Big Break X: Michigan

[Golfgal]

I have to agree with the prior posters that I just don't see much hope for many (any?) of these players making a cut at an LPGA/PGA event.

Well, I remember Kim Welch shanking a 5 iron on BB K and then standing over a 2 foot putt and saying she felt like a 2 year old over the ball. And low and behold...she makes it into the LPGA - no exemption required. There were many who criticized her back then too. (I could probably find the posts if you want to read them again :))

So I'm going to give these very nervous (or should I say scared s....less) folks a chance. Bernie and Haymes didn't do much in episode 1, but their performance on that first challenge this week was "impressive, awesome, inspiring, fun to watch, phenomenal..." (I took notes ;)). So you just never know. I'm going to wait to pass judgement - it's too up and down right now. Catch me after episode 6.

[Harry Longshanks]

Well, I remember Kim Welch shanking a 5 iron on BB K and then standing over a 2 foot putt and saying she felt like a 2 year old over the ball. And low and behold...she makes it into the LPGA - no exemption required. There were many who criticized her back then too. (I could probably find the posts if you want to read them again :))

As usual, GolfGal has done a much better job of saying what I was trying to say.

[Robo]

The Big Breaks are either love it or hate it but both camps watch. I'm so lame I'd watch the Big Break vs Highway 18 vs School of Golf vs Celebrity challenge when/if they ever have one! Can't they come up with something for hackers? How about Golf Boot Camp where Instructors compete to see who can cut the most strokes off of their students round in 2 weeks?

[rudygu]

For some reason I keep getting the LongDrivers and the Coaches mixed up. Maybe it's because I've written them off as contenders.

Me too. The only way I could keep it straight in the last episode was to remember that the long drivers were wearing the headache-inducing matching green outfits.

Can't they come up with something for hackers?

At the rate the quality of the golf is spiraling downward, just wait for Big Break 15: Executive Course Showdown

How about Golf Boot Camp where Instructors compete to see who can cut the most strokes off of their students round in 2 weeks?

That actually sounds really good to me. I'd definitely watch it. Especially if they could get some of the more famous instructors to compete. My money would be on Hank Haney (yep, I've totally bought into the 30 minute long weekly commercials for his junior golf school).

[jambalaya]

Sherri has to be horrified so far. Michael is a total head case. He needs to get his head out of his rear end. Otis calmed down a lot from the first show. I didn't have much hope for their team after his performance in week one. As usual, I am pulling for all the hotties. Go Rachel, Camila and Amber.

[Jeremy517]

The thing that got to me was when Bernie said that she quit playing competitive golf a few years ago. Huh? Then why are you on the show trying to win an exemption into an LPGA event? Then on top of that, the group with the non-competitive golfer wiped the floors with everyone else. It is obviously just one event, but it still doesn't say much for everyone else.

I am guessing that the talent pool that Big Break had to choose from was much shallower for this edition, since they had to find people that had an existing relationship of some sort with another golfer. If the #11 Duramed finisher, for example, wasn't dating/related to/etc another golfer, she wouldn't be able to be on the show no matter what, since there would be no one with whom she could partner. The producers were limited by the group nature of the show.

I also don't think the comparisons to Kim Welch are valid. It was obvious that she had talent, even when she was having her mental issues.

[Awsi Dooger]

Need a little foreplay Awsi?

Well, Courtney Erdman and Christina Lecuyer in the pool wasn't a bad substitute. BTW, substitute wasn't the first word I summoned, but it will do for here.

I'm reading this thread front to back for the first time. After I missed the first episode I didn't want to be influenced by other opinions before I saw it.

[Awsi Dooger]

As usual, I am pulling for all the hotties. Go Rachel, Camila and Amber.

Excellent handicapping. That's my trio also. In fact, at this point I'd hate to be quizzed on the other names. I could identify Haymes and Otis and Hugo. That might be it. Oh yeah, Andrea. I love her irritated expressions.

Here's a good picture of Camila from her Duramed bio. I didn't realize she played three events in late summer, after graduating from South Carolina and finishing Big Break in July. Not terrible, two missed cuts but a T46 in the regular season finale at Albany, including a 70 in the second round. She's playing in the Duramed qualifying school in a few weeks: http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/Pl...oriCamila.html Per the Kim Welch comparisons, I need to point out that Andrea had a college highlight that was superior to Kim's best high profile finish in college. While at Florida, Andrea finished second in the 2003 NCAA championships, losing a playoff to USC's Mikaela Parmlid. Kim was 5th in that tournament, 2 shots back. I'm still miffed the elimination challenge carried over to next week. But in evaluating the basic math, this version of Big Break has plenty of opportunity to screw around and delay things, since only 6 couples need to be eliminated before the finals. Normally it would be 10 eliminated, in an individual group of 12. We'll see more episodes without an elimination, assuming it's the standard 11 or 12 weeks. My question: Do they take up the entire episode on Tuesday with the elimination? That would seem like over kill, particularly since it sticks 5 couples on the sidelines and more or less irrelevant. But if they eliminate a couple in the middle of an episode then suddenly the entire format is awkward and askew, asking us to carry focus from one week to the next without a logical conclusion at the end of the program. Also, has anyone checked out TGC videos of Big Break Michigan on their website? Lame. The confessionals are disjointed brief segments, patched together as a group, instead of several minutes each of rambling and accusatory like Ka'anapali. This time the choking is courtesy of the producers, or whoever is in charge of the website. The Michigan State couple is writing a blog account every week, and this week Andrea and her partner joined them. But so far it's too fluffy, unlike Lori who was dishing out nicknames and critiques at the outset in her blog.

[jmoc]

At the rate the quality of the golf is spiraling downward, just wait for Big Break 15: Executive Course Showdown.

They could go around the country and hold auditions (like Am Idol), you could have Andrew Magee, Kenny Mayne and maybe Stina Sternberg at a table to the side and have them review the hopeful's performance. I bet you could get some real characters.... jmoc

[Harry Longshanks]

Also, has anyone checked out TGC videos of Big Break Michigan on their website? Lame. The confessionals are disjointed brief segments, patched together as a group, instead of several minutes each of rambling and accusatory like Ka'anapali. This time the choking is courtesy of the producers, or whoever is in charge of the website.

But the swing videos are better this season. One driver (facing and D-T-L) video, and one video of each swing and putt on a single hole.

I haven't looked at the confessionals yet. I guess with Gayle's interviews, they seemed a little superfluous.

[worst_shot_ever]

As a general rule I can't stand TGC's website. Maybe I'm some sort of internets idgit, but I have a hard time navigating the site and finding stuff. HW18's page was particularly bad -- it seemed like half of the promised content was never updated until long after the episode to which it related. (And have you read the forums over there? Eesh.) That said, I've not really looked at BB-X's page yet.

[Harry Longshanks]

As a general rule I can't stand TGC's website. Maybe I'm some sort of internets idgit, but I have a hard time navigating the site and finding stuff. HW18's page was particularly bad -- it seemed like half of the promised content was never updated until long after the episode to which it related. (And have you read the forums over there? Eesh.) That said, I've not really looked at BB-X's page yet.

You're not an interweb idgit. TGC site is painful.

Not as bad as the Nike Golf site though. That one has got to be the worst in the business. Too much flash, hard to navigate, lots of pretty pictures but very little actual substance, doesn't work well with Firefox . . .

[Awsi Dooger]

As a general rule I can't stand TGC's website. Maybe I'm some sort of internets idgit, but I have a hard time navigating the site and finding stuff. HW18's page was particularly bad -- it seemed like half of the promised content was never updated until long after the episode to which it related. (And have you read the forums over there? Eesh.) That said, I've not really looked at BB-X's page yet.

I slowly figured it out during Big Break Ka'anapali. My gripe, other than the missing blatantly blunt Big Break confessionals a la Christina Lecuyer, is I can't comment on their discussion board. I have no idea why not. I register but it rejects me with an error message every time when I try to log-in, regardless of which browser I use. I can comment on the videos, and have many times, but not on the discussion board. Plenty of morons on that board, and I can see why a Big Breaker is advised to stay away, but a handful seem reasonable.

BTW, was that a Blingo that Morgan Pressel had clipped to her hat, in the shape of an "M"? It was certainly classy looking and Blingo-like, if there is such a thing. I hope Charlotte has the market all to herself. Morgan made an awesome putt on the final hole to win that Kapalua event. But gad, Kim Welch needs to take a break and regroup. Another weak tourney, 77-79-77. Her streak of consecutive par 5s without a birdie or better is now 19.

[Harry Longshanks]

I can't comment on their discussion board. I have no idea why not.

You are right Awsi, a LOT of morons on that board. The mentality there just baffles me. I can't even look at it any more without running across something that makes my blood boil.

But gad, Kim Welch needs to take a break and regroup. Another weak tourney, 77-79-77. Her streak of consecutive par 5s without a birdie or better is now 19.

I noticed the same thing. I wonder if motivation is an issue considering she just got her LPGA card?

Vicky Hurst won again. No surprise there. Bri Vega (BB6 and BB7) had a nice finish at T13. That should boost her confidence going into the final stage of Q-School. Sarah Lynn Sargent (nee Johnston) (BB6) also had a great tourney and finished T4. Andrea VanderLende (BBX) finished T23, as did Lori Astedes (BB9). Ashley Prange (BB5) finished at T45, and Kristina Tucker (BB5) finished at T60.

[worst_shot_ever]

IBTW, was that a Blingo that Morgan Pressel had clipped to her hat, in the shape of an "M"? It was certainly classy looking and Blingo-like, if there is such a thing. I hope Charlotte has the market all to herself.

I had the very same thought. Actually, for a brief moment I thought maybe she was sponsored by Mars Candy's M&Ms;, and I thought, that's pretty clever to sell a sponsor space on the ball marker; then I immediately slapped my forehead and said, duh, her first name is Morgan; then they did a close up and I caught the sparkle. That said, the sparkly things appeared to be much smaller than those Charlotte traditionally uses. But who knows -- it would be cool. Given her win, maybe they'll be replaced with diamonds.

Since you mentioned Morgan P., did anyone else think she looked a lot like Rebecca De Mornay (circa 1985 or so) at the Kapalua? Concerning the next episiode of BB, (before Erik chastises us for being off-topic), the commercials seem to suggest there will be a trajectory challenge in which it appears everyone participates, as well as the 3-team elimination. I wonder how they will interlace the wall thing with the elimination?

[Q.Q.Quillume]

...BTW, was that a Blingo that Morgan Pressel had clipped to her hat, in the shape of an "M"? It was certainly classy looking and Blingo-like, if there is such a thing...

I obviously don't know.

That being said, Morgan's "M" ballmarker was plain and all of the Blingo on Charlotte's Blingo website is colorful and appears to be essentially similar designs and does not appear to have alphanumeric characters. Well, except maybe an 0. But, as I said, I obviously don't know. Changing subjects, I'm hoping somebody gets eliminated tonight for a change.

[FairwayMan]

I went to college with the Snedeker guy. I remember he was a very good college player but his swing looks jacked up these days.

[worst_shot_ever]

How can you not like Casey and Rachel? They've got the wholesome, mid-western thing written all over them. It's also apparent that they are among the better teams in terms of talent under pressure. And that lob was just incredible.

Poor Andrea. She never really had a chance to make anything happen or show her game. James has got to feel like At least he didn't lose his mind when he plonked the fried egg.

I must say I'm a bit dissapointed to see them go first. I don't think they were the worst team in terms of golf skill. And I thought Andrea had some funnies here and there. The one I recall right now was when she said "I've seen Mike hit some 'pretty interesting' shots, so hope is not lost" -- for some reason I thought that was comedy. James looked exhausted and defeated during the interviews, so I suspected it would be them. I just watched their exit interview, and James comes off fairly well in it. When Stina asks what his favorite shots were, he says "hers."

I'm beginning to think the problem with this cast is there's no one to hate.