Big Break NFL

[sportsnut]

jury is still out on this one for me, but a couple of things noticed - Brians temper seems off and running hotter and quicker which is very tiring, Meghan seems worse, Z seems better and Oren seems to be putting worst, maybe because hes not anchoring which I didnt notice till it was mentioned here, and Chad is still Chad which is painfull to watch.  Sasquaths ball striking not what i remembered seems to be off a tad.

[Maddog10]

Did you see the preview of next week?  There are going to be a lot more "Team Doleman" fireworks.  That team is a mess.

And I agree with whoever posted above that Shannon looks stoned in her interviews.  ;)

Props to Zakiya though ... she's been playing the best of all of them so far.

That was me...

Agree on Zakiya too. She has played the best/most consistent of anyone on the show.

I'm amazed at how poorly some of the shots have been hit this season for aspiring pros. I know there's pressure, but these guys/girls have played enough golf by now that they should be able to handle it. Don't remember which girl it was, but the snap-hook iron on the challenge where they had to hit the green from their chosen distance was embarrasingly bad. I mean they missed the green 40 yards left on a 140 yard shot?!? James and Zakiya seem to be the strongest players as of now IMO.

[Golfingdad]

Don't remember which girl it was, but the snap-hook iron on the challenge where they had to hit the green from their chosen distance was embarrasingly bad.

I think that was Shannon.  If not, it was Meghan.  But there was a challenge this episode where Meghan succeeded (and got as excited as I'd expect somebody who's never played golf before to get after their first GIR) and I think it might have been that one.  Pretty sure the snap hook was Shannon.

[Joe Smith]

I really enjoy all the Big Break shows and feel for the competitors because to have so much ride on one shot his distressing. But I just finished the 3rd episode and I have a few thoughts/comments.

1) I don't care what Doleman did in the NFL he is suppose to be the "professional". Act like it.

2) Jerry Rice is all class

3) Poor Emily

4) No way these guys are under 5 handicaps.....Jerry Rice and suppose to be a 1??? I hover around a 8-10 and play with some scratch guys. The shots I've seen the NFL guys hit are not even close to someone who can shoot under 80. Del Greco is the only legit one I see.

[BuckeyeNut]

I'm also surprised how some of the better pro's have struggled........Front runners like Squatch and others have not performed well!!

TGC did a great job casting the ladies......they were on the show before and all are very likeable both then and now.  It's true that Meghan game is small, but she has 'assets' that are good for ratings. LOL

My take on the NFL guys:

Del Greco has always been a good golfer dating back to his NFL days.   Rice is a legit 1hc....his swing isn't pretty, but he is legit.

http://www.ghin.com/lookup.aspx

You can easily look him up in California.  He plays tough courses and he usually breaks 80.  This is enough on the courses he plays..... Rice's game has come a long way in the past 10yrs.  I remember when he was a beginner playing in the American Century Championship. A few years later...he was a single digit and now a low single.

Doleman......I'm glad he is on Brian's team.....LOL ....they are a perfect match!!  I feel sorry for the blonde girl on their team!

Rice...I'm a huge fan of him on the show.  he is a class act!!  Rypien, Brown, and Bulger all seem to making fast friends of their teammates.  I would love to play golf with any of these guys.....Doleman, not so much!!

[boil3rmak3r]

As for the guy that grips cross handed (left hand low), did anyone notice how far his club is pointed right of the target at the top of the backswing? They showed an iron swing of his on slo-mo and his shaft must have been pointed at least 30* right of the target at the top. I guess this is a natural position for a cross handed golfer??

[Golfingdad]

As for the guy that grips cross handed (left hand low), did anyone notice how far his club is pointed right of the target at the top of the backswing? They showed an iron swing of his on slo-mo and his shaft must have been pointed at least 30* right of the target at the top. I guess this is a natural position for a cross handed golfer??

Yes. Holy crap ... It's like 45 degrees to the right!

[boil3rmak3r]

Yes. Holy crap ... It's like 45 degrees to the right!

I would love to an illustration of how his club head tracks from takeaway to final backswing, then back down to impact. I'll bet it would be something very unique for a golfer of his level...

[newtogolf]

Did you see the preview of next week?  There are going to be a lot more "Team Doleman" fireworks.  That team is a mess.

And I agree with whoever posted above that Shannon looks stoned in her interviews.  ;)

Props to Zakiya though ... she's been playing the best of all of them so far.

Doleman's team has 2 hot heads, Brian delivered this past week (with some help from Emily) while Chris choked on both his shots so I'd say he needs to check his ego a bit.

Emily is still scarred from her last BB, probably wasn't a good idea for her to return given she's still not addressed her putting issues.  I'm concerned she's going to get a bad case of the yips if she doesn't have them already.  She's clearly uncomfortable putting and I doubt the pressure of BB is helping her.

Z is awesome, the girl has ice in her veins and delivers regardless of the situation.

The rest of the cast is struggling imo, I can't believe how many scratch and near scratch golfers missed the green from 125 yards out, that should be automatic.

[rehmwa]

I can't believe how many scratch and near scratch golfers missed the green from 125 yards out, that should be automatic.

me too

that challenge was really disappointing to watch, I expected this was near-automatic for the pros, and like 80% for the football players....

visually a great shot framed by bunkers (one of those you just stop for a second and appreciate the picture before the shot), but still, it was a decent sized green and a straight in approach from a perfect lie.....

now I understand why Big Break Academy isn't the pros showing off their skills, but, rather, Breed teaching them and fixing their problems....(the last one he was clearly giving a lesson to Meghan, though he didn't for James, they just did a fun shaping challenge which James won)

[Tailgater]

Doleman's team has 2 hot heads, Brian delivered this past week (with some help from Emily) while Chris choked on both his shots so I'd say he needs to check his ego a bit. Emily is still scarred from her last BB, probably wasn't a good idea for her to return given she's still not addressed her putting issues.  I'm concerned she's going to get a bad case of the yips if she doesn't have them already.  She's clearly uncomfortable putting and I doubt the pressure of BB is helping her. Z is awesome, the girl has ice in her veins and delivers regardless of the situation. The rest of the cast is struggling imo, I can't believe how many scratch and near scratch golfers missed the green from 125 yards out, that should be automatic.

Shannon and Brian are just following the lead of their captain. Doleman is also a hot head. It is quite painful to watch Emily so nervous when she is on the green. She should benefit from from being around NFL players, especially Jerry Rice, on how to deal with pressure and to think of making the shot, not missing it. I am really impressed by Z. Her game has improved since Big Break Atlantis. She could've benefitted from playing in college.

[Maddog10]

You could see it in Emily's approach to that putt. She hit the putt like she didn't want to miss it, instead of stepping up and hitting it like she was going to make it... That may not make sense to anyone else, but it's the same principle as playing to win or playing "not to lose." A 3-footer that barely has the speed to get to the hole and stops right beside it is a very hesitant putt. A confident putt that missed would have rolled a foot past the hole... Felt bad for her, but that was a poor putt from the time she stood over it.

[rehmwa]

You could see it in Emily's approach to that putt. She hit the putt like she didn't want to miss it, instead of stepping up and hitting it like she was going to make it... That may not make sense to anyone else, but it's the same principle as playing to win or playing "not to lose." A 3-footer that barely has the speed to get to the hole and stops right beside it is a very hesitant putt. A confident putt that missed would have rolled a foot past the hole... Felt bad for her, but that was a poor putt from the time she stood over it.

yeah - really heart breaking.  She's very likable too - frankly, all three on red, you just want that team to win.  It really was a 'set up' team for ratings from the get go.

Emily, Jerry, and either Sasquatch or James would have that be nearly anyone's favorite team to root for.

[newtogolf]

You could see it in Emily's approach to that putt. She hit the putt like she didn't want to miss it, instead of stepping up and hitting it like she was going to make it... That may not make sense to anyone else, but it's the same principle as playing to win or playing "not to lose." A 3-footer that barely has the speed to get to the hole and stops right beside it is a very hesitant putt. A confident putt that missed would have rolled a foot past the hole... Felt bad for her, but that was a poor putt from the time she stood over it.

Agreed, you could see by her reaction when she missed the first putt and her interview that she was petrified of missing that 3-footer.  As I watched it I thought they were setting up the viewer leading, us to believe she was going to miss it and then she'd make it but when I saw her body language over the putt, I knew she'd miss it.

I see that with myself, when I'm over a putt I think I "should" make, I'm much more uncomfortable over the ball compared to a longer putt where I don't have high expectations to make it.  It's a matter of changing the mindset to having confidence you can make it being at the forefront of your mind versus being afraid you will miss it.

[sacm3bill]

4) No way these guys are under 5 handicaps.....Jerry Rice and suppose to be a 1??? I hover around a 8-10 and play with some scratch guys. The shots I've seen the NFL guys hit are not even close to someone who can shoot under 80. Del Greco is the only legit one I see.

A lot of celebrity golfers have vanity caps. It is known. (GoT reference for y'all)

My take on the NFL guys:

Del Greco has always been a good golfer dating back to his NFL days.   Rice is a legit 1hc....his swing isn't pretty, but he is legit.

http://www.ghin.com/lookup.aspx

You can easily look him up in California.  He plays tough courses and he usually breaks 80.  This is enough on the courses he plays..... Rice's game has come a long way in the past 10yrs.  I remember when he was a beginner playing in the American Century Championship. A few years later...he was a single digit and now a low single.

Looking up his scores doesn't prove anything though - those scores can be the results of mulligans, gimmes, or completely made up for all we know. The fact that he's a 1 who shoots in the 80's in pro tournaments is telling. I'm not saying it wasn't nerves, or a bad day or two, I'm just saying it's not a stretch to believe some of these celebrity athletes' handicaps are not accurate.

[Spitfisher]

I find it hard to believe Rice is a 1 handicap,1) he really hasn't demonstrated it on the show and 2) also too much movement in his swing for predictable results and repetitive swing. The latter of which is common in all low single digit handicaps.

If I were to guess, he's closer to a 5-7 and probably playing on a 5800-6000 yard course

[Spitfisher]

jury is still out on this one for me, but a couple of things noticed - Brians temper seems off and running hotter and quicker which is very tiring, Meghan seems worse, Z seems better and Oren seems to be putting worst, maybe because hes not anchoring which I didnt notice till it was mentioned here, and Chad is still Chad which is painfull to watch.  Sasquaths ball striking not what i remembered seems to be off a tad.

Megan was awful in her debut on BB and is still awful and the weakest link, perhaps rather than getting boob job before her debut, she should have concentrated on golf instead.

[k-troop]

She hits her wedges as bad as I do.  But I found this thread under "hot" on the TST dropdown menu, and I think this link fits that theme.

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/big-break-academy-meghan-hardin-wedge-play-challenge-and-tip-101513/