Big Break Palm Beaches Discussion Thread

[newtogolf]

Good point.  They said 225 was the minimum required distance, and there were no extra points for being farther than that.  Not sure about 5 iron, but certainly all of them except Chad could cover that distance easily with their hybrid or 3 iron.

I think the guys that selected fade were concerned about coming up short with anything less than driver.  The guys that picked "draw" should have had no problem hitting 225 with a shorter club.

Brandon was the guy I liked least so I wasn't too upset he lost to Tommy.  Tommy showed some skills going -2 on the Bear Trap and was really good out of the traps.  I can't imagine someone picking him in an elimination challenge after that showing.

[Golfingdad]

I don't think there was any rule about how much shape the shot had, I just think they were afraid to hit the wall.

Yeah.  The first rule when curving the ball around something is not to concentrate too much on where your ball is going to finish but to make DAMN SURE your ball doesn't hit said "something."  If I had a nickel for every time I played with somebody who tried to come out of the trees, hit it solid, smacked the tree, and then complained that they got unlucky ... oy.  Avoid the tree, and THEN worry about where your ball might end up.

I think the guys that selected fade were concerned about coming up short with anything less than driver.  The guys that picked "draw" should have had no problem hitting 225 with a shorter club.

Brandon was the guy I liked least so I wasn't too upset he lost to Tommy.  Tommy showed some skills going -2 on the Bear Trap and was really good out of the traps.  I can't imagine someone picking him in an elimination challenge after that showing.

Those guys are all really good - I doubt very much that any of them, again except for Chad, would have had any trouble getting over 225 with a hybrid or 3 wood, regardless of if they were fading or drawing it.  Remember, when you're hitting it solidly like those guys do, neither shot is considerably more or less distance than the other.

It was also great timing that they had the bear trap challenge air on the same day that the top tour pros were making a mess of that stretch of holes (in slightly different conditions.).

[cboles]

I was thinking the same thing.  I realize they may put a "little" makeup on them, just like they sexy up the ladies (which makes me sick), but his look is rediculous!  I wonder if he knows it looks bad, or if he does it on purpose.

[Hammer 4]

Looks like Clay's smack talk ...backfired... Still, I like the dude. Still pulling for Chad though..

[BuckeyeNut]

Mr Squeaky sent packing......   he seemed like a nice guy as are all the contestants on this season.

C'mon' Corporal Clutch!!  ....he's the man!  Aside from his side story as an amputee, his demeanor and the way he presents himself is absolutely impeccable!!!!   He's a Very Likable guy!!

[rehmwa]

See, I thought Clay was a pretty good guy, maybe with a bit of self imposed stereotyping though - but even that is likely coached by the producers.

But the weak attempt to muck with the guys during the 'clear the hazard' elimination challenge isn't really what I'd call "golf sportmanship" - especially when everyone wasn't biting on it and just laughing at it he could have gracefully stopped, chuckled, and let it go as a gag.  I was rooting for him a bit, but now I'm not so bullish.

One comment "c'mon man, don't be THAT guy" - these are good players and decent to each other.  It's not boring, it's actually a bit refreshing - I'm surprised, it's works even without the fake manufactured drama.

Surprise, congratulating/being happy for/ your opponent on a good shot and clearly appreciating the good shot isn't so bad after all.

I'm tending to root for players that want to win because they are better.  Not the players that are happy to get by because the others have bad days.  (I'd rather win vs the other guy lose it)

For sure, this is one season with more consistently better hitting (all the players) than any I recall lately.  Nice to see.

[BigSlab29]

Yeah Clay last night showed his true colors. He even said though they he's only there to win. Still being a veteran who served two tours in Iraq, Im pulling for corporal clutch! Tommy was a good guy and it sucked to watch him go home.

[rehmwa]

Yeah Clay last night showed his true colors. He even said though they he's only there to win.

I wouldn't go that far yet.  (other than I suspect they ALL are there to win).   He certainly is feeling the pressure and didn't handle handle it tactfully or in the spirit of the game.  I hesitate to imagine what it's really like on a show like that.

But it's also pretty clear (and in the previews for next week) he figured out that it wasn't necessarily cool and now he has to deal with it.  I suspect it'll happen to others also.

Hope he comes out the other side looking better.  I have no issues with anybody in this round at all - even old squeaky voice was merely annoying

[ev780]

Clay was acting like a douche!  Plain and simple.  May be a production thing but he sure came off as a jackass.

Chad seems to struggle with the silly games but sure does bring it when facing elimination.

[rehmwa]

Chad seems to struggle with the silly games but sure does bring it when facing elimination.

I would like to have that approach game for sure.......

[BigSlab29]

I don't know. I think the others do a pretty good job at staying courteous. I hope it does get better. It's a hell of a show!

[rehmwa]

I don't know. I think the others do a pretty good job at staying courteous. I hope it does get better. It's a hell of a show!

the other position is that the show needs a bad boy in the lineup to keep up viewership - and they lost the first candidate too quick

so bring in the 2nd string for ratings

I don't subscribe to this as much as the players just being themselves, but it seems to always play that way lately

(more likely, it's the editing that just highlights one guy to stand out in this role.  with Brandon out, they can just shine a spotlight on the next guys and cut the tape to do the job)

[3putter]

I was disappointed in Clay yesterday, his antics were straight up douchy. I liked Tommy, and it felt sad watching him leave. He didn't deserve to be in that position in the first place. Wish him plenty of luck in the future.

[Golfingdad]

I think you guys are over-reacting to Clays "antics."  I mean, all he did was kind of goof around and try to go last while they were choosing their spots.  The only reason it came across at all as gamesmanshippy is because Tommy allowed it to.  Why was he getting annoyed?  Why was he not just going back as far as he was comfortable with regardless of what everybody else did?  That was on him.

And the goofing around on the bench was just a little funny at first ... then a little lame because it clear that he was joking and he wasn't bothering anybody.

But "douchy" is a bit of a stretch.

I was rooting for Tommy at the end though, simply because I like him.  (I tend to root for the older guys/girls with families - go figure )

[newtogolf]

I think you guys are over-reacting to Clays "antics."  I mean, all he did was kind of goof around and try to go last while they were choosing their spots.  The only reason it came across at all as gamesmanshippy is because Tommy allowed it to.  Why was he getting annoyed?  Why was he not just going back as far as he was comfortable with regardless of what everybody else did?  That was on him.

And the goofing around on the bench was just a little funny at first ... then a little lame because it clear that he was joking and he wasn't bothering anybody.

But "douchy" is a bit of a stretch.

I was rooting for Tommy at the end though, simply because I like him.  (I tend to root for the older guys/girls with families - go figure )

What made Clay's antics douchey is he didn't own them.  After his "gamesmanship" backfired, he acted like a wimp as he worried about the ramifications his actions would have and how the others would react to it.   This is in stark contrast to Anthony who acted like a jerk and didn't care what the others thought or did.

IMO Clay came off as wimp and a douche this week.

[DeadMan]

The only thing that bothered me that Clay did was openly root for another golfer to fail. Mind games and such are one thing, but he's sitting on the bench rooting for Robert (?) to miss it. That can't affect Robert, and there was no one left to go. That was just classless.

The rest of it, don't care at all. If Clay moving back his sign bothered Tommy, then that's on Tommy. Being able to get past stuff like that is a significant part of being a good golfer in my view. You've got to be able to perform no matter the circumstances.

I was sad to see Tommy go, too. He seemed like a good guy. But he choked hard - blew his birdie putt way past the hole and that pitch shot was very mediocre. I figured he would take down Clay no problem, and Clay left the door wide open for Tommy. But Tommy couldn't capitalize.

One other thought - Clay was saying that a 160 yard shot with the wind slightly into him was a tough shot. Um, it seemed pretty easy to me. 160 yards shouldn't be that uncomfortable of a distance for an apprising PGA Tour pro in my book. I know that a PGA Tour's results are probably like 30+ feet from the hole from that distance, so it's a tougher shot than it seems. But I doubt many PGA Tour pros think it's that tough of a shot.

[MrDC]

The remarks Clay made it was clear he was just goofing around, the other guys looked kind silly taking it so serious, lame, I take Clay's side on that, lighten up.

But moving the distance marker around to follow the older Tommy was not cool, especially being a player with some length.

[Golfingdad]

IMO Clay came off as wimp and a douche this week.

I already disagreed about the feminine hygiene part so no need to rehash that but regarding the bold ... this is a good point.  Whenever a guy resorts to, for lack of a better word lets go with one of my favorites, shenanigans like this, it hints that there is some insecurity behind all of it.  If you think know that you're good, then you're not messing around with that.

Have some confidence, go play, and go win.