Let's Toughen These Courses Up for the Pros

[mclaren4life]

6 minutes ago, klineka said:

Palmer had that chance though, he didn't execute and Rahm did. Had Palmer made that putt on 16 and not bogeyed 17 and Rahm not gotten up and down on either 17 or 18 they would have been tied.

Everyone probably has slightly different things they look at, but I look at performance/results in tournaments against similar fields and then a number of strokes gained statistics to compare players (when comparing players right now, it changes slightly when comparing them over their careers)

I agree with having to use different metrics when judging current vs career because there are current players that are playing well while better career golfers are not. Yes they could have been tied and yes Palmer had a chance as did other golfers when the round started. My statement was more in general than for this specific tourney. 

[Pete F]

What I find really boring is showing only the great shots. The Masters is usually much better since you can watch all the shots on Amen corner, etc.

If you watch the old Wonderful World of Golf on Youtube you can see some great golf and pro's in big trouble

 

[No Mulligans]

I happen to live close to Torrey Pines which is a great bargain for those of us with a city card.  I play the North course with the Monday to Thursday senior rate of $31.

Torrey's pretty reasonable for us mid handicappers.  But for the pros, it's really tough.

Most ot the year it's a really fun course to play and the rough is cut down.  But, from mid October to mid February they have narrow fairways and the rough is high.  During that time they have a local rule that you can only look for your ball in the rough for 1 minute and then it's a free drop in the rough where you think the ball would be.  About half the time I can't find my ball.  Then for me it's a hack-it-out with a sand wedge.  I'd rather all that rough would just be water so I could just take a penalty and drop in the fairway.  It's really not very much fun, at least not for me and most people I know.  Typically, we play it once in October and then say, "not playing here again until they cut down the rough".  I wish they wouldn't take out 4 months of the year with tournament height rough.  Not sure why they do that.

The pros make it look relatively easy though.  But the course setup is tough.

The course rating from the green tees (3rd from the back) of 71.2/122 seems about right to me given the rough is cut shorter.  When the rough is up, for me it plays at least 10 strokes harder.  I'm guessing they rate the course based on the rough being cut shorter.

Edited July 21, 2020 by No Mulligans