Jump to content
IGNORED

The Changing of the Guard


PatrickMurtha
Note: This thread is 3342 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

I am new here, so please bear with me. I am also a fan rather than a golfer, perhaps a rare bird in that way, and I undoubtedly miss some technical nuances because of that.

But my subject is more general here. This past weekend felt like a little bit of a turning point to me. With Tiger embarrassing himself, with Phil missing the cut in Phoenix also, with fresh face Brooks Koepka winning there and Rory winning against a strong field in Dubai, it seemed that more than ever, we are seeing a changing of the guard. I have been noticing for weeks that young golfers are making themselves felt in almost every tournament. Between the two important tournaments this week, there were 14 players who made the Top 20 whose birth-years are 1988 or later:

1988    Morten Orum Madsen, Danny Willett

1989    Rory McIlroy, Peter Uihlein (and up-and-comer Tony Finau finished T22 in Phoenix as well)

1990    Brooks Koepka

1991    Byeong-hun An

1992    Emiliano Grillo, Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Stal

1993    Daniel Berger, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas

1994    Jon Rahm

1996    Renato Paratore

This is happening a lot, almost every week in fact. I think it is very exciting. But it seems to be an under-reported story. Instead, the golf media focuses predictably on the ups and downs of Tiger and Phil.

Look, I get this. Those guys have been the bread-and-butter of the sport for a long while. As they fade, there will be (already are) adjustment pains. I can understand golf writers who have a problem letting go, even those who might feel their livelihoods are being threatened.

BUT - it is in those same writers' best interests to promote the new generation for all it is worth. Because these players will be around for a long time after Tiger and Phil have receded. How many articles and columns can be written about whether Tiger has another comeback in him? If he does, we will all see it, and it will be reported to death. But until such time, it is becoming boring to hear about, and the inches of writing wasted there might be better spent on the new generation.

Tiger's shocking travails were naturally the #1 story in golf these past few days. A couple of more tournaments of the same, that will continue to be the story. But after that - life moves on, don't you think? We can always shine the spotlight on Tiger or Phil again when they earn it, and in the meanwhile, there are dozens of fresh stories waiting to be told.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Welcome to TST.

This was a very informative post. I certainly will look forward to more posts from you.

I think age has a lot to do with it. 40+ year old golfers will always have a hard time competing with 20-30 somethings in any strenuous physical activity.

Unfortunately, the champions tour has a cutoff of 50 years. So, there might be a gap in a players playing career.

It would be interesting to see what kind of waiting time gap there is between the end of the PGA Tour and the start of the Champions Tour of all the players. Other than Miguel Angel Jimenez, of course.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Welcome to TST.

This was a very informative post. I certainly will look forward to more posts from you.

I think age has a lot to do with it. 40+ year old golfers will always have a hard time competing with 20-30 somethings in any strenuous physical activity.

Unfortunately, the champions tour has a cutoff of 50 years. So, there might be a gap in a players playing career.

It would be interesting to see what kind of waiting time gap there is between the end of the PGA Tour and the start of the Champions Tour of all the players. Other than Miguel Angel Jimenez, of course.

Absolutely true. On the one hand, I think that because of better conditioning (not that that applies to Jimenez!), there will perhaps be more noteworthy victories by post-40s and post-50s than before; on the other hand, there are just TOO MANY hungry young golfers who are superb athletes.

In most sports, writers would not want to spend too much time talking about the "old guard," because that might get them pegged as olf fogies themselves. But golf is an exception, perhaps because the fan base for professional golf skews much older than other sports. Nonetheless, I would so much rather read stories about the 14 golfers I listed above than another story about Tiger or Phil (and I adore Phil). Rory and, lately, Jordan Spieth get a lot of press; Patrick Reed, too, for somewhat different reasons. But many other young golfers are lucky to get noticed EVEN WHEN THEY WIN. You look at Golf.com's weekly roundtable "Tour Confidential," and many's the time that week's winners have been barely mentioned, or even not at all, while the panel launches into yet another round of speculation on Tiger's swing changes, chances in the next major, etc.

That brings me to another problem, common to all sports coverage since the advent of ESPN 35 years ago, which is that SO MUCH of the coverage is actually speculation (because there is so much time to fill). In golf, I'd say there is about 20% reporting on what happened, 10% or less analysis of what happened, and 70% or more speculation about what WILL happen (and those predictions are NEVER re-visited when the events actually occur, lest some writer be made to look bad). Ah well, it's the nature of "news" today, and I suppose there is no help for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Note: This thread is 3342 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-15%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope.
  • Posts

    • Hello, I've been playing a Teardrop td17 F.C. putter for many years and love it. It still putts and feels as good or  better than any of the new putters I've tried and it's in excellent condition except the face has dings in it ever since I bought it used that kind of bother me. I was just wondering if it's possible to have some really shallow horizontal grooves milled into the face on a "roll face" putter. I think I would rather spend some money on it instead of trying to get used to a new putter.  Thanks
    • I agree with @klineka & @DaveP043 above.  When a new member first joins the club they cold be told that they are not eligible for tournaments until they have an established HCP.  As you said, it only takes a few rounds.  If they do not to post HCP that was their choice and choices have consequences.  If playing in the tournament is important to them then they should step up and establish an HCP.  Maybe they miss the 1st tournament, is that a real big deal?  And if it is a "Big Deal" to them then they had the opportunity to establish the HCP. As for not knowing how to report for HCP I assume your club has a pro and they should be able to assist in getting the scores reported and I suspect out of state courses may also have staff that can assist if asked.
    • Wordle 1,013 2/6 🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Thought I was gonna be a big shot today...  🙂    Nice Job!
    • Cool here's my tweak, "If a player’s ball lies in the general area and there is interference from exposed tree roots or exposed rocks that are in the fairway or 1 club length from the fairway the tree roots and exposed rocks are treated as ground under repair. The player may take free relief under Rule 16.1b.[But relief is not allowed if the tree roots only interfere with the player’s stance.]
    • I would never do the extended warranty on the $50 slow cooker.  I also routinely reject the extended service plans on those toys we buy for the grand-kids.  I do consider them on higher cost items and will be more likely to get one if the product has a lot of "Electronic Tech" that is often the problem longer-term.  I also consider my intended length of ownership & usage.  If my thought is it would get replaced in 2-3 years then why bother but if I hope to use it for 10 years then more likely to get the extension. I did buy out a lease about a year ago.  Just prior to the lease end date the tablet locked up and would not function.  I got it repaired under the initial warranty and would not have bought it out if they had not been able to fix it since IMO once electronic issues start in a car they can be hard to track down & fix.  They did fix it but when I bought out the lease I paid up for the extended warranty the would cover electronic failures because my intent is to keep that car for another 8-10 years and I just do not trust the electronics to last.  Last week the touch screen went black and was unresponsive.  It reset on the 2nd time I restarted the car but that is exactly how the last malfunction started.  I fully expect to have a claim on that on repair under the extended warranty.  I do not recall the exact cost to fix last time since I did not pay it but I think it was @ $700-$800 and I suspect that will be higher next time.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...