2017 Masters Tournament

[ChrisP]

If I was a player, this would scare the willies out of me. Playing in wind is bad....playing in a cold wind is the worst.

Edited April 3, 2017 by ChrisP

[Yukari]

15 minutes ago, ChrisP said:

If I was a player, this would scare the willies out of me. Playing in wind is bad....playing in a cold wind is the worst.

I hate playing in that kind of wind also.  That's why we are mere mortals.  Tour players, on the other hand, should be use to these conditions.  Or at least better at it than mere mortals.

[ChrisP]

May be used to them, but still will test them to the max. That forecast brings back memories of that Saturday morning two years ago at St Andrews.

[skydog]

Tour players are obviously used to playing in the wind...but I think there's a big difference between playing Augusta in the wind and playing a links or Florida coastal course in the wind. When you bring a lot of topography into the mix and greens that require high shots to tiny targets, it'll be really interesting to watch if these 20+ mph forecasts hold true.

With the bowl shaped nature of Augusta I wouldn't be surprised to see 25+ mph winds at the higher elevations of the course and wind that dies towards the sheltered bottoms of it. Should make for a lot of guess work.

Edited April 3, 2017 by skydog

[phillyk]

52 minutes ago, skydog said:

Tour players are obviously used to playing in the wind...but I think there's a big difference between playing Augusta in the wind and playing a links or Florida coastal course in the wind. When you bring a lot of topography into the mix and greens that require high shots to tiny targets, it'll be really interesting to watch if these 20+ mph forecasts hold true.

With the bowl shaped nature of Augusta I wouldn't be surprised to see 25+ mph winds at the higher elevations of the course and wind that dies towards the sheltered bottoms of it. Should make for a lot of guess work.

More specifically the swirling winds of Amen corner and the par 3 will be very interesting to watch.  They could just be trying to punch a 8/7 iron and making a prayer as they watch it go 4 different directions before it lands.

[Buckeyebowman]

32 minutes ago, phillyk said:

More specifically the swirling winds of Amen corner and the par 3 will be very interesting to watch.  They could just be trying to punch a 8/7 iron and making a prayer as they watch it go 4 different directions before it lands.

You read my mind! Watching the flags at 11 and 12 will be interesting. The wind gets down in that bowl and just swirls around.

[ChrisP]

2 hours ago, skydog said:

Tour players are obviously used to playing in the wind...but I think there's a big difference between playing Augusta in the wind and playing a links or Florida coastal course in the wind. When you bring a lot of topography into the mix and greens that require high shots to tiny targets, it'll be really interesting to watch if these 20+ mph forecasts hold true.

With the bowl shaped nature of Augusta I wouldn't be surprised to see 25+ mph winds at the higher elevations of the course and wind that dies towards the sheltered bottoms of it. Should make for a lot of guess work.

 

Also a big difference between a warm wind when it's 80 degrees and a cold, heavy wind when it's 50 degrees with a wind chill in the 30s. It's a much more difficult wind to play in when it's cold. We saw the players struggle in the cold wind a lot in 2007 when it was brutal. We saw it really bad at St. Andrews two years ago. So I'd be willing to wager that if the weather forecast doesn't change, there may not be many scores, if any, in the red on Thursday.

[DeadMan]

I really hope that those winds don't turn out to be that bad. That's virtually unplayable, especially if the course gets firm and fast. It also means we could have a real stinker of a leaderboard over the weekend. 

[Scotsclaff]

I hope the forecasters are right and the wind blows on Thurs and Fri.

Whats a stinker of a leaderboard on Sunday?

Cabrera

Oosthuizen

Schwartzel

Leishman

Z Johnson

Fleetwood

Willett

Matsuyama

Garcia

Pieters

This would be epic.

[Marty2019]

10 hours ago, phillyk said:

More specifically the swirling winds of Amen corner and the par 3 will be very interesting to watch.  They could just be trying to punch a 8/7 iron and making a prayer as they watch it go 4 different directions before it lands.

God, I hope they don't stand there forever trying to judge the wind, or waiting for the wind to die down or shift.   That makes for some very boring TV when the players back away, talk to their caddy for a while, look up at the trees, talk some more, and on and on. 

[ChrisP]

With winds projected as bad as they are, it wouldn't surprise me if there's a postponement of play at some oint on Thursday. 40mph winds is a bit over the top and borderline crazy.

[tigerrag]

So knowing that it will probably be windy Thurs and maybe Fri, which players will fair better in it?  Also, does it hurt some of the favorites heading into the tournament?

[1badbadger]

1 hour ago, ChrisP said:

With winds projected as bad as they are, it wouldn't surprise me if there's a postponement of play at some oint on Thursday. 40mph winds is a bit over the top and borderline crazy.

I'm sure the Augusta National Tournament Committee has the ability to control how hard the wind blows...they control when the azaleas bloom, what the commentators say, how many t.v. commercials run per hour, and everything else surrounding the event, so they must have a handle on the weather too I would think?  

[Wally Fairway]

With winds that high will the powers that dictate the course conditions have to relent slightly and allow the greens to be slow enough to not have balls blown off the greens?

[iacas]

Is the 18-2 Local Rule in place for the Masters? I assume yes…

[DeadMan]

2 hours ago, tigerrag said:

So knowing that it will probably be windy Thurs and maybe Fri, which players will fair better in it?  Also, does it hurt some of the favorites heading into the tournament?

It probably removes anybody who relies primarily on the high ball from contention. Off the top of my head, Jason Day, DJ, and Rory. It probably gives an advantage to Spieth - he's a pretty good bad-weather player. But it's really a wild card about who gets into contention at that point. It can depend on morning/afternoon draws and how the weather plays out. It could also be that anybody who makes it to the weekend will have a shot when the winds calm down.

I do enjoy a good bloodbath and bad weather. But at the US Open or British Open, not the Masters. Plus, with these greens, it has the potential to turn Augusta from a spectacular course that's a great test of golf to a mickey mouse putt-putt course. Complete with putts that can't stay on greens and balls blowing off the green. I really hope that doesn't happen.

[DaveP043]

7 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

 Plus, with these greens, it has the potential to turn Augusta from a spectacular course that's a great test of golf to a mickey mouse putt-putt course. Complete with putts that can't stay on greens and balls blowing off the green. I really hope that doesn't happen.

I've heard it said that if anyone designed a course today with greens like those at Augusta, he'd be ridiculed and lynched.  Those severe greens are revered, due to their history, but they'd be tough to play on a regular basis.  Of course, if I was forced to play Augusta on a regular basis, I'd try to tolerate them.

[dennyjones]

4 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Of course, if I was forced to play Augusta on a regular basis, I'd try to tolerate them.

I'm sure you would...