2016 Masters Toonamint Discussion Thread

[Wally Fairway]

and Rory goes off last (with Haas & Kaymer) - I don't think I'd like that tee time, spike marks, slow play and such.

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, CarlSpackler said:

Go Jim!

 

 

Spoiler

I lived in Scioto Hall at UC one summer when I was an intern. So I guess I am a pseudo-alumni. 

 

[Club Rat]

Quote

 

AUGUSTA, Ga. – In official publications it’s referred to as the Masters Club, but to anyone with even a passing interest in golf it’s simply the Champions Dinner.

The club is limited to winners of the Masters and Augusta National’s chairman, who is granted a honorary membership, and the annual dining options – Angel Cabrera, for example, served grouper ceviche over plantain chips in 2010 – are the only real public glimpses most ever get into the Tuesday tradition, but last year’s Champions Dinner was different.

By all accounts, the annual gathering was transformed in 2015 from a largely understated affair into exactly what one would expect from the game’s most exclusive cocktail party.

“I’d only been to two, but it was very different from my first dinner where nothing was really said by anyone and it was just dinner and everyone left,” Adam Scott said. “But what broke the ice last year was a presentation was made to Arnold [Palmer] in the middle of the dinner and he felt he should speak and it was a very emotional speech.”

The presentation was a piece of the iconic Eisenhower tree on the 17th hole, which was lost in an ice storm in 2014.

Normally, Ben Crenshaw serves as the emcee of the event and he introduces the defending champion, who makes a few comments, followed by chairman Billy Payne who gives an overview of the club and any changes that may have been made since the previous year’s tournament.

Last year’s dinner, however, took an emotional turn when Palmer was persuaded to speak after being given his piece of Augusta National history.

“Arnold stood up and started speaking and you could tell it was straight from the heart. It was quite a special moment, really. It was pretty emotional and then he nudged Jack [Nicklaus] to get up and help him out,” Trevor Immelman said. “In the true spirit of those two, Jack was like, ‘Nah, you’re doing alright.’ It was a tremendous moment.”

Eventually, Palmer was followed by Tom Watson who then convinced Doug Ford, the 1957 winner and at 93 the oldest Masters champion, to speak.

“I wanted to have Doug Ford talk about the great shot that he hit, that the kids didn't know about,” Watson said. “The kids love that. They love stories like that. How did you win the Masters?  Everyone in that room has won the Masters, so they know how they did it. But it's always fun to listen to other players describe how they did it.”

Fuzzy Zoeller talked, or depending on who you ask, did a few minutes of standup, doling out jokes and entertaining anecdotes as only the 1979 champion can.

One by one, nearly every Masters legend spoke, but the impromptu moment began with Palmer, who announced last month he wouldn’t be hitting the ceremonial first tee shot on Thursday but did plan to attend the Champions Dinner.

“The significance of the tree is the remembrance of President [Dwight D.] Eisenhower, a part of the history of Augusta,” Palmer said. “It was a very important part of the dinner, which was wonderful, with a lot of stories and so on ... and that was very special given my relationship with the former president.”

Photo gallery: What winners have served at recent Champions Dinners

With the exception of the defending champion, who is wedged between the chairman and the host (Crenshaw), seating for the event is largely on a first-come, first-serve basis, but there is a hierarchy.

“People get their spots and just stay there,” Immelman said. “Last year, [Adam] Scottie was kind of asking me where he should sit and I kind of dragged him down to our side on the far corner. Guys get familiar with their spot and they just kind of stay there.”

Immelman’s corner includes Gary Player, Nick Faldo and Charl Schwartzel, with Vijay Singh sitting across the table from Faldo.

Although that system leads to familiarity and a relaxed environment, in recent years it likely created a segmented atmosphere more suited to private conversations. It’s a dynamic that made last year’s dinner standout for many of the champions.

“More poignant would be the way I would describe it. More lively; the legends spoke up a little bit and there was some emotion and there was some laughter and sadness, but all in a positive way,” Zach Johnson said.

The dinner was started in 1952 by Ben Hogan, which is curious considering the Hawk’s aversion to small talk and social gatherings.

That first dinner included just 11 attendees, a number that grew to 30 last year, which is mildly concerning considering the defending champion picks up the tab, and normally lasts between two to three hours.

The difference last year was that no one wanted the event to end.

“After Arnold spoke, the stories started coming to just what you would picture that dinner to be,” Scott said. “It was fantastic, really great.”

Like everything else at Augusta National, the Champions Dinner continues to get better thanks to an emotional spark from Palmer, which also seems to be a spring tradition.

“Every year for me to be part of that is kind of goose bump kind of stuff,” Immelman said. “Every year it seems to get better and better and you kind of appreciate it a little more.”

 

 

[nevets88]

Watched, well, listened to the masters.com live at the range this morning. Tom Watson abruptly corrected the interviewer when asked which was his favorite major, expecting The Masters, no The Masters is not my favorite major, the USO is, threw the reporter off a bit.

Also, Bobby Clampett talking about the short game, how he doesn't like all these players flipping at the ball.

 

[Golfingdad]

http://espn.go.com/golf/masters16/story/_/id/15133537/sammy-schmitz-living-every-fan-masters-dream-augusta-national

Quote

Down in Vero Beach, Sammy arrived at the 33rd hole -- No. 15 on the course, which was a short, uphill par-4 -- with a two-hole lead on Marc Dull of Lakeland, Florida. Sammy pulled out his driver, measured the target 270 to 275 yards away, and hit a cut into the right-to-left wind. Sammy used his left arm to shield his eyes from the sun as he watched his ball land on what was a sloping, wildly unpredictable green.

"Sit," commanded his caddie, John Hanner. "The ball rolled slowly up to the top of the hill," Sammy recalled, "but it didn't get up to the crest. It came back down toward the hole, and we knew it was good."

Sammy leaned over to pick up his tee and began marching toward the fairway when he was stopped cold by a roar that could only mean one thing.

"It went in!" shouted an official with the group. "A hole-in-one!"

Sammy jumped into Hanner's arms and shrieked, "No way." He grabbed his head with both hands, pulled off his visor, and accepted congratulations from Dull and his caddie. "An out-of-body experience," Sammy called it. The plaque that would be installed on that tee box three months later described the hole-in-one as "only the second such feat on a par-four in 120 years of USGA competition."

 

[pumaAttack]

5 hours ago, ChrisP said:

Given the fact it's winds from a cold front coming in, they tend to be pretty gusty. Nobody will know for sure how strong they will blow until the actual front comes in, but I know from past years, when a storm comes in and the temperatures drop, the winds tend to be pretty nasty.

 

 

 

I just practiced at the range with 30 MPH winds.  That was not fun.  I am not used to very windy, constant days.

I hope the wind doesn't hurt the likes of Rory and Day.

[saevel25]

I like how Jack acts like the boss. "You don't need to scan that, do you?" 

LOL!!! 

[nevets88]

17 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I like how Jack acts like the boss. "You don't need to scan that, do you?" 

LOL!!! 

With both guys, it's like, wait for it, wait for it... that moment of recognition, them boom, world's your oyster. Maybe security is provided a whitelist?

[ChrisP]

2 hours ago, pumaAttack said:

I just practiced at the range with 30 MPH winds.  That was not fun.  I am not used to very windy, constant days.

I hope the wind doesn't hurt the likes of Rory and Day.

The north winds are always the worst. Those are the cold winds. Always hated playing in those. Those were vicious. According to the forecast, Saturday will be a north wind. That will likely be not be a fun day for the players.

[colin007]

11 hours ago, Phil McGleno said:

It is okay-We can not all be smart.

It has only said I am not Mac in my signature since you joined the site.

Lol, he's not the only one who's convinced you're THE Mac. I've spoken personally to at least one.

[b101]

Well, my bets are on. Rors for the win and Reed for top 8. Should make the experience that bit more entertaining!

[saevel25]

Looks like the course is going to get a good amount of rain right before and during the first part of the morning round. 

That is about 0.25-0.4 inches over a 6 hour period. 

Most likely coming around 6 am - 7 am, with 15 mph winds and 20-25 mph gusts. Then just plain windy for the afternoon. 

 

[DeadMan]

The wind forecast makes me think that Snedeker might be a decent darkhorse bet. His round at Torrey earlier this year in the wind is probably the best round of the year, and those winds were much worse.

Bad winds would completely change the leaderboard, in my opinion. Probably counts out Day, Rory, or Bubba. Spieth could be someone who gains a lot from winds - remember that round he had at the Australian Masters (I think?) about 2 years ago in the wind. Assuming the forecast holds up, it completely changes who is in contention, because a lot of the favorites don't handle the wind very well.

[skydog]

As an aside, I watched the '86 documentary last night on GC. I thought it was well done and definitely worth watching. For those who didn't see it, I'm sure GC will re-air it a thousand times.

[Mr. Desmond]

Gosh, this is anyone's tourney. That's all I've got. 

So many ifs involved with top players... If Spieth's putter returns, if Rors short game and putter shows up, If Phil drives it in the fairway, if Day's back holds up, if Reed doesn't give the Masters Chairman a dirty look...

[colin007]

20 minutes ago, skydog said:

As an aside, I watched the '86 documentary last night on GC. I thought it was well done and definitely worth watching. For those who didn't see it, I'm sure GC will re-air it a thousand times.

i think i prefer just the final round highlights that they condense to an hour.  i watched the 86 and 96 ones yesterday. did the doc add a lot of extra commentary?

[skydog]

31 minutes ago, colin007 said:

i think i prefer just the final round highlights that they condense to an hour.  i watched the 86 and 96 ones yesterday. did the doc add a lot of extra commentary?

It had a good amount of commentary from patrons on the course that Sunday. Also some neat anecdotes from media folks and the story behind Jack's yellow shirt that day which is a bit of tear jerker.

Edited April 6, 2016 by skydog

[Golfingdad]

40 minutes ago, skydog said:

It had a good amount of commentary from patrons on the course that Sunday. Also some neat anecdotes from media folks and the story behind Jack's yellow shirt that day which is a bit of tear jerker.

Yeah, the yellow shirt thing was neat - I had never heard anything about it before. :)