2012 Ryder Cup Discussion Thread

[StealthTrader]

Originally Posted by StealthTrader

Hmmmm.

Rory and GMac are going to be very tough to beat.

Phil and Bradley should be able to take Luke and Sergio.

Dufner and Zach is the easiest pick of all.

Tiger and Stricker will have very little trouble with their opposition.

I've got the U.S. Up 3 after Friday.

Any takers?

- Rory and GMac, did what was expected in the morning, but faltered in the afternoon.  One of the biggest surprises for me on Friday.

- Phil and Bradley, did what was expected both in the morning and the afternoon - no surprises for me.

- Dufner and Zach, played solid in the morning and contributed as expected.

- Tiger and Stricker, have to be the biggest disappointment for Friday, although Tiger, tried a patented comeback near the end of the afternoon session.

Overall, the picks were fairly on target with the exception of Tiger/Stricker.  So, at the end of the day, the U.S. is up by 2, not 3.  I'll take the 2 Up any Friday, for a good start.

If I can get the player slots for Saturday, then I can call those as well.

[StealthTrader]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quite frightening to think that some members actually think they have some idea of the outcome of the matches.

It is fairly straight forward as you can see - just as long as the players follow their "trajectory" coming into the tournament.  That's what I look for.  The question is always: What's a players true trajectory coming into an event.

My call on the majority of the players was pretty much accurate.  The true exceptions were Tiger and Colsaerts - only two players and that combination (if you cared to notice) was the very combination of players that made the difference in my overall call for the U.S. being "Up 3" at the end of Friday.

So, in the final analysis, the very two players that did not follow their incoming trajectory, were the very same two players that ended up making the difference in the final score.  Coincidence?  No.  Coin toss?  Not quite.  The more stable the inputs to a predictive algorithm, the higher the probability for seeing an expected result.  It depends on what your algorithm looks like - that's all.

[StealthTrader]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvmac

In case you guys didn't see it, Bubba Watson goes "Happy Gilmore" on the first tee

Bubba, had an outstanding day today and I'm glad he played consistently.

I just hope the consistency remains throughout the week - that was my only problem with him being on the Team this year.  Bubba's oscillations between good and poor golf is one of the widest channels of performance on tour.  When he's on - he's really on.  But, when he's off, he's almost comical.  Contrast that to Rory.  When Rory, is off - he's just missing it, but he's missing it very consistently.  But, when he's on - he's won't be too far away from his game when he was off.

It is the wide channel of volatility in Bubba, that I thought would hamper the Team a bit.  I hope he holds it together for three days.  If he does, he can't be anything but a huge asset.

[darkhunter139]

Good start for the US! Hopefully they can keep it going.

[StealthTrader]

Originally Posted by Wansteadimp

GMac didn't get a drop from a sprinkler head, might be that.

Tigers driving - something to do with compressions - someone was trying to explain it yesterday.

It has everything to do with his new shaft position just before impact.  He's always had patches where he would spray the golf ball off the tee with his driver.  The difference now is that those exact same shots will be amplified off the tee - because the compression is so much better.  It just makes sense.  Put more force behind the ball - ball go far.

- Get too far out in front of the ball with your hands when you are actually trying to hold a longer L-Position - ball go BIG TIME left.

- Get caught too far behind the ball with your hands when you are trying to hold a longer L-Position - ball go BIG TIME right.

- Get the hands in-sync with the hip rotation when you are trying to hold a longer L-Position - ball go exactly where you want it to.

If Tiger, can work this out with Sean, you will see a lot more fairways hit and a lot more shots into greens like you say on the 18th today.  The rest will be putting and when he starts getting a higher number of realistic birdie puts, more of them will start to fall and it will be off the races again in search of Jack's 18 Majors.

If he cannot work out this new compression issue - its going to be very tough for him to get pin high enough times during a tournament, to give him enough looks at birdie.  If you go back and look at when Tiger, was dominating the Tour, he was always doing two things:

a) Landing the golf ball pin high from the fairway.

b) Landing the golf ball under 14-17 feet on a consistent basis.

He's has never been the kind of player who needed to time the unhinging of his left wrist.  Holding a longer L-Position, now forces anybody who has never had that swing before (it does not matter who you are) to inject timing into the unhinging of his left wrist.  That move is new to him and he is admittedly struggling with normalizing that action.

Go look at Sean's motions as he models what he wants Tiger, to do on the practice range.  He's modeling an exaggerated delay in releasing the left wrist.  That's a timing issue by definition.  Tiger, used to call it "flipping the club" back when he used to describe what he did not have to do with the golf club.  Today, in order to relieve some pressure from the left side of his body (protecting the left knee and ankle), he's swinging more slowly/deliberately.

To get the ball to travel the same distance as it used to with a slower and more deliberate swing, he has to maintain the wrist-cock and allow the club to "whip" at the bottom more than he ever has before.  That's why you see more iron shots landing either too long or too short on the green and that is why you see T-shots either being pulled further left, or pushed further right - than ever before.

They will figure something out eventually.  But, it has to be something that he feels comfortable with on the course and in the heat of battle.  It is NOT an easy fix.

Try implementing the same move into your own swing and prove it to yourself.  I've tried it and I can hit the ball a lot further - but I'm all over the place off the tee-box and I'm either too long or too short into greens from the fairway.  I've never been a "flicker" or "timer" of the club.  So, that move is a difficult one for me to get used to.

Forcing a longer L-Position is a "trust" issue.  You simply have to trust it.  And, that's not easy when the shot matters and you are still not fully comfortable with it.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by StealthTrader

If I can get the player slots for Saturday, then I can call those as well.

Originally Posted by StealthTrader

It is fairly straight forward as you can see - just as long as the players follow their "trajectory" coming into the tournament.  That's what I look for.

My call on the majority of the players was pretty much accurate.

Originally Posted by StealthTrader

Originally Posted by StealthTrader

It has everything to do with his new shaft position just before impact.

You should probably be coaching Tiger.  You'll even be able to tell him when he's going to win.  But you won't be able to teach him how to use multi-quote.

[JohnLund]

Watching this Ryder Cup is the most fun I have had watching golf in a very long time. I love the team competition. It is great for the game. It is confusing though because I cheer for both sides. I just love watching great shots...I don't care who makes them.

[robrey85]

My favorite thing about the R-cup is, it is NOT your typical golf tournament. The noise the fans make, makes me feel like I am watching a completely different sport. Not that I dislike watching Golf, I just think it is good for those who say this sport is "boring" and "golf sucks because nothing happens". This is my first time watching the R-cup and it is by far my favorite event.

[darkhunter139]

Originally Posted by JohnLund

Watching this Ryder Cup is the most fun I have had watching golf in a very long time. I love the team competition. It is great for the game. It is confusing though because I cheer for both sides. I just love watching great shots...I don't care who makes them.

The Ryder cup is the only time I cheer for the US players over European,

[jamo]

The Ryder cup is the only time I cheer for the US players over European,

Why is that?

[Shorty]

It is fairly straight forward as you can see - just as long as the players follow their "trajectory" coming into the tournament.  That's what I look for.  The question is always: What's a players [U]true[/U] trajectory coming into an event. My call on the majority of the players was pretty much accurate.  The true exceptions were Tiger and Colsaerts - only two players and that combination (if you cared to notice) was the very combination of players that made the difference in my overall call for the U.S. being "Up 3" at the end of Friday. So, in the final analysis, the very two players that did not follow their incoming trajectory, were the very same two players that ended up making the difference in the final score.  Coincidence?  No.  Coin toss?  Not quite.  The more stable the inputs to a predictive algorithm, the higher the probability for seeing an expected result.  It depends on what your algorithm looks like - that's all.

Presumably you won several million by betting on the outcome, then. "Delusional" is the word that comes to mind.

[Chas]

LOL The real question is, what fraction of his annual salary is Stealth willing to bet on predicting the next day's winners (all of them), using the fancy algorithm?

[Monte the Bear]

Looks a great tournament, US were 4-6 favourites with the bookies here before the start with Europe 6-4 and the tie paying 10-1. Only gripe is the lack of rough...did any loose shot (and there were quite a few) get punished with a bad lie? This is quickly becoming the world's most expensive putting competition.

Already looking forward to 2014.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by Chas

LOL

The real question is, what fraction of his annual salary is Stealth willing to bet on predicting the next day's winners (all of them), using the fancy algorithm?

It's actually very simple, apparently  - it's all about recognising trajectories. You can appear to be very very wise after the fact.

Incredible that he knew a day earlier that Tiger's putt was going to miss on 18!! You can almost see the poker face as he types his nonsense!!

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by robrey85

My favorite thing about the R-cup is, it is NOT your typical golf tournament. The noise the fans make, makes me feel like I am watching a completely different sport. Not that I dislike watching Golf, I just think it is good for those who say this sport is "boring" and "golf sucks because nothing happens". This is my first time watching the R-cup and it is by far my favorite event.

I like that they are able to have fun and be more boisterous, but it does seem over-the-top to me.  I mean, if this is acceptable behavior in golf, I think they should act like this all the time.  It just goes to show how much culture affects our perception.  If a guy made a long birdie putt on the third hole of the first round of a typical PGA tournament and then looked to the crowd and started gesturing and making funny faces, some folks would rip them for how classless they are.  But when it's the Ryder Cup, it's acceptable custom.  It's like a hybrid between football and golf out there in terms of pageantry and behavior, which is odd.  Some of it just seems misplaced or insincere.  Other times it seems authentic and genuine, and fun.

I watched a replay of an old Ryder Cup where the US came from behind, and watching Duval attempt to get hype for his comeback win shockingly uncomfortable.  He sucked at it.

[zipazoid]

Wow, think the Americans are pumped up?

[atb5079]

this is so awesome. euro team looks like ass today and its hilarious

[atb5079]

i've definitely decided webb simpson is one player i really do not like. however i do love bubba playing with him i think they are funny together