PGA Tour Players are Whiny Spoiled Babies?

[rehmwa]

On 6/23/2018 at 5:03 PM, JonMA1 said:

It's just easy (myself included) to criticize those whose livelihoods involve something we consider to be a leisure activity in our lives.

This resonantes very strongly.  But what If I just want to be a crotchety old guy that needs a Snickers?

[JonMA1]

4 hours ago, rehmwa said:

This resonantes very strongly.  But what If I just want to be a crotchety old guy that needs a Snickers?

These pros today.... they got it easy with their fancy-pants sponsorship clubs and bags and hats and ...... pants. They play golf on perfectly manicured courses with caddies carrying their equipment and telling the how to play. 

Nothing like golf in my day. We'd have to mow our own greens and forge our own clubs. We'd carry our own equipment.... uphill.... in the worst weather imaginable. 

Now that was real golf.

Edited June 29, 2018 by JonMA1

[1badbadger]

I think by-and-large Tour players don't mind demanding conditions.  I also don't think they expect to be rewarded every time they execute a quality shot...but nothing is more frustrating than playing a shot the way you intended and getting penalized.   When I lived in Austin I used to play a course that had fairways that were significantly crowned.  A solid drive down the middle was more likely to kick into the rough than stay in the fairway.  Believe me when I tell you, I turned into a whiny bitch when I'd get to the landing area and instead of seeing my ball in the fairway I'd have to search for it in the rough.  Not being rewarded for a good shot is one thing...being penalized for a good shot will make anyone a whiner.  Other than a handful of exceptions, I don't think Tour players are whiners. 

[Shorty]

10 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

These pros today.... they got it easy with their fancy-pants sponsorship clubs and bags and hats and ...... pants. They play golf on perfectly manicured courses with caddies carrying their equipment and telling the how to play. 

Nothing like golf in my day. We'd have to mow our own greens and forge our own clubs. We'd carry our own equipment.... uphill.... in the worst weather imaginable. 

Now that was real golf.

We had to carve our own tees and tan the hides of our leather bags which we stitched up ourselves....

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

I think by-and-large Tour players don't mind demanding conditions.  I also don't think they expect to be rewarded every time they execute a quality shot...but nothing is more frustrating than playing a shot the way you intended and getting penalized.   When I lived in Austin I used to play a course that had fairways that were significantly crowned.  A solid drive down the middle was more likely to kick into the rough than stay in the fairway.  Believe me when I tell you, I turned into a whiny bitch when I'd get to the landing area and instead of seeing my ball in the fairway I'd have to search for it in the rough.  Not being rewarded for a good shot is one thing...being penalized for a good shot will make anyone a whiner.  Other than a handful of exceptions, I don't think Tour players are whiners. 

Agree. I played a league at a course with one hard, uphill par 4 with a sloped fairway. Any ball in the fairway inevitably went left in to rough, or worse, into the  woods if the rough was cut down. Hated that hole.

But this US Open course had a lot of advantages if you got it in the fairway. The ball would roll 50 plus yards for one. We never get that unless the course is dried out. I think Tour players forget about the stuff that is helping them.

2 hours ago, Shorty said:

We had to carve our own tees and tan the hides of our leather bags which we stitched up ourselves....

At least you had wood. We chipped out tees from limestone cliffs and strapped our clubs to our backs with thorny vines. Kids these days....😜

[JonMA1]

6 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

I think by-and-large Tour players don't mind demanding conditions.  I also don't think they expect to be rewarded every time they execute a quality shot...but nothing is more frustrating than playing a shot the way you intended and getting penalized. 

I am probably an odd duck when it comes to this, but there are a couple of holes on my home course that have fairway bunkers right in the center of what would normally be a perfect landing spot. I really enjoy them. This is one I posted a few years ago. Not only is the center of the fairway elevated/crowned, but I'm also "rewarded" with a bunker shot for my second after a perfectly straight, well-struck tee shot. My regular playing partner just despises this hole.

I don't make a secret of how bad i play, so it isn't as though an easy course is not a challenge. But unusual course layouts that include bunkers or trees in the center of fairways can make for interesting decision-making.  

In my mind, a course that plays exceptionally difficult might favor some PGA players. I'll sometimes hear interviews with certain pros who like windy conditions because that "plays to their strength" and gives them an advantage over the rest of the field. I'd imagine there are some pros who feel the same way about a very difficult course or those who at least realize they don't have to shoot a typical low score to win.

[Robbie son of Lucky]

Without delving into the nuance definitions of whiny and spoiled, I agree with the general premise. I was a photographer on the PGA tour for a while in the early 80s, and most (not all) are unapproachable primadonas. 

I should add the LPGA women are much nicer. 

Edited June 30, 2018 by Robbie son of Lucky

[scotth]

7 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

 When I lived in Austin I used to play a course that had fairways that were significantly crowned.  A solid drive down the middle was more likely to kick into the rough than stay in the fairway.  

Used to live in Austin also...… Sounds like you are describing River Place.  I remember always trying to play the left side of the fairway to hope it would roll back to the middle or at least stop before it ran all the way off on the right.

I think pro's have always hated the setup of certain courses they just kept their complaints to themselves.  Not so much these days with Twitter and Instagram. 

 

[No Mulligans]

Maybe some pga players are "spoiled brats", I doubt they all are though.  The media while looking for a story tends to make a mountain out of a mole hill.  How many of the pga players that played are quoted complaining about the course?

[1badbadger]

On 6/30/2018 at 9:33 AM, scotth said:

Used to live in Austin also...… Sounds like you are describing River Place.  I remember always trying to play the left side of the fairway to hope it would roll back to the middle or at least stop before it ran all the way off on the right.

I think pro's have always hated the setup of certain courses they just kept their complaints to themselves.  Not so much these days with Twitter and Instagram. 

 

You're exactly right...I was referring to River Place!  I haven't played there in many years so I don't know if that's still the case, but back in the mid '90s I played there quite a few times.

[scotth]

20 minutes ago, 1badbadger said:

You're exactly right...I was referring to River Place!  I haven't played there in many years so I don't know if that's still the case, but back in the mid '90s I played there quite a few times.

I first played there during the dark real estate days of the mid to late 80's when half of Austin was in foreclosure including the golf course, and the bank let you play for $19.95 per person which included a cart!

We felt like at those cheap prices we couldn't complain about the extreme left to right slope of the fairways because it seemed like we were kicking somebody while they were already down. 🙂

 

 

 

[rehmwa]

On 6/30/2018 at 6:07 AM, boogielicious said:

At least you had wood. We chipped out tees from limestone cliffs and strapped our clubs to our backs with thorny vines. Kids these days....😜

AND, tophat and monocle up there had "LEATHER"?  seriously.  I had to share an old grocery sack with 14 other players.  Fortunately, even a paper sack like that could carry the rock and string we used as a club.  Although, the puppy we used, since balls were too expensive, was a bit hard to keep on the limestone tees....

[1badbadger]

7 hours ago, rehmwa said:

AND, tophat and monocle up there had "LEATHER"?  seriously.  I had to share an old grocery sack with 14 other players.  Fortunately, even a paper sack like that could carry the rock and string we used as a club.  Although, the puppy we used, since balls were too expensive, was a bit hard to keep on the limestone tees....

You got to use live puppies?  You must be rich!

[rehmwa]

4 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

You got to use live puppies?  You must be rich!

I WISH.  They were actually just shed fur from the garbage cans outside of a pet grooming shop in Shorty's neighborhood.

We'd pretend they were real though.  It would keep our minds off of the crapulence

 

good times

good times

 

[Golfingdad]

It's not quite the exact topic of the thread, however, the news yesterday about Graeme McDowell made me think of this thread. https://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/44686057

When your choices are A) do your best under adverse conditions OR B) complain, make excuses, and quit, and you choose option B, then I'm going with whiny and spoiled.

[BallStriker]

I voted "NO" as I really think this may be a perception based on the 24/7 ever-present media circus we live in.....I would be surprised if there wasn't a number of other generation tour pros grousing about USGA conditions in their time, but they just didn't get the attention/exposure that goes on today

Edited July 3, 2018 by BallStriker