Masters: Whose Shot was Better from the Pine Straw? Bubba or Phil

[Deryck Griffith]

Quote:

Absolutely agree. Forget trees on Phil's shot, just consider the distance and that he had to clear the ravine. Bubba's was with a 52 degree wedge. Yes it had to hook but that seems to be Bubba's specialty.

I'm sure you are fully aware of how hard it is to hit a 40 yard hook with a wedge.

I voted for Bubba mostly due to the timing of the shot, what he had to lose and the fact that it was a blind target.

Phil shot was in front of him and not as "difficult" as it seemed.  9/10 pros hit that shot.  I would argue 4/10 pros can hit the shot Bubba did and that for me is the deciding factor.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by MSchott

It wasn't to win the Masters. If Louie gets up and down they go to another hole. Remember, Bubba 2 putted for par and Oosthuizen bogied.

Okay, then it was to not lose the Masters & he knew it.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Sure you don't need to go and have  alie down? You still seem a little upset that some here doubt your ability to walk onto Augusta and comfortably shoot a score better than 10% of the Masters field.

What has this got to do with my ability to break 80 at Augusta? You seem to be assuming I cannot have an opinion on which of two spectacular shots is better based on the fact I'd be disappointed to break 80 at Augusta. So basically, you now don't trust my judgment on anything based on that. A conclusion I came to based on the only two experiences I've had that are comparable:

1) Breaking 80 the only time I've played Muirfield (a brutal Open championship venue with rough waist high)

2) Shooting 78 the first time I played Valderrama which is arguably tougher than Augusta AND under big tournament pressure.

We are not talking playing The Masters here, so stop mentioning The Masters field, you seem to have forgotten we are talking about a friendly round AFTER The Masters. That, imho, makes a huge difference. In The Masters itself I doubt I'd break 90.

[Ben]

I'm going Bubba on this one. Bubba's shot was do or die, and he did.

Phil's shot was great, but he ended up missing the putt. Yes, he ended up winning, but it was not purely based on that shot hitting the green.

[MSchott]

Originally Posted by Deryck Griffith

Quote:

I'm sure you are fully aware of how hard it is to hit a 40 yard hook with a wedge.

I voted for Bubba mostly due to the timing of the shot, what he had to lose and the fact that it was a blind target.

Phil shot was in front of him and not as "difficult" as it seemed.  9/10 pros hit that shot.  I would argue 4/10 pros can hit the shot Bubba did and that for me is the deciding factor.

I don't think 9/10 pro's hit that shot that well from the trees to a green fronted by water in the final round of the Masters when you are contending for the lead. The situation was what made Phil's shot so great. Same for Bubba's.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by The_Pharaoh

What has this got to do with my ability to break 80 at Augusta?

Nothing whatsover.
It has everything to do with your previous aggressive and dismissive post. I thought that that was clear.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Nothing whatsover.

It has everything to do with your previous aggressive and dismissive post. I thought that that was clear.

Aggressive?! And people call me sensitive. I'm not the one attacking others for being disappointed not to break 80 at Augusta or having a different point of view to them.

[Jonathan]

Both are very impressive, but I'm going with Bubba as well. Just considering the extreme pressure of the overtime, and having missed the wining putt on the previous hole.

[Deryck Griffith]

Originally Posted by MSchott

I don't think 9/10 pro's hit that shot that well from the trees to a green fronted by water in the final round of the Masters when you are contending for the lead. The situation was what made Phil's shot so great. Same for Bubba's.

Ok how about this.  How many people on the PGA Tour do you think can accurately hit a 40 yard hook with a wedge?

[B-Con]

I was already mulling this over in my head... Some of the pros to the difficulty of both shots (that have already been mentioned): Bubba: - More need to work the ball - 40 yards of hook is nothing to sneeze at with such a short club. - More pressure - Winning the Masters in sudden death was on the line, and Bubba knew his opponent was in position for a solid bogey and a shot at par. A bad shot could have cost him bogey, which at the time could have meant the tournament. - Smaller margin for error - Phil had to thread the shot right, but after that he had a forgiving green to hit, the fact that he barely cleared the water was not necessarily intentional. He could have hit it another 8 yards longer and still been OK. The closeness of the ball to the water was dramatic, but not required. Bubba had a protected, unforgiving green to hit and he stuck the ball to it. Phil: - Longer shot - More distance requires more precision, and that was hard. - More gutsy decision - Bubba needed to hit that shot, but Phil hit the shot even when he could've layed up, I think that counts for something. The putting that happened afterward is irrelevant. I think I have to give it to Bubba.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by B-Con

The putting that happened afterward is irrelevant.

Finally, someone said it.

[Gifted Golfer]

I also have to give it to Bubba!

[Parker0065]

Both shots were incredible, fun to watch, and contributed to the outcome of the tournament so to me they are pretty darn equal. If i had to choose i'd have to go with Phil. With the creek and Bones making his usual feeble attempt to talk Phil out of doing something crazy kind of added to the drama. Bubba's shot was unbelievable and there's no doubt he would be able to hook the ball 40 yards and get it somewhere as close or closer than where Ousti's was, but I kind of got the impression Bubba was a little suprised it ended up so close to the hole. Although I liked what he said in the post round interviews, something like: "That's Bubba Golf, I'm use to playing from the trees",,lol!

[nevets88]

Here's the overhead of how much turn was in Watson's shot:

[Zwick]

I really doubt it turned 90 degrees. I guess he startet it a bit more towards the green.

[Jmdmbike]

I voted for Bubba's shot over Phil's due to the amount he had tom turn it and the fact that there would-be more pressure involved as it was a playoff.

[allin]

I wish which shot would you be more willing to try was part of the answer. As a mid handicap golfer I would not hesitate to try Bubba's shot but I would really have to think about Phil's. Of course that addresses decision making not shot difficulty, but I think that's an indication that the mental component is a bigger part of why Phil's shot was so difficult.

[jamo]

I'm still going back and forth on this. On one hand, Bubba's was a much shorter club, and he had more room for error. Really, worse comes to worse he makes bogey and they go back to 18. Those trees he had to get past we mostly thin brances and leaves where his ball was going past, worst case scenario there the ball goes straight down and he still has 3 to tie Louis. Then again, it's hard to think about how much he hooked that shot. As a righty, I don't think I could have sliced a ball that far with my PW (I maybe could have hit that strong of a hook, but not a slice), but maybe I could have with my 150-yard club. For Phil, he didn't really have the same pressure as Bubba, but his outcome could have been worse. That said, I'm fairly confident I could have hit a stock 6 iron from that lie to that green accurately, or even a stock 220-club (my hybrid). I think I'm leaning towards Bubba's being tougher.