In respect of the majors.

[Mr. Desmond]

What people are losing sight of is just how freaking good these guys are. The top players....whoever they may be on any given week in a Major are so good, and on form that the only way to "make fools of them" is to trick the course up to the ragged edge of being unplayable.

The course needs to be HARD, with mediocrity punished. But, great play should still be rewarded.

Agree with David, these guys are the best in the world.

As to the course, it is a beast, and was in great condition. The wind did not blow as consistently as expected, and as a result, scores were lower for the best players in the world.

[saevel25]

As for the poll. I decided not to vote. For me it depends on the Major. For the US Open I like to see the course set up the toughest out of the four majors. I prefer most majors to be somewhere in the middle of the two choices given in the poll.

[iacas]

I voted for the latter option just to vote, because I like a major that sets up tough… but if players play really well, they deserve to shoot a good number.

[Mulligan Jeff]

I like to see a major that is a strong test to par. I believe a great shot deserves a good outcome none of this concave fairways that wind up in the gutter.

[Fourputt]

The problem I have with it is not that the winning score was low, but that it was the trend of the entire field.  If two or three or 6 guys go low then they are just having a great week on a well set up course.  When the whole field does it, then I lose interest in the tournament as a major championship.  Scoring in general was lower than at many of the regular tour stops - the leader board looks more like it does at the Hope (or whatever they call it now), and that is just about as far from a major as you can get.

[ccotenj]

I voted for the latter option just to vote, because I like a major that sets up tough… but if players play really well, they deserve to shoot a good number.

agreed... it should be "hard but not impossible"... punish indifferent shots, REALLY punish bad shots, but reward the player who executes... [quote name="Fourputt" url="/t/83862/in-respect-of-the-majors/18#post_1186556"]The problem I have with it is not that the winning score was low, but that it was the trend of the entire field.  If two or three or 6 guys go low then they are just having a great week on a well set up course.  When the whole field does it, then I lose interest in the tournament as a major championship.  Scoring in general was lower than at many of the regular tour stops - the leader board looks more like it does at the Hope (or whatever they call it now), and that is just about as far from a major as you can get.   [/quote] agreed here too... i like birdies as much as the next guy, but i don't want "a birdiefest tour stop" for a major... if a few guys (or even one, as we've seen in other majors in the past) separate themselves from the field because they are playing exceptionally well, that is fine by me... i don't care for the course, but... mother nature conspired against them this week... the greens* were too soft but there wasn't enough rain to take the fire out of the fairways... as a result,even the "long" holes played ridiculously short** and without any wind, the end result (really low scoring) was almost a given... we know these guys are good, and given the opportunity to hit wedge after wedge into receptive greens, they are going to score... * the greens also would appear to be "too easy" as well, but short of tearing them up and rebuilding them, that isn't going to change... ** i've already commented in another thread about there being too many "short" holes, and that contributed to the scoring as well...

[David in FL]

The problem I have with it is not that the winning score was low, but that it was the trend of the entire field.  If two or three or 6 guys go low then they are just having a great week on a well set up course.  When the whole field does it, then I lose interest in the tournament as a major championship.  Scoring in general was lower than at many of the regular tour stops - the leader board looks more like it does at the Hope (or whatever they call it now), and that is just about as far from a major as you can get.

I still don't see it. Only 24 guys in the entire field of 156 finished 4 rounds better than -5. Less than a 3d that made the cut. I just don't see that as a condemnation of the course, especially when we know that the unusually benign weather was a major factor in scoring.

[ryan772]

People want lower scoring so that they dont feel so dam far away from the pros imho, if pros are shooting -20 in majors how bad are we lol. Could b wrong though i just thibk subconciously that could b part of it.

[saevel25]

People want lower scoring so that they dont feel so dam far away from the pros imho, if pros are shooting -20 in majors how bad are we lol. Could b wrong though i just thibk subconciously that could b part of it.

I am sure you meant, "People don't want lower scoring".

[newtogolf]

I still don't see it.

Only 24 guys in the entire field of 156 finished 4 rounds better than -5. Less than a 3d that made the cut. I just don't see that as a condemnation of the course, especially when we know that the unusually benign weather was a major factor in scoring.

This is a great point and demonstrates that the course did challenge the field and highlights the disparity of performances over the 4 days.

[ryan772]

I am sure you meant, "People don't want lower scoring".

Yea thanks for coreecting that

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David in FL

I still don't see it.

Only 24 guys in the entire field of 156 finished 4 rounds better than -5. Less than a 3d that made the cut. I just don't see that as a condemnation of the course, especially when we know that the unusually benign weather was a major factor in scoring.

This is a great point and demonstrates that the course did challenge the field and highlights the disparity of performances over the 4 days.

You don't make a convincing argument.  50 some under par and more than a dozen under 10 under par.  Those aren't major numbers for me.

[MacDutch]

I don't want to vote, giving these two options. The course at Whistling straits wasn't set up easy. At day 4, the pinpositions were nasty. It was the weather that made it possible to go low.

[Natural Patrick]

I prefer the majors where the winner is still in single digits under par. When players start scoring double digits under par, it's makes it a little less interesting for me. I want the Majors to score a bit tougher than the rest of the tournaments they play in.

[Scotsclaff]

I LOVE Carnasty.

Me too.

I played it once a couple of years ago with my brother and cousins.

We played the 18th off the back tees to see if we could better Jean Van de Velde's 7,three of us bogeyed the hole and we had one 7.

It's a fantastic golf course.

I think the players moaned more about it than they did Chambers bay.

When you see Spieth with -54 for all majors it's time to change something.

[mtsalmela80]

Me too.

I played it once a couple of years ago with my brother and cousins.

We played the 18th off the back tees to see if we could better Jean Van de Velde's 7,three of us bogeyed the hole and we had one 7.

It's a fantastic golf course.

I think the players moaned more about it than they did Chambers bay.

When you see Spieth with -54 for all majors it's time to change something.

GASP, you mean "Spiethproof" the course?

[Scotsclaff]

GASP, you mean "Spiethproof" the course?

Call it what you want.

[Duff McGee]

The problem I have with it is not that the winning score was low, but that it was the trend of the entire field.  If two or three or 6 guys go low then they are just having a great week on a well set up course.  When the whole field does it, then I lose interest in the tournament as a major championship.  Scoring in general was lower than at many of the regular tour stops - the leader board looks more like it does at the Hope (or whatever they call it now), and that is just about as far from a major as you can get.

I agree with this. But I would even rather see a course so hard that even par can win it, just because I haven't seen many in my lifetime, if any.