The Masters

[neudi]

Does anyone think that lengthening the course at Augusta is helping to make it tougher?

In my opinion I believe that lengthening the course only helps those longer hitters and it hurts everyone else. I believe that if you are going to make a course tougher put more trees in or make the fairways skinnier. I know that Tim Clark finished second and he only hits his driver about 280, but at this pace the longer hitters are almost being rewarded by the course changes. These are my thoughts, just wondering what you guys think.

[iacas]

  neudi said:

Does anyone think that lengthening the course at Augusta is helping to make it tougher?

I think the proof was in the pimento. The winning score was -7.

[muskegman]

Yep, I agree. This is where Erik's comments about "charge proofing" the Masters really shows up. Look no further than last weekend's Verison Heritage. Jim Furyk and Aaron Baddely were slugging it out on a shorter course. The top of the leaderboard reflected all kinds of players. Els, Mayfair, and Kelly were up there as was short hitting Corey Pavin.

I don't believe lengthening is generally the answer. Being able to hit the ball a long way should be an advantage as it is in say, baseball. But if a course isn't too long the accuracy guys have got a legitimate shot too. Sometimes they have a better chance because the long-ballers hit it more offline.

[neudi]

  iacas said:

I think the proof was in the pimento. The winning score was -7.

I understand where you are coming from but I would almost rather see high scores with more people on top of the leaderboard than a course where it is almost impossible to shoot under par.