2017 Northern Trust Discussion Thread

[Shindig]

36 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

Aren't playoff holes typically already decided before the tournament starts? I could be wrong, I don't know that I've seen too many playoffs but they always seemed to know what the holes played would be well before the end of regulation play. Usually they replay 18 by default right?

I think "go back and play #18 again" is the standard first playoff format.  A handful of majors (and the Players) have other forms of playoff, but I think the set of which hole number and order is decided ahead of time.

[skydog]

1 hour ago, Alx said:

I like how some players on twitter are so incredibly salty over the playoff hole selection favoring DJ. 

Quit yapping and hit the ball further.

Imo the playoff was very entertaining.

Yea I don't understand players griping about that. Length is almost always an advantage regardless of the hole and going back to play 18 again seems to be the standard playoff format (for non majors).

It's not like it was some conspiracy to give DJ the trophy...Spieth is the darling of the media and the sponsors right now, so I doubt any of them were pulling for DJ to win.

[No Mulligans]

I was rooting for DJ.  Speith has hit some clutch really long putts this year.  I believe, even if Speith is the best at sinking long putts, there is a certain element of luck involved in how often he has done it in big moments.  I was looking for the luck to balance out a bit... He did miss the long putts on the 18th both in regulation and in the playoffs.

Edited August 29, 2017 by No Mulligans

[nevets88]

 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 8/28/2017 at 8:55 AM, iacas said:

I recorded the final round, but I heard the hack-out rough (the golf course) and the two-man race wasn't all that compelling.

 

On 8/28/2017 at 10:41 AM, skydog said:

I'm surprised to hear that ...the course produced a great leaderboard all week which IMO is pretty telling of a good/fair course. And yesterday saw a duel between (arguably) the two biggest names in the sport right now.

Obviously TGC tends to overhype things a bit, but a decent article from them on yesterday http://www.golfchannel.com/news/rex-hoggard/dj-spieth-duel-good-it-gets

 

Yeah, that kind of surprises me as well. And, heard from who? Or whom? Or whoever?

[nevets88]

Just catching up on the Monday morning jockeying on the DJ/Spieth playoff hole.

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2017/8/30/parsing-the-issues-raised-by-djs-341-yard-playoff-drive.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

http://www.golf.com/tour-news/2017/08/29/askalan-why-shouldnt-dj-be-able-take-advantage-his-skills

https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/dustin-johnsons-massive-drive-was-heroic-but-is-it-what-we-want-golf-to-be/

 

[iacas]

On 8/29/2017 at 9:09 AM, Alx said:

I like how some players on twitter are so incredibly salty over the playoff hole selection favoring DJ. 

Quit yapping and hit the ball further.

Imo the playoff was very entertaining.

Yeah, hit the ball further. Some holes favor certain types of players over others. Hell, some golf courses favor certain types of players over others. Harbour Town, anyone?

Deal with it.

15 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Yeah, that kind of surprises me as well. And, heard from who? Or whom? Or whoever?

Several people who watched.

I haven't yet watched the recorded round. I'll probably delete it since it's already Wednesday.

[skydog]

I don't quite understand people like Shack and others who are ringing the alarm bells that something needs to be done to curb distance to help preserve the pro game and keep courses relevant.

After increasing 27 yards between 1993-2003, average driving distance on tour has barely changed since 2003. This isn't some escalating phenomenon that needs to be deal with...it's just noticeable now because a few incredible athletes like DJ- who might have played baseball 20 or 30years ago- are now deciding to play golf. That and guys are getting bigger and stronger with each passing year...that's the way sports work. But it's not a systemic technological issue that needs to be dealt with.

And for us weekend hackers, golf is still as hard as ever, and a launched drive every now and then is usually the only thing that's going to keep us coming back for more punishment.

[iacas]

18 minutes ago, skydog said:

I don't quite understand people like Shack and others who are ringing the alarm bells that something needs to be done to curb distance to help preserve the pro game and keep courses relevant.

I have never seen that side of things either.

18 minutes ago, skydog said:

After increasing 27 yards between 1993-2003, average driving distance on tour has barely changed since 2003. This isn't some escalating phenomenon that needs to be deal with...it's just noticeable now because a few incredible athletes like DJ- who might have played baseball 20 or 30years ago- are now deciding to play golf. That and guys are getting bigger and stronger with each passing year...that's the way sports work. But it's not a systemic technological issue that needs to be dealt with.

They like to question that, and pull the occasional odd stat out of their rear. They downplay how a hole at Erin Hills was downhill and/or downwind, or that the ball rolled 50 yards. Or that a guy is swinging 20 MPH faster than they did in 1987. Or whatever.

Modern courses are a bit bigger. Greens and tees are about the same size, par threes are still hard, and one of the most beguiling par fours on the PGA Tour measures about 320 yards (#10 at Riviera).