When Pros look like Amateurs

[FLOG4]

Originally Posted by Spyder

I'm confused. Doesn't hitting the ball well go hand-in-hand with getting the ball to the hole, as well as getting it close enough to put it in? lol I would venture to believe that they are all a part of golf, and they all matter. All 3 things that you said above do go together.

"Doesn't matter how well he hits it" "He looked solid in all aspects".

You can't be solid in all aspects of the game if you're not hitting it well. Or if your putts are off, you're not solid in all aspects, etc.

Sorry you are confused Spyder... I guess I need to elaborate.  I've had many rounds where my tee to green game was not too good....Yet my short game was phenominal.  I've had days where my play tee to green was spot on yet I couldn't get it in the hole.  Funny thing is sometimes my scores on bad hitting days are better than good hitting days.

My point about Tiger was he made putts yesterday.  He didn't the prior days for the most part.  He lips out a couple early and who knows?  Yesterday he was solid in all aspects of game. The other days he just had parts of his game solid.  The standard quote I use is " your game will be judged not by how good your good shots are but by how good your bad shots are" JMHO

[Spyder]

No I understood just fine. At the professional level though, one aspect of your game cannot be off when it comes to a championship. If you happen to pull off a win with part of your game lacking, that would be quite a lucky day and it doesn't happen often.

We, as amateurs, can obviously have a day where Drives are great, irons suck and putting is great and shoot well. We can also do the same when Driving sucks, irons are great and putting is average. Professionals do not have so many chances to drop a stroke due to a poor shot. One missed opportunity can cost these guys millions. There's many different ways to shoot 90 with the above examples. Even a lower 80 or high 70 is still feasible with one part of the game lacking. When you're shooting under par and carry a +2 or +5 hc though, there is no exception to your game. You cannot be off in any aspect at all.

That is what I mean by amateurs making the misconception that professionals play the same game as them. Professionals need every aspect of their game to be in sync to pull off a victory 99% of the time in my opinion. The competition and difficulty is miles ahead of where any of us on this board are at.

Just reminds me of finishing up a round on Sunday and having a beer in the clubhouse afterwords and hearing people make comments on the golfers on TV. I remember one time when they were commenting on Ricky Fowler's every shot and critiquing. Really? lol We're sitting at a course that is barely 6500 and you played from the whites at that, and you're comparing your game to a pro...

I'm not saying you're doing that. I'm just reinforcing the fact that way too many of us amateurs forget just how difficult these guys have it. They make it seem easy like its a routine because we're used to viewing it - not because it is that easy.

When these guys are in front of a camera and say "well, my irons could have been better" and they shot -2, they're telling the truth. But, those irons still were not that bad to post under par. Tiger has just been an easy target in the media for years now and people make commentary on him like they know his game better than he does.

[FLOG4]

Spyder, Way back when I went to ETSU to create a path to the PGA.  Didn't take me long to realize that wasn't gonna happen. Mike Hulbert was our 5th man on our team.  So I understand the dynamics of differential of bad shot for an Am vs a pro vs Tiger.  On the very best of analysis a pro only hits 70% gir yet has an average score of 69......That's getting it in the hole.  I use to play day in day out with 3 guys who played on PGA tour. One was Alan Strange, Curtis's identical twin brother.  Oh I'd love to have that game back. I busted a wrist and lost 12mph on my swing a decade ago.  But I can still putt like a scratch....HaHa

[Kobey]

What it looks like to me is that by making harder courses they are making it harder for the professionals to show their stuff.  If you have a flat green and a shot from 20 feet the pros are gonna make that putt a lot more than an amateur and be a lot more impressive on the ones they don't make.  But if you put the hole in a place where if it doesn't go in it will roll for 30 more feet, everyone looks pretty much the same except for the lucky few that make it.  I really don't like the idea of a luck factor when it comes to the pros.

[FLOG4]

Originally Posted by Kobey

What it looks like to me is that by making harder courses they are making it harder for the professionals to show their stuff.  If you have a flat green and a shot from 20 feet the pros are gonna make that putt a lot more than an amateur and be a lot more impressive on the ones they don't make.  But if you put the hole in a place where if it doesn't go in it will roll for 30 more feet, everyone looks pretty much the same except for the lucky few that make it.  I really don't like the idea of a luck factor when it comes to the pros.

If you know that if your ball is positioned pin high or behind the pin that your putt will be exceptionally fast and maybe even roll off the green.....Guess you better keep it below the hole. When a pro attacks a pin knowing the previous they know the consequences.....On a flatish surface just take dead aim and let's make it a putting contest.  Personally I like to see the pros get bitch slapped for an errant shot vs having a slightly more difficult putt. Extreme conditions like Royal Melbourne had or any US Open require proper execution of every shot. Placement in fairway and maybe even need to be left or right. below the hole, which actually could be to the right or left if the green slopes more sideways.  Precise touch of putts.  Perfect execution of a chip, pitch, lob or sand shot.

When its a play week where- bomb the drive, find it take dead aim, now make a putt.....That's just mundane and advantage gorilla boy's....I prefer the thinking mans game of extreme conditions.  It seperates the pretenders. But that's just me. Birdie fests can be fun too at times.  Yesterday Phil put his ball in his pocket the first three holes....He is too good for that to happen.  He played like crap and got bitch slapped....Very rude awakening for the guy noted as one of the best short game practictioners in the world!!!!!!!!