Tiger's ball at the Masters

[mgolfer]

(Didn't know if it should be defined as tour talk or general talk so I put it in here)

Did anyone notice how the commentators pointed out that tiger is using a higher spinning ball than normal which sacrifices a bit of distance for more spin. I noticed that many of his shots are getting very near the hole and then spinning back about 10-20 feet eliminating many birdie chances.

Does anyone else think that it was a bad idea to use the softer ball, especially with the wet weather earlier in the tournament?

mgolfer

[hawkeye]

This was said on BBC as well - It's easy to say after you see him spinning it off a green but he knew what he was doing. It's Tiger after all.

[nykfan4life]

Tiger has a special version of the Nike One Platinum. It is basically the same ball, exept with a softer cover which spins way more, and is way more less durable.


I don't know why you would ever want that, though. I would think the best thing, accuracy wise, would to be able to get the ball to just stop.

[ganjagolfer]

as much as tiger can outsmart a golf course, sometimes he overthinks, ball or something, he thunked this masters away

[BASHERBAKER69]

seriously, it just wasnt his week and did not have his scoring boots on-end of!

[AmenCorner]

Tiger didn't do anything other than not sink enough putts in my opinion. He missed short putts on 13 and 16 that have nothing to do with the kind of ball he plays.

[iacas]

Did anyone notice how the commentators pointed out that tiger is using a higher spinning ball than normal which sacrifices a bit of distance for more spin. I noticed that many of his shots are getting very near the hole and then spinning back about 10-20 feet eliminating many birdie chances.

That's his fault, though. Normally he is very good about playing the dead hands, low-spin shot when he has to. This week he didn't judge it very well and a few times he zipped the ball back more than necessary. Today at 13, for example.

Tiger likes the control the extra spin gives him in working shots and also on little short pitches and chips.

Does anyone else think that it was a bad idea to use the softer ball, especially with the wet weather earlier in the tournament?

No. Tiger knows what he's doing. It would have been a worse idea to switch balls just before The Masters. He's won three out of five times on the PGA Tour this year. I think he's doing okay with the ball he's got...

I don't know why you would ever want that, though. I would think the best thing, accuracy wise, would to be able to get the ball to just stop.

And he can normally do that. This week, he didn't a few times when he probably should have. Seriously... he sees the ball he has as advantageous, not harmful.

Tiger didn't do anything other than not sink enough putts in my opinion. He missed short putts on 13 and 16 that have nothing to do with the kind of ball he plays.

Exactly.

[phil.smith]

The ball spin put the putt under the hole rather than the slippery downhill putts that he may well have had. Tiger just missed 4 - 5 putts inside 6 feet that normally you'd put your house on. Immelman stood up under pressure - good on him. How many second places in majors is that now for Tiger? Is he chasing Jack's 19 or so there too? Bring on the US Open and Torrey Pines.

[Shindig]

I don't think Tiger's ball is at fault. I do wonder about his putter, though. Not because of the misses, but because the back of the putter says Titleist and the grip says Ping. When the grip and the head disagree...

The ball spin put the putt under the hole rather than the slippery downhill putts that he may well have had. Tiger just missed 4 - 5 putts inside 6 feet that normally you'd put your house on. Immelman stood up under pressure - good on him. How many second places in majors is that now for Tiger? Is he chasing Jack's 19 or so there too?

Assuming Wikipedia's page for Tiger is right, he has 5 second place finishes thus far: 2002 PGA Championship, 2005 & 2007 US Opens, and 2007 & 2008 Masters. Normally, five second-place finishes in majors alone would be awesome, but then you have to realize he has 18 top-two finishes in majors

[cambridge1807]

I read that Tiger prefers to have a high spinning ball and will control the spin himself. Either clubbing up or whatnot, he just wants the ball to be able to spin as much as he needs it to.

[michaeljames92]

i reckon too much backspin(stops, then spins back 3m) is bad imho. i like to get it to stop after a metre or so , but ive witnessed many shots including at the masters where players have spun back the ball off the green into the water(stuart appleby's final round blow up). thats just what i think. sorry if you don't care

[tm22721]

One of the commentators said that Tiger was slightly opening the clubface to get 500 RPM more backspin. So I don't think the new ball was providing too much spin.

[AmenCorner]

The ball spin put the putt under the hole rather than the slippery downhill putts that he may well have had. Tiger just missed 4 - 5 putts inside 6 feet that normally you'd put your house on. Immelman stood up under pressure - good on him. .

Yeah man. For every ball that weekend that he might have overspun, I'm sure there was an example of one where the extra spin came in handy.

Truth is, there is no perfect ball. If the guys could switch balls for every shot, they'd be hitting Pinnacles off of the tee and switching to balata's from there. Reading about these guys, amazes me how in tune they are with their games.

[iacas]

I don't think Tiger's ball is at fault. I do wonder about his putter, though. Not because of the misses, but because the back of the putter says Titleist and the grip says Ping. When the grip and the head disagree...

Well, he has won 13 majors that way, so... what DOES it say?

i reckon too much backspin(stops, then spins back 3m) is bad imho. i like to get it to stop after a metre or so , but ive witnessed many shots including at the masters where players have spun back the ball off the green into the water(stuart appleby's final round blow up). thats just what i think. sorry if you don't care

There are just as many times when "too little" backspin is "bad" too. That's the funny thing about saying "too" something - obviously it's bad, it's "too" something (too little, too much).

Tiger used the spin several times when a lower-spinning ball would have put him in trouble. That hook on 15 might have been impossible with a lower-spinning ball, for example.

[AmenCorner]

I saw tons of shots this weekend where guys were able to get pitch shots super close b/c of the spin they were able to produce on the ball. Given all the shelf's on those greens, that's a better option for those guys many times rather than to try a bump and run type shot. On a flatter British Open style greens they may have gone a different route.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I think the ball tiger uses spins more than any ball thats currently being used on tour, at the momment. Im sure a player as skilled as tiger can control the rate of spin at will. Its just a matter of execution for a player like him, which apparently he didnt do enough of at the masters.

[dbornack]

Tiger has a special version of the Nike One Platinum. It is basically the same ball, exept with a softer cover which spins way more, and is way more less durable.

Actually, he was just quoted in a recent, major article as stating that this is the first year he has used a ball off the shelf.

I don't remember where it was, because I read so much golf news, and periodicals..

[iacas]

Actually, he was just quoted in a recent, major article as stating that this is the first year he has used a ball off the shelf.

And I just read how he still uses a customized one because nobody else wants a ball that spins as much as he does. So…

Nike would like you to think you're playing the same ball Tiger does. You're not.