutNinja]

The fucking road hole as well absolute nonsense. Every other course in the world that's a free drop but St Andrews change the rules of golf and make you play off a fucking road and make you play over a building just to try and make their shitty course interesting. It's nonsense. Pure drivel. Just absolutely farcically stupid and shit.

The whole thing even the fuckin bridge is just a shitty wee bridge. When you see it up close not the bridge the whole thing you're like really is this it? What is all the fuss about. It's just crap.

[lichtie23]

3 minutes ago, HalfCutNinja said:

The fucking road hole as well absolute nonsense. Every other course in the world that's a free drop but St Andrews change the rules of golf and make you play off a fucking road and make you play over a building just to try and make their shitty course interesting. It's nonsense. Pure drivel. Just absolutely farcically stupid and shit.

The whole thing even the fuckin bridge is just a shitty wee bridge. When you see it up close not the bridge the whole thing you're like really is this it? What is all the fuss about. It's just crap.

Your trying to hard here. Maybe time to give up 

[peasy23]

Practice day was class.
Sat on the range for a bit and watched Padraig hit some absolutely ridiculous cuts against the wind with his driver. The best way I can think of to describe it is it was like that big sweeping slice you'll hit off the 1st tee in a medal, but he was meaning to do it.
There is no way someone is shooting 59 round there this week, even if there is no wind.

I expect a few low 60s, but it's going to be very hard for someone to put their ball exactly where they want to for 18 holes. There's no way of telling exactly how far your ball will run from a tee shot, lots of players will end up in bunkers and rough that they thought they were playing well short of.

[HalfCutNinja]

49 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

Your trying to hard here. Maybe time to give up 

No you're just too smitten by it to judge it objectively. It's a fucking road why the hell would you have to play off a road? Do you know any other courses where that's not a free drop? Why would the rules be any different there? It's utter nonsense. Did that never occur to you before?

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Jesus fucking Christ.

Do we really have to suffer this thread being ruined by the spamming, attention-seeking arsehole during Open week?

f**k off and make up some more Doug Sanders stories you utter welt. 

[D Angelo Barksdale]

1 hour ago, HalfCutNinja said:

No I didn't. I pointed out I do play an okay standard to back up a point already made. Interestingly after dismissing my standard of golf as of any relevance you have since, twice, referenced the standard of the pros as reason to support their opinion. Didn't really think that through did you? 

Well, there's a slight difference between the legends of the game and an attention seeking Walter Mitty on a Scottish football forum don't you think ?

1 hour ago, HalfCutNinja said:

And you're completely wrong anyway. St Andrews has definitely NOT influenced golf course design over the world.

I'll just stop the quoted post here as this line betrays your complete and utter ignorance on the subject matter and it'll be my last reply to you.

For generations, literally every single notable golf course architect has visited The Old Course to study it and to incorporate it's style, strategies, features and holes in their own work. There simply isn't another piece of land that has had as much influence in both the development of the game and the attitudes of course designers.

From the early designers like Morris, Robertson and Dunn, to those who spread the game to the US and beyond like Park Jnr and MacKenzie who wrote a whole fucking book about St Andrews and it's influences on him as he built 3 of the world's greatest courses at Augusta, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne. On to the Golden Generation of American architecture where the likes of MacDonald and Raynor literally copied the Eden and Road Holes in their template courses. And so on, through to contemporary designers like Doak. The European Institute of Golf Course Architects actually has students study The Old Course as part of their diplomas and degrees.

So, I am begging you, please, shut the f**k up.

[peasy23]

Bets on.

Fiver free bet on Rory.
Fiver each way on Thomas, Zalatoris and Fox.
2.50 ew on MacIntyre and Kisner.

Will see how it's going on Friday night and might stick something else on for the weekend.

[HalfCutNinja]

3 hours ago, Ervin H Burrell said:

Well, there's a slight difference between the legends of the game and an attention seeking Walter Mitty on a Scottish football forum don't you think ?

I'll just stop the quoted post here as this line betrays your complete and utter ignorance on the subject matter and it'll be my last reply to you.

For generations, literally every single notable golf course architect has visited The Old Course to study it and to incorporate it's style, strategies, features and holes in their own work. There simply isn't another piece of land that has had as much influence in both the development of the game and the attitudes of course designers.

From the early designers like Morris, Robertson and Dunn, to those who spread the game to the US and beyond like Park Jnr and MacKenzie who wrote a whole fucking book about St Andrews and it's influences on him as he built 3 of the world's greatest courses at Augusta, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne. On to the Golden Generation of American architecture where the likes of MacDonald and Raynor literally copied the Eden and Road Holes in their template courses. And so on, through to contemporary designers like Doak. The European Institute of Golf Course Architects actually has students study The Old Course as part of their diplomas and degrees.

So, I am begging you, please, shut the f**k up.

There is no Eden hole mate. Maybe you're thinking of the Eden course. Again you don't know what you're talking about. You just invented a hole that doesn't exist to back up your non point. 

Funnily enough have Jordan speith being interviewed in the background. 

"Why do you think this course has stood the test of time?"

"The weather. If it's benign I don't think it has stood the test of time."

His words mate not mine. And it influenced Mackenzie so much those courses have literally none of the features people know the old course for. It was designed to be played in the other direction mate. You don't even know that do you? The way they play it now is backwards.

You're just talking pish. Pure nonsense. The strategy style and features of the old course are not incorporated into hardly any golf courses anywhere. You don't get it, I already told you the one thing people do like about it is it's completely unique. There's no golf course anywhere in the world remotely similar. Yet you claim every designer has tried to incorporate it's style and features. That's pure shite mate. It's the opposite of reality. You're making that up. Even the old course wasn't designed to play like the old course let alone anywhere else.

 

No holes on the old course, or features, are incorporated into any course except some of the links courses in Scotland. This is what I mean everyone who goes on about the old course doesn't have a clue what they're talking about. It's an accident that just ended up the way it is. It wasn't even designed to be that way in the first place. That's why it's a shambles of random bunkers facing the wrong way etc. If you want to get a better understanding of it stand at the back of every green and imagine that's the front. It makes much more sense and actually looks like a semi normal course.p

 

As for Walter Mitty I'm tired of that. I caddied full time on the old course and a few others for quite a while. That's not exactly a huge claim. They're always desperate for caddies. Right now they're desperate. If you can walk and talk they'll give you a job. You want to caddie there? I could get you a job to start next week if you want. It's not difficult. It's not me making up imaginary holes to support my point.