Johnny Miller Master Thread - Page 15

Miller can provide some insight, but you can just hear the seething rage in his attitude.  IMHO, it's because he knows he simply can't do what those guys do anymore.  He burned out fast and furious.  His first win was in '71 and he was pretty much washed up by the end of '76.  Yeah, he won a few tourneys after that, but they were few and far between.

The Yips pretty much did him in at age 30.  You can hear it in his voice......the snarky bitterness that sad mark has left on him.

I have a lot more respect for Miller since reading his interview where he admitted he never liked the pressure and couldn't handle it.

Now when he is talking about swings / choking / pressure etc I view it as he's been there - and knows what it is like to struggle with it rather than thinking he's talking from upon high about a players mental weakness.

Unfortunately, most people on this forum have missed the best commentator of the last 20 years and that was Jack Newton who had the Miller roll in Australia when the Seven Network hosted the golf. He had amazing insights into players swings including their tendencies under pressure without belittling players and even better insights into which way putts broke than the on course commentators do.

Mr. Miller Said it

Just watching the telecast from yesterday's pga event. Webb Simpson has a 20 ft putt to force a playoff and Johnny Miller say's "He probably has a 1 in 3 or 4 chance to make it"  Where does he come up with this?  I love Miller, but that is just such a stupid thing to say. The pga average on these putts is only 12.5 percent. Add the pressure of forcing the playoff and it is probably much less. Nobody even called him on this. Geeezz

We have a friend who pretty much never stops talking.  With that many words coming out of her mouth I guess that sooner or later something stupid is bound to spew forth.  Think that is the principle at work with commentators (though some seem to excel at it).  If you really listen to what is said, and parse their words, a whole bunch of it is gibberish.  Or maybe Johnny's math skills just aren't up to snuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nleary9201 

Just watching the telecast from yesterday's pga event. Webb Simpson has a 20 ft putt to force a playoff and Johnny Miller say's "He probably has a 1 in 3 or 4 chance to make it"  Where does he come up with this?  I love Miller, but that is just such a stupid thing to say. The pga average on these putts is only 12.5 percent. Add the pressure of forcing the playoff and it is probably much less. Nobody even called him on this. Geeezz

Who is going to call him on it?  That would just make for bad tv.

What he meant to say was "Back in my playing day when I shot a 63 at Oakmont, I would have only had about a 1 in 3 chance of making this...."

I'd say he was probably correct on this one.  You are quoting the 'tour average', not people who are 'leading the tournament and have been putting outstanding all tournament long' average.  I would guess the average for those that are leading the tournament and good putters is closer to what he said.

Come on Webb Simpson? His putting  is just a fraction better than average.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clambake 

What he meant to say was "Back in my playing day when I shot a 63 at Oakmont, I would have only had about a 1 in 3 chance of making this...."

But what he should have said is 

"With players like Webb Simpson being so slow it's very bad for the game. Young people watching might start to think that it's normal to take 2 minutes over every shot.  No wonder the game has become so slow."

He seems like a nice guy but they have to start penalising some of these snails.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty 

But what he should have said is 

"With players like Webb Simpson being so slow it's very bad for the game. Young people watching might start to think that it's normal to take 2 minutes over every shot.  No wonder the game has become so slow."

 

He seems like a nice guy but they have to start penalising some of these snails.

I was pulling for him at first, but by the time he got to 18, I was hoping he'd lose.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nleary9201 

Just watching the telecast from yesterday's pga event. Webb Simpson has a 20 ft putt to force a playoff and Johnny Miller say's "He probably has a 1 in 3 or 4 chance to make it"  Where does he come up with this?  I love Miller, but that is just such a stupid thing to say. The pga average on these putts is only 12.5 percent. Add the pressure of forcing the playoff and it is probably much less. Nobody even called him on this. Geeezz

The guy is in the top 35 in putting at that distance averaging over 17% on that length putt for the year.  And he is 8th on tour in total putting.  And he led the whole field in putting average per GIR, so he was putting better than his own average.  He averaged 1.429 putts per GIR in the 4th round compared to his 1.737 season long average.   So he was putting much better than his own average.

So Miller's comment seems to be pretty much right on, not stupid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nleary9201 

Just watching the telecast from yesterday's pga event. Webb Simpson has a 20 ft putt to force a playoff and Johnny Miller say's "He probably has a 1 in 3 or 4 chance to make it"  Where does he come up with this?  I love Miller, but that is just such a stupid thing to say. The pga average on these putts is only 12.5 percent. Add the pressure of forcing the playoff and it is probably much less. Nobody even called him on this. Geeezz

Some people putt better than average under pressure. Look at GMac's two putts on the 72nd and 73rd holes at the Chevron. Those was from over 20 feet, yet he made that putt twice in a row. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nleary9201 

Just watching the telecast from yesterday's pga event. Webb Simpson has a 20 ft putt to force a playoff and Johnny Miller say's "He probably has a 1 in 3 or 4 chance to make it"  Where does he come up with this?  I love Miller, but that is just such a stupid thing to say. The pga average on these putts is only 12.5 percent. Add the pressure of forcing the playoff and it is probably much less. Nobody even called him on this. Geeezz

The Tour average has nothing to do with the individual, with the zone he may be in that day, with the relative difficulty of that particular putt.  Try thinking with your head before you criticize one of the best TV analysts in golf.  Miller has a much, much, much better handle on the shot than you ever will.

I don't see a problem with what he said.  just means that in 3 or 4 chances, he would make it just once.

If the average is 12.5%, that's 1 in 8, so even as an average he's not that far off.

Plus, the average for making a near-straight 20-foot putt is probably a lot higher than the overall average, which would include a lot of tricky putts.  I don't know anything about the putt in question, but if it was a straightforward one, it could very easily be the case that he's twice as likely to make it than the general case, even before you take into consideration his own personal stats.

Anyone not interested in what Johnny Miller has to say is not really interested in golf. I could care less about whatever else he talks about but about golf he's the best commentator out there. One thing I appreciate from him is he NEVER talks about what he guesses a player is thinking. That, by the way is the one type of commentating that really enerves me. No, Miller ONLY talks about golf and I'd add he's virtually never wrong about the type of shot needed in a given situation and I appreciate that he takes the time to explain exactly how to execute it. Again, as for the rest of what he might wander off talking about it really doesn't bug me enough to bare mentionning. I love this guy as a commentator.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jumbo Debt 

Anyone not interested in what Johnny Miller has to say is not really interested in golf. I could care less about whatever else he talks about but about golf he's the best commentator out there. One thing I appreciate from him is he NEVER talks about what he guesses a player is thinking. That, by the way is the one type of commentating that really enerves me. No, Miller ONLY talks about golf and I'd add he's virtually never wrong about the type of shot needed in a given situation and I appreciate that he takes the time to explain exactly how to execute it. Again, as for the rest of what he might wander off talking about it really doesn't bug me enough to bare mentionning. I love this guy as a commentator.

Yeah, well youre the only one.  The rest of us think he's an idiot.