Tees they play on Nationwide Tour?

[OCdude12]

Been keeping an eye on the Nationwide event this week to see how Smoltz plays, was really hoping he'd do well this week to shut up the talking heads about the wasted sponsors exemption he took.  Isn't that why they pay to be a sponsor though, so they can give it to whoever they want, and especially for someone that might generate more interest in that event?  Seems like a great choice!

But anyways, I just wanted to check out to see how hard the course was they're playing, so I looked up the rating/slope and it is a ridiculous 77.3/143 and in the neighborhood of 7,700 yards from the Championship tees!  Does anyone know, are these the tees they are playing from?  So the 66 Goggin fired yesterday is a -11. something differential?  That is insane!  But I guess these guys are Tour players so I can't be too shocked I guess.

As much as a lot of us say how we could become pro if we just had the time and money, do we really think on a course with a rating of 77.3, where we'd be ecstatic to break 80 as a near scratch golfer, it would still be possible to shoot the scores these guys are?

[The Recreational Golfer]

Smoltz shot 84-87 and finished 27 (that's not a typo) strokes behind the cut line.

Good grief.

[shades9323]

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

Smoltz shot 84-87 and finished 27 (that's not a typo) strokes behind the cut line.

Good grief.

There is nowhere to go but up from dead last!

[walk18]

I wonder where he gave up so many strokes. If the course length was a problem, it seems he could have layed up on the long par 4's and at least posted better scores than he did. Who knows, I guess it was just tough all around for him.

[Sing Golfer]

It was not an issue of length or anything else specific. It was simply being not even close to good enough.

The original poster must be shattered that the 'talking heads' were right on this issue yet again.

Go and find the best player at your club and they would need 4-6 shots a round to have a chance against PGA / Nationwide players - on your home course.  Add in tournament conditions and they willl need more again.

There are a bunch of threads here discussing what handicap you need to consider being a pro. +3 seems to be the consensus for a starting point.

Wasted sponsors excemption I am afraid.

[B of H]

One of the courses I play regularly is 76.2/150 (sycamore ridge) and the course i'm playing today is 75.0/151 (hallbrook).  I've shot 75 to 77 many times on sycamore ridge and a few mid-70's on hallbrook but plenty of 80 to 83's as well.  In extreme wind they become absolutely brutal and anything in the low to mid 80's is pretty damn strong (25+mph), the best thing about sycamore though is it's amazingly affordable and usually in very good condition.  If you are hitting the ball fairly well then it's not nearly as difficult but if you start making poor swings then you can make a big number really fast where on most other 'challenging' courses' a slight mistake in club selection or a slight pull might cause a bogey or double at worst.  At either of these the same miss could mean double or triple or quad and this goes for at least 12 holes if not 15 of them.  They test every shot possible, you have to really control your trajectory/ distance control into the greens play smart, and of course that is after you put it in play off the tee...which is no easy task either.

fwiw i've played many rounds with a friend who is a former tour player (briefly following college...hooter/nationwide) at sycamore and he plays to about a +3 and change.  He shot a 71 (-1) there one time and a 78 the next day.  I think the 71 trended out as +6 or more for instance (this was 5 years ago so I may be 'misremembering')

so to answer your question: just because the course rating is high doesn't mean you can't score well there.  It just means that if you don't play well your score will balloon, at least that is how it's been for me.  The length of courses is all relative to the conditions and I would think that if they play it at a full 7700 yards then there must be some big elevation drops off tee boxes and firm conditions but that is just a wild guess.  The zoysia fairways around here don't get much roll out so a 7k yard course plays pretty long where as a course that has bent or rye or tight bermuda even would probably have to be 7200 or more to play similar.

[LankyLefty]

Originally Posted by Sing Golfer

... Wasted sponsors excemption I am afraid.

Wasted by who? The sponsor wanted to generate some buzz and get their name out. That was accomplished. Smoltz wanted see how he stacked up against some Pros, accomplished again. Is it a better story if he posts scores at least somewhere near the cut line? Of course it is but from both sponsor and player point of views I see this as a success. I do however think this sort of thing should be outlawed in general. I think it would be cool to see how some of the better celebrity golfers stack up against some pros but not on a professional tour. A pro tour should avoid constant sideshows, although the occasional one can be fun, celebrities have plenty of golf tourneys of their own.

[OCdude12]

Originally Posted by LankyLefty

Wasted by who? The sponsor wanted to generate some buzz and get their name out. That was accomplished. Smoltz wanted see how he stacked up against some Pros, accomplished again. Is it a better story if he posts scores at least somewhere near the cut line? Of course it is but from both sponsor and player point of views I see this as a success. I do however think this sort of thing should be outlawed in general. I think it would be cool to see how some of the better celebrity golfers stack up against some pros but not on a professional tour. A pro tour should avoid constant sideshows, although the occasional one can be fun, celebrities have plenty of golf tourneys of their own.

Well said Lanky!  My original point about the "talking heads" was that its their job to argue current hot topics, sometimes play devils advocate even if they don't necessarily want to, but that I didn't agree with the guys saying its a waste of a spot.  How can anyone say the sponsor was in the wrong when they are the one's putting up the dollars to make the tournament happen?  Lanky hit the nail on the head, their decision did create buzz and I think the point we are at with the interest level of golf being pretty low compared to recent years, that was a great decision to try and get people that may not normally watch golf to pay attention.

I think after Jerry Rice's last 2 years at the Fresh Express and Smoltz' performance here, we can take from it that any normal Joe you think has the game cannot just show up to a minor league tour and INSTANTLY prove themselves.  I'm not opposed to sponsors opening the doors to high level athletes from other sports though if their handicaps can show they are capable of shooting low scores, its only 1 spot for the tournament.  If you say that spot should go to a more deserving player that would actually have a shot at winning, how is that player so deserving if they haven't even earned their way in the normal way?  Who is to really say Smoltz didn't have just as much a chance as the guy it would have gone to?  What would people be saying if he did make the cut?  We don't know, so we can't fault the sponsor at all.  I think its a great idea for a MINOR league tour, not the PGA tour of course.  That's golf baby!