Are the Majors overrated?

[sawyerg419]

Is there any fixed standards to determine which is exactly which? May not be defined as same as some other sports do.

Possibly controversial, but I think it needs to be believed because it's major as considered what major means.

[jbishop15]

Is there any fixed standards to determine which is exactly which? May not be defined as same as some other sports do.

Possibly controversial, but I think it needs to be believed because it's major as considered what major means.

I just find the idea of the majors being majors because of "history" (which means nothing, as the PGA became a major simply because the PGA hosted the tournament), to be suspect.

[ChrisP]

I just find the idea of the majors being majors because of "history" (which means nothing, as the PGA became a major simply because the PGA hosted the tournament), to be suspect.

Let me ask you this....if golf had just tournaments and ZERO majors, don't you think it would hurt the game? If you made the Masters, US Open, British and PGA just regular non-major events, the tv ratings would likely take a major hit. Let's face it...the only time ESPN gives a damn about golf is when a major comes around. It would be like tennis without the four majors, football ending after week 17 and not having the playoffs, baseball having no World Series, etc. You need to have big tournaments to market the sport.

[jbishop15]

Let me ask you this....if golf had just tournaments and ZERO majors, don't you think it would hurt the game? If you made the Masters, US Open, British and PGA just regular non-major events, the tv ratings would likely take a major hit. Let's face it...the only time ESPN gives a damn about golf is when a major comes around. It would be like tennis without the four majors, football ending after week 17 and not having the playoffs, baseball having no World Series, etc. You need to have big tournaments to market the sport.

I agree, they probably wouldn't. What I'm more concerned about, though, is that the validity of these tournaments as 'majors' isn't actually congruent with the difficult of the course or the skill they require. To be a major you must be a major; it isn't because of anything but because we say so. That's hard for me to wrap my head around.

[ChrisP]

I agree, they probably wouldn't. What I'm more concerned about, though, is that the validity of these tournaments as 'majors' isn't actually congruent with the difficult of the course or the skill they require. To be a major you must be a major; it isn't because of anything but because we say so. That's hard for me to wrap my head around.

I like 3 of them because they have an identity about them, which is what makes them stand out and makes them "a true major", in my opinion. Like my post a few hours earlier, without that identity, 3 of the majors would lose its luster. If the PGA said "We're going to play the Masters at different courses", the tourney would lose its punch. Same with the US Open if the USGA said "We're going to ease up on these players" or the British if they said "We're going away from links courses." The only one without a real identity is the PGA, yet it seems like that's the one tournament of the four that's provided the most excitement the last 10-15 years. When I think of some of the best finishes in any tournament, there's 3 or 4 PGA Championships that come to mind immediately (2000, 2009, 2010, 2014

[jbishop15]

I like 3 of them because they have an identity about them, which is what makes them stand out and makes them "a true major", in my opinion. Like my post a few hours earlier, without that identity, 3 of the majors would lose its luster. If the PGA said "We're going to play the Masters at different courses", the tourney would lose its punch. Same with the US Open if the USGA said "We're going to ease up on these players" or the British if they said "We're going away from links courses." The only one without a real identity is the PGA, yet it seems like that's the one tournament of the four that's provided the most excitement the last 10-15 years. When I think of some of the best finishes in any tournament, there's 3 or 4 PGA Championships that come to mind immediately (2000, 2009, 2010, 2014

If the identity of a thing comes from that thing simply having existed longer than others, that's not much of an identity. The US Open, more than any of them, is the major that I understand that most because of it's high degree of difficulty. But the fields and the course toughness at the Masters is similar to the Players. If the only thing that separates them is decades, then I find that to be a poor reason to say something is great.

[ChrisP]

If the identity of a thing comes from that thing simply having existed longer than others, that's not much of an identity. The US Open, more than any of them, is the major that I understand that most because of it's high degree of difficulty. But the fields and the course toughness at the Masters is similar to the Players. If the only thing that separates them is decades, then I find that to be a poor reason to say something is great.

What separates The Masters and Players is Augusta. Like it or not, the course makes the tournament, as does the fact it doesn't give out a trophy but rather a green jacket, which has become an icon in sports. If they played The Masters at Sawgrass, I don't think it would have the same luster as it does now. Sawgrass is only recognized really because of one hole whereas Augusta's recognized more for the whole course.

[Fourputt]

To me it's not about the toughness of a course that makes it a major.  It's the history and prestige.

It is tougher to win a major because of the pressure that comes with it.   The course is secondary.

This ^^.

As far as I'm concerned, a true major isn't just created, it evolves.  The newest of these championships, the Masters dates back to the 30's, and the others are even more bound by tradition.  The switch from including the Amateurs to the PGA and Masters was fairly abrupt, but was unquestionably the right move, as the all amateur fields simply did not include the best players.

Even though the PGA gets a bad rap, it has changed over the last 20 years and course preparation and set up is more in keeping with its major status.  The British Open (sorry all of you purists) depends on weather in many cases to toughen up the course, but since weather has always played a huge role in the game I don't have any issue with that.  It also happens to be the oldest, most steeped in tradition.

The US Open is a no brainer, as is the Masters.  How does lack of penal rough at Augusta detract from that?  When I first started watching it, they had no rough at all, now they have about 1" rough, which is enough make holding those lightning greens a challenge if the players miss the fairway.  Not enough rough at the Masters, and too much at the US Open... and often that complaint from the same mouths.  And in my opinion, equally invalid.

To drop any of them and try to slip in a WGC or similar event would be artificial and contrived.  The only one that I really think may have reached almost to major status is the Players, but I'd still vote against any change if it was up to me.

[jgreen85]

They might be overrated by the media, but then consider that the players (well, many of the top names at least) buy into those ratings, and tailor their seasons around the majors.  This means, presumably, that they are tapering into each major, and thus are in prime form.

Call it the cart pulling the horse or the tail wagging the dog or whatever, but if the top players are in top form for the majors, even if its because the majors were over-rated by the media, now they're not because .... all of the top players are in top form.

this is the crux of it.

The players care more, their actions/words reflect how much they care, so the majors are a bigger deal.

PGA is actually becoming my favorite. PGA's claim going forward should be: we're going to play the absolute best courses and make them tough, but fair. That's what they seem to be doing and I think it's working. When I watch the PGA , I say, more than any other, that's a course I'd LOVE to play. US Open doesn't do that for me b/c the course looks impossible and the wind at the Open scares me. Augusta is a pipe dream, so I'm almost getting turned off by the exclusivity.

[pumaAttack]

I wish the PGA kept the slogan of "Glory's last chance" instead of the new "This is Major"

I always loved the sound of hearing Glory's last chance.

[turtleback]

When there is not some official structure that makes designations, the designations generally get made by consensus or there are arguments over the designations.  IMO, the best guide is how people act, but that is just my own criteria.  The majors are the most important because people act like they are the most important, and have done so for long enough for them to became enshrined.

[dbuck]

I agree with all the responses mentioning identity, pressure, tradition, and so on. Obviously the US and British Opens are national championships.

Not 100%, but a great portion of the time, golfers who win majors have great careers otherwise, and often win other majors. Winning all 4 has only been done by 5 men in 80 years.

[MrDC]

Of course not, the majors are the biggest competition for these reasons and these reasons only, I doubt many players really care about the tradition, maybe a little...

Winning a major means the biggest paycheck on the tour, by quite a bit, it also mean bonuses, sponsors, five-year exemption, 100 points in ranking, name recognition, better contracts, all sorts of stuff that makes a player marquee, but most importantly more money.

So for that matter a major is major golf, every player wants to win one bad, really bad, far more than other events, so the golf is the highest level.

[Scotsclaff]

The majors are not overrated,I look forward to all of them.

The British open is No 1 The US Open is No 2,because they are open.

I would never like to see the Masters change because it has it's own history.The US pga major should also stay where it is,they play fantastic courses and don't get enough credit for that.. Although,Chambers bay took the cake this year.