Cody Gribble's Losing Shot

[iacas]

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/watch-cody-gribble-lose-a-webcom-tour-even-in-the-most-brutal-way-imaginable

 

Answer below to share why you voted the way you voted.

[DeadMan]

Both? I don't think we know enough to know. I actually caught this on TV last night. The wind was blowing from left to right, and Gribble played his stock draw. He needed a birdie to win outright, and a par to go to a playoff. This hole is apparently the hardest hole on the Web.com tour, too. So, with that all in mind...

If he was going for the spot he hit, then it was an awful decision. The margin for error there was tiny, as you can see from the result. A birdie on this hole is pretty unlikely, and he had something like 180 yards to the green. Flag hunting, on this hole, when a par will get you into a playoff, with that slope on the green, is a terrible idea.

I can't watch that video right now, but he says right away when he hits the shot that the ball has to sit. That said, I don't think he was actually trying to flag hunt. That makes me think like he overcooked the ball. And playing a draw with the wind like that will make the ball hook a lot more than it would usually. I tend to think that he was aiming a lot further left and the ball took off on him. If that's the case, then it's bad luck.

Bottom line, if he was aiming for that spot, it was a bad decision. If he was aiming a lot further left, and it overdrew from the wind, then bad luck. Without knowing where he was aiming, I think it's impossible to tell. But going for the flag is the wrong decision.

[Chilli Dipper]

I don't watch Web.com Tour events on TV, so I'm not familiar enough with how that green received approach shots to that pin to make a choice.

It looks like a good shot that had a bad result, but that doesn't necessarily mean bad luck.

[chspeed]

I can't imagine that he was aiming to the right of the flag, or anywhere near it. From the video, it looks like he's lining up left - but hard to tell for sure. My best guess is that he aimed for the left part of the green and either pulled it, hooked it, or the wind took it, and it was therefore a poorly executed shot or a miscalculation of wind speed/direction.

That said, there could have been a huge gust of wind after he hit the ball, in which case it is bad luck.

Edited May 2, 2016 by chspeed

[David in FL]

I can't believe that that was the shot and landing spot he actually planned, so in my mind, that makes it a bad shot.

Contrast that with Tom Watson's infamous 8-iron at Turnberry in 2009.  It was struck perfectly, landed well short of the hole and inexplicably bounded long.  That was a well planned, well executed shot, that should have resulted in the win. If Cody's had held, he would have "gotten away with one"...

[Chilli Dipper]

6 minutes ago, chspeed said:

I can't imagine that he was aiming to the right of the flag. My best guess is that he aimed for the left part of the green and either pulled it or the wind took it, and it was therefore a poorly executed shot or a miscalculation of wind speed/direction.

That said, there could have been a huge gust of wind after he hit the ball in the air that caused the ball to go right, in which case it is bad luck.

Or, for a draw that would release, maybe he took too much club.

[saevel25]

I didn't see him react on the shot like he hooked it or pulled it. He was eyeing it down because it looked good. If he over cooked it left then you would have seen him react much differently as the ball was in the air. The only thing he said was, "It needs to sit"

I think he played a bad shot.

1. It looks like that green is domed a bit there. Being as such, landing near the pin or past the pin will obviously kick the ball away from the pin. Especially if he hit a draw. These guys know the pin placements and the contours of the green.

The play should have been the front left half of the green. Having the ball land anywhere to the right of that pin is a poor shot decision for the club he was hitting.

 

 

 

[boogielicious]

He landed it too close to the hole. He either misjudged the wind, hit too hard of a shot being amped-up due to nervousness or chose the wrong club. He should have landed it 20+ feet short of where it landed to take the water out of play.

[Golfingdad]

My first thought after watching the video that I saw as a headline on my Facebook feed was how I was baited into that click because of the headline.

It didn't take a "huge" or "bad" bounce, it just spun right.  With a one shot lead on the 72nd hole, he should have been 15-20 feet left of that flag, so I voted bad shot/bad decision.

Doesnt mean I don't feel bad for the guy though.

[Wally Fairway]

I voted poor shot decision; facing that harsh a result for playing to the right side he just has to take that out of play - he didn't.

[newtogolf]

I was watching it live and thought it was bad luck but after watching the replay, it was a bad shot or decision.  With a one shot lead, he should have made sure he landed short of the hole.  

[Gunther]

I voted bad luck because I have a hard time calling a tremendous shot like that a "bad shot", although I acknowledge that he turned it over more than he hoped.  So, I don't have a problem with the bad shot crowd since it didn't come off as he planned, I just couldn't bring myself to characterize it thusly.  Gotta manage your misses and he didn't there but it sure was close.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Gunther

[Chilli Dipper]

Another point to consider: Gribble is left-handed. For a righty golfer, that shot is a fade, and the ball lands softly.

[Rainmaker]

Had to be a bad shot or bad decision.  I'm going to go with he was amped up and hit it farther than he wanted and probably offline, too.  It wasn't even close to holding the green - he would've known that. 

[14ledo81]

Bad shot/decision.  I think he definitely should not have planned to hit it there.  If he did, bad decision.  If he planned to hit it elsewhere and did not, bad shot.

[mchepp]

I would say bad decision, but there are a couple of factors I am unsure of. How hard was the wind blowing? Looks like quite a bit which would mean he could have made a good decision but did not account for enough wind.

I will add that it is a pretty tough pin position set by the tournament committee. 

[JetFan1983]

Whoa, lots of people voting for "bad shot/decision." Even if you're right, don't you guys know never to blame yourself in this game??  Hurts the confidence. 

It's always someone else's fault.

[Rainmaker]

2 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Whoa, lots of people voting for "bad shot/decision." Even if you're right, don't you guys know never to blame yourself in this game??  Hurts the confidence. 

It's always someone else's fault.

Yeah, lol . .flawed poll. You forgot "Caddie gave him the wrong club"