Big Break - Ireland

[FLOG4]

A story that relates to Links Golf and the conditions in Ireland......First trip I made to across the pond was to Scotland and aptly our first round was Prestwick.  The first 14 British Opens were contested here. It is a grand course. The day was a tad crazy as there was a hurricane that crossed the Atlantic and was crossing Scotland. 40mph all day with gusts to ??? We got to the course and wanted to play asap but we were not off for 2 hours.  The pro let us tee off on 15 which is right next to clubhouse and told us you can't go off 1 till 3pm as that is the rules with the membership for visitors this day.  No Problem...Off we went. The 15th is called Narrows. 350 par 4 but very tight. Green a tad elevated and exposed.  We get to the green and I have a 25 ft putt that obviously breaks 2 ft right to left.  caddie advises me that the putt goes stret.  I say to him I think it breaks 2 ft r to l.....He says " No Laddie da wend wil keep da ball stret" Not feeling confident in his read I play it 1/2 between us. A ft out....It went staight....I trusted his read the rest of the way. Balls run out further than you can imagine downwind and hit a wall into. And are effected sideways depending on direction of wind....You need to widen your stance and choke down on the putter too for stability.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by slabm7

I am actually quite happy that Andy lost. I was getting sick of his cocky attitude. He made some great shots throughout the show but you can't miss 3 footers and expect to make a living playing golf. I am happy with the final 3 and have no problem with any of them winning. I feel all are competent players the respect the game and their opponents. But I am predicting Julien to win. He seems to be the best putter and a good scrambler under pressure. He made two great up and downs under pressure this episode to keep himself alive.

Julien is just as cocky as anybody that was on the show.

I often times find that the word "cocky" is just a description of somebody we don't like who is good at something.

Brandon

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I think the season was good but had a few things working agaisnt it;

Links golf isn't as popular in the U.S. so many golfers don't relate to it.  I have never played a links course so it's hard to appreciate what they're up against.

The weather looks cold, windy and rainy not great weather to show off the ladies non-golf attributes

No real drama, there have been some minor incidents but nothing like past seasons especially after Bennet left the show due to illness.

The challenges all seem to be the same, immunity challenge is hit the ball from a few designated areas, and elimination challenge is head to head on two holes.  This appears to be the season for all the people that don't like the gimmick challenges.  Every week seemed to be pretty much the same.

i couldnt agree more. they try very hard to showcase the conditions and if you actually eye it up, you can see the difficulty. the wind blowing the ball 15 yards right of the pin, and mostlikely 30 yards right of where somebody is originally aimed. trees falling over?

i have been golfing for a short time, but theres a reason i like this show more than the others.

i like the underdog in a college basketball game (butler vs duke 2010), i like the traditional golf. at age 59 tom watson made a run at the open championship. that was the tournament that got me hooked. i like tom watson for his classy respectful mannerism. and i like the idea of being able to play at the home of golf, in the rain and wind, at St. Andrews.

Mark got it right, when he said, "This is pure golf, its definitely something you have to do before you kick the bucket a such".

i guess im different from most people. but i think when you can go onto a course with wide fairways and double greens and still struggle cause of the wind? thats awesome!

Originally Posted by Doctorfro

+1.  He can't seem to pull off the punch shots under pressure....or maybe he can't do it at all.  He got away with his last full swing the other night with a great up and down.  But I kept thinking, "Just pick a club and make a regular swing!"

yea thats exactly when i noticed. andy and julian hit on the same hole. andy hit with the wind and onto the green. julian i think tried to hold it up against the wind and pulled it left and to the back of the green. i hope mark can win this. i like that classic irish fight and grind he has in him.

[JetFan1983]

Just in case you haven't seen it yet, I didn't want my response to spoil it since the episode just concluded.

Sad to see Mallory go.

But I'm not surprised over the final two: The Nationwide guy vs. the Irish professional. Pretty obvious final.

Should be a great one though. Looking forward to it.

[mrchi]

I've seen it......NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

Just in case you haven't seen it yet, I didn't want my response to spoil it since the episode just concluded.

[Doctorfro]

Should be a good finale.  I'm not pulling for either.  I'm pulling for good golf.

[boogielicious]

There go the ratings.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by Doctorfro

Should be a good finale.  I'm not pulling for either.  I'm pulling for good golf.

Same here. Both are deserving. Both are strong players. I'm hoping for a strong finale with lots of clutch shots.

Also, it was pretty cool how Mark had to use a 9-iron from about 104 yards last night and came up well short of the green. And he's an experienced links player. Adjusting to the conditions, etc. is clearly key -- as opposed to say the average amateur who sees the distance marker and just grabs that stock club and not thinking about much else. I learned a good lesson there.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

There go the ratings.

No fooling ... thats the first thing I thought.    Imagine I'm not the only one who likes to see Mallory in those cold gear (tight) tops.     She is a good player & hopefully, she'll be able to continue her quest to make it on the LPGA.   Sara Brown has struggled in her rookie year & not broken through (unfortunately, cute only gets you so far).    Maybe Mallory will be the first Big Break lady player to gain some degree of success on the LPGA tour  ...

[handlez42]

wont lie..looks wise mallory is finee...but she was annoying me with her arrogance. shes gonna do great..

WHO CALLED IT!!! I DID!! im sure somebody else felt the same way though haha

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by inthehole

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

There go the ratings.

No fooling ... thats the first thing I thought.    Imagine I'm not the only one who likes to see Mallory in those cold gear (tight) tops.     She is a good player & hopefully, she'll be able to continue her quest to make it on the LPGA.   Sara Brown has struggled in her rookie year & not broken through (unfortunately, cute only gets you so far).    Maybe Mallory will be the first Big Break lady player to gain some degree of success on the LPGA tour  ...

A couple have. Ryann O'Toole made the Solheim cup this year. And Kristy McPherson has been getting it done for the past five seasons, finishing T2 at the Kraft Nabisco in 2009.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by inthehole

No fooling ... thats the first thing I thought.    Imagine I'm not the only one who likes to see Mallory in those cold gear (tight) tops.     She is a good player & hopefully, she'll be able to continue her quest to make it on the LPGA.   Sara Brown has struggled in her rookie year & not broken through (unfortunately, cute only gets you so far).    Maybe Mallory will be the first Big Break lady player to gain some degree of success on the LPGA tour  ...

well the ratings wont hurt with one show left haha but i dont think it would make that big of a deal....im even more interested because two players we didnt initially expect to win knocked off the two toughest competitors is the show in andy and mallory...if your not interested then you dont love golf (note thats directed at all golfers watching not just you inthehole .

lets not forget nicole. shes crazy tough but has some wisdom to earn and learn. she didnt get the fact that SHE lost her big break. she had the power to change it...

if she doesnt humble up she wont do much  but on the flip side, she was the more intimidating player until she left...shes on the lpga futures tour....she can crush the ball! she was hitting it as long as all the guys on this show....most might not think thats impressive but you have to look at mens golf in a whole. most players can hit 300-320+ yards (K club conditions may not allow) but unless you have it all tee-->green you cant make it big. she outhit andy in an immunity challenge early in the show..the epic Eagles at the par 5. she outhit andys drive by 25 or 30 yards...thats roughly equivalent in distance.

Anybody have any idea or thought as to who could win? i think julian has the "youthful" fire while mark has that "last chance" fighting mentality. he could pull it off on his WILL and HEART alone. but will his "age" hold up? and that show julian showed me he could play irish golf. maybe the conditions werent as hard as before. i think only thing to worry about with julian is off the tee..mark is a fairway finder off the tee....it should be a really good finale.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by handlez42

im even more interested because two players we didnt initially expect to win knocked off the two toughest competitors is the show in andy and mallory.

Hey, speak for yourself I wrote this on October 5th:

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

I'll go ahead and say the former Nationwide guy is going to take it down (I can't remember his name; the Canadian guy I believe?). Not really going on a limb with this call though

Originally Posted by handlez42

lets not forget nicole. shes crazy tough but has some wisdom to earn and learn. she didnt get the fact that SHE lost her big break. she had the power to change it...

if she doesnt humble up she wont do much  but on the flip side, she was the more intimidating player until she left...shes on the lpga futures tour....she can crush the ball! she was hitting it as long as all the guys on this show....most might not think thats impressive but you have to look at mens golf in a whole. most players can hit 300-320+ yards (K club conditions may not allow) but unless you have it all tee-->green you cant make it big. she outhit andy in an immunity challenge early in the show..the epic Eagles at the par 5. she outhit andys drive by 25 or 30 yards...thats roughly equivalent in distance.

The women play from different tee boxes than the men. Nicole's a long hitter, but she's not that long. I definitely agree though that's she's got game.

Originally Posted by handlez42

Anybody have any idea or thought as to who could win? i think julian has the "youthful" fire while mark has that "last chance" fighting mentality. he could pull it off on his WILL and HEART alone. but will his "age" hold up? and that show julian showed me he could play irish golf. maybe the conditions werent as hard as before. i think only thing to worry about with julian is off the tee..mark is a fairway finder off the tee....it should be a really good finale.

I honestly don't really know. I like both guys, so I'd be happy either way. I'll stick with my original Julian prediction, but I could see Mark winning it too. I think there's more pressure on Mark to win just because it would be so cool for him to win the Irish Big Break. There's a lot of pressure on both players though obviously, no question.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

Hey, speak for yourself  I wrote this on October 5th:

The women play from different tee boxes than the men. Nicole's a long hitter, but she's not that long. I definitely agree though that's she's got game.

I honestly don't really know. I like both guys, so I'd be happy either way. I'll stick with my original Julian prediction, but I could see Mark winning it too. I think there's more pressure on Mark to win just because it would be so cool for him to win the Irish Big Break. There's a lot of pressure on both players though obviously, no question.

i understand your quote on the different tee boxes...but with the men playing roughly 35-40 yards behind the women and then she hit roughly 20-30 yards past andy, that leaves only at most 20 yards difference and in this situation i dont think it was the case. might have been about 10-15 yards.

if i hit 300 yards off a tee...and a girl hits 300 yards off a womens tee 30 yards ahead..that means shes  gonna be 30 yards ahead of me on the fairway.

look at the mark vs. mallory matchup. he hit that drive and then she hit it that identical distance. (now idk what club he hit, i can only assume driver.) but she said she hit it as good as she could have where as he said he left a as little at the tee as he could...being modest... in this case it just means mark either isnt a big hitter and/or mallory in womens perspective might be about the same...just a "fairway finder".

the farther past a womans drive is past the mens drive...the more the distance comparisons match up....and it goes many different ways..if a guy hits the same distance as a woman off the tee (different t-boxes) then it could mean shes a big hitter...or that hes a short hitter...just an example.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by handlez42

i understand your quote on the different tee boxes...but with the men playing roughly 35-40 yards behind the women and then she hit roughly 20-30 yards past andy, that leaves only at most 20 yards difference and in this situation i dont think it was the case. might have been about 10-15 yards.

if i hit 300 yards off a tee...and a girl hits 300 yards off a womens tee 30 yards ahead..that means shes  gonna be 30 yards ahead of me on the fairway.

look at the mark vs. mallory matchup. he hit that drive and then she hit it that identical distance. (now idk what club he hit, i can only assume driver.) but she said she hit it as good as she could have where as he said he left a as little at the tee as he could...being modest... in this case it just means mark either isnt a big hitter and/or mallory in womens perspective might be about the same...just a "fairway finder".

the farther past a womans drive is past the mens drive...the more the distance comparisons match up....and it goes many different ways..if a guy hits the same distance as a woman off the tee (different t-boxes) then it could mean shes a big hitter...or that hes a short hitter...just an example.

Good point about Nicole. I can't really recall the distances, but i do remember her having a lot of power.

I feel like both Mallory and Mark are shorter, straighter hitters relative to their opponents, but again, I haven't been paying too much attention to their distances. I'm sure the cold, wet conditions are making all of them appear a lot shorter than they actually are as well.

[uttexas]

I've been really impressed with Mallory this season. Great full swing, good bunker play, good putter. It was her 120-90yd and short chips/pitches that let her down. The final should be really competitive and interesting. Mark has the "home field/weather" advantage, his putter is enfuego, and he's shown lots of courage and consistency. He did kind of choke in the bunker with a huge lead on the short game show. Julian has a lot of talent but seems to be prone to wild shots, questionable decisions, and odd bounces. I'd like to see Mark win

[newtogolf]

I thought Julian would be the last man standing from his team but didn't think Mark would make it.  While having Mallory in the finale would add some eye candy I think we're seeing a better match up overall with Mark and Julian.  Maybe it's just my lack of links experience, but it seems like having the elements having such an impact on the ball made this season less about overall golf skill and more about one's ability to play in poor weather.  It would be interesting to see how pro's like Bubba Watson or Phil would play in these same conditions.

[FLOG4]

It would be nice for Mark to take it home for the Irish to make up for the difficult conditions the field had to deal with. I think Ireland took a hit with this Big Breaks coverage.