JKolya

I was surprised that he even tried once, much more twice, to play out of there. That stuff is brutal. Ten and eleven can ruin your entire round (or tournament) there... They are tough holes . The rules situation was interesting. I was surprised at how unsure the official was with how to proceed. That situation doesn't seem too out there to me... That is, it happens fairly often. JT was so rattled though, the next shot up onto the hill was pretty tough, too.

Its been years since I have actively posted, but I still read the site daily. I figured having the tour at my home course was a great time to bet back into actively posting. First thoughts on the tournament and course? The announcers and players have commented on the U.S. Open, Sunday conditions which is the norm here. Its a very difficult, but fun track; its often described as unforgiving, especially 10 and 11. So far I like the set-up and pen placements.

I understand the basic probabilities, but they assume all else equals. So if there are 10 you have a 1 in 10 chance, and if there are 50 a 1 in 50. What I am saying is in real life it is not so basic and all else is not equal. There are a ton of variables we cannot lock down and measure that increase a players chance. So with 10 guys it is not a 1 in 10 chance, because some other variables increase (or decrease) a players chance. So a player may come along that even with a large field his real (immeasurable) probability puts him at a higher chance of winning.

I will read it, but I was as on topic as anyone else here as it was my reasoning for why I think the record will be beaten, and it was directly countering one of the main arguments for why it will not be beaten.

Other players affect you indirectly. By playing well they can change your game plan, requiring you to play more aggressive or more conservative, they can rattle your nerves, etc, but they cannot directly impact your play. So if a player is playing extremely well then it doesn't matter what others are doing. Keeping it on topic this is why I voted yes; eventually there could be a Michael Jordan, Kobe, Jack, Tiger that put themselves in a position to where what the others do does not matter, they are too good in the moment. As far as strength of field, I honestly have not seen the numbers that lead me to support that. For this post I randomly looked at a handful of seasons and they all had roughly the same number of winners and first time winners. One thing I am saying though is that whether 5 or 50 guys have a chance any given day, if you are the number 1 guy in that isolated moment/match, then it doesn't matter if there are 5 or 50 chasing you. So the field does not matter. I understand mathematically if more people are competitive that lowers the chance any one will win (which is the argument for today being more competitive and Tiger (or whoever) having less of a chance. But realistically it's not that simple. There are too many variables for us to ever consider true probabilities and chances for a player to win, and it is possible for someone to come along, and play such that the field does not matter. I know to a degree it is OT, but it does directly relate to the question.

I voted it would be broken eventually. Personally, I do not buy into the strength of field argument for either Tiger not winning now, or for no one breaking Jack's record. Golf is a game where if you do what you need to it does not matter what the other guys do. A quick completely random look at the 1976 PGA season (Excel random number generator to get the year) - there were 45 events with 31 winners, and 8 first time winners. In 2015 there were 52 (47 money) events with 35 winners, 11 first time ones. I would speculate that if we ran some data analysis over the years we would see that the "strength" of field, if measured by number of winners, really has not changed a ton. That said, at the end of the day if you shoot a 65, 65, 65, 65 in a tournament it would not really matter what the others did, or how many were close to you. A lot of both Jack's and Tiger's wins would have held up today even with a "stronger" field. Whether its Spieth or Mcilroy picking it up, someone like Dustin Johnson or Bubba all of a sudden shooting lights out for years, or some new kid down the road - someone could (will) come along. Last, even if you buy the strength of field argument we do not know that will hold up. The field in twenty years could be weak compared to today. Who knows.

Good read. For those questioning his authenticity, that perhap he is only focusing on his kids/personal life is because he knows he's done. I've always wondered the opposite that perhaps he has struggled, because he is focusing on his personal life and not putting unto tb4 game as much as he used too. I remember an interview from early 2013 where he mentioned his focus and time priorities had changed. I think this is why he has struggled more than anything (obviously along with injuries). I'm one who has zero tolerance for cheating, but just as a player I support him, and hope he has some left in the tank to challenge Jack and Snead.

Probably 30-35 actual rounds, and then a lot of 3-9 hole "rounds" at my course just playing to wait out traffic each day.

Yeah, I would do the same thing with twigs or what not. I did not like it though when I couldn't make a true neck swing because of the object in the way. Minor problem. I'm general the drill cause more problems for me as I thought too much about not hitting the object a d became armsy. I ended up just using video and signaling the camera when I hit it fat so that when reviewing my swings I would know. Eventually I worked it out.

It depends. I prefer to walk as I feel that allows me to "experience," the course more. I ride when I am fatigued or with certain friends. Mt home course is long with a lot of yardage in between holes so riding speeds that up. But in general it does not necessarily speed up play. When there are 20+ cappers they tend to drive and look for ball A for awhile before moving on to ball B. So it takes longer than had they each walked to their own ball. In general though I think it absolutely depends on thr course and the players. PS - as a caddie, I prefer double bag walking over a cart, even though it's more physically demanding on me. Anecdotally, it seems guys take a long time when riding. They get to the ball and just take their time, usually talking or thinking. Too much. The worst days are cart path only and the guys still take a cart. That makes for a lot of running to get/change clubs.

I understand. What I think, and what others have said (albeit perhaps in a defensive way for some.... while in a clear way for others) is that it does not matter. I understand what you are trying to do - the left shoulder has been an issue for me at times being too steep. But the answer is not in setup, but in the backswing. What you need is a feel - that is probably specific for you - that helps achieve what you want. The setup can adversely affect your swing - @iacas and myself mentioned in another thread how we often correct setups (and I am not an instructor). That said, no setup position will automatically lead to a good swing - it will just make things and sequencing easier. Go to the posture thread, read on here about setup, stop trying to perfect it, and work on YOUR FEELS. Bold areas - why I, for the first time ever got into one of these debates, and responded in a semi-pedantic manner. I responded pointing out his fallacy, because he did not answer a specific question, but instead attacked someone's intelligence. See above. I did not respond to attack him, or for my entertainment (or for others, or to jump on the bandwagon against him, etc).

"Home course," TPC Potomac.

Huge Robben fan here... Of his game, not necessarily as a person. And Cruyff and the Dutch game in general. Will have to check out Luiten.

I agree. I have lived in several places from Russia to Central America and it's different. In Eastern Europe for most the Olympics is the pinnacle (besides the World Cup.) Going back to competitiveness though, the World Cup is a perfect example. Club tournaments, especially the Champions League is far more competitive than the World Cup (as is the Euro), yet a WC win means more to most. It's a cultural thing where competitiveness/the field is less important than the event. That doesn't diminish anything either. Putting more value on the Olympics over a major does not diminish a player or his competitive nature. It's a preference thing. It's a representing your country thing. For some, not all, an Olympic medal is simply more valuable.

Just as big for me. While the strength of field is not as strong, that is hardly my measure for quality in this case. The Olympics are the Olympics and that is huge . Even if golf in the Olympics is not established you will forever be a gold medalist. If I was a pro golfer my list would be 1. Masters, 2. Gold medal, 3. Silver medal, 4. Other majors, 5. Bronze. Questions about specific of players capping off the career grand slam is a little different - we've added a component. I would speculate though that we may be surprised by some answers. Undoubtedly some will say it means more while others say less. I do think that some would change their answers after the games start. A player may say that a major means more, but after experiencing the buzz, the feel of representing your country (Ryder and President's Cup is not the same), experiencing the opening ceremonies, etc. In the end it's very individual and some will covet it more than a major while others less. My assumption is that where a player stands comes down to how much they watched the games (and the majors) growing up.

Not an instructor, but I too give a good amount of set-up advice to beginners and high handicappers at our course. The things I most address when a player asks for help: 1) grip, 2) feet (flared, width), and 3) posture. @iacas - what are the top things you correct?

Um,there was no fallacy in his statement. First, it is an assumption by speaking of what he may or may not know, that is a fallacy of presumption on your part. While I am doing the same in assuming that you really do not know what he knows, I think I am safe in my assumption. Second, he makes a theoretical statement in "If I set up perfectly...," so his actual knowledge is irrelevant. By the statement he IS setting up perfectly in his theoretical framework, and is asking what will occur next. There is therfore no fallacy based on what he actually knows. I have never said or implied anything negative about someone in a post, but it's easy to try and sound smart by word usage, etc, but that doesn't make it true. I know, like everyone else, that are trolling so no big deal, but still wanted to comment.

Yeah, I've been meaning to get a group of friends I used to play with to go play, but it hasn't happened yet. I know we would enjoy it. Speed golf is where my speed would make up for my lack of gold ability and even the field a little. I will have to find an opportunity for it.

I have never had the opportunity, but speed was always my biggest weapon in sports (especially soccer), so I think I would really enjoy it and excel at it.

ojI had the opportunity to write an article for Bleacher Report a few years ago - they wanted a slide show format, and this was my idea. I ended up turning it down as I didn't have the time and for me it was just for fun, but I have my notes and initial ideas. I had a more stringent methodology, and criteria. I said something like they had to relocate before the age of 21 to be considered from that state, or if they attended college and then stayed there they could be considered from the new state, so Woods was from California. Which I think he should have been here, but they really wad Wright included. My rough draft also included honorable mentions up to five, and then ranked the states overall. Texas was number one.

I'm in pretty good shape so I rarely get sore. The exception is an ongoing injury that occasionally flares up.

Unlimited. But I like playing different courses, so I still would not limit myself to just my home course. So for me unlimited at my home course equates to playing there 1-3 times a week, and at least once every two weeks at a different course. That would be a realistic scenario for me.

Mvmac's thread 9n divorce Thanksgiving food got me thinking about the holidays. What is your favorite tradition - whether it's food, football, decorating the tree, whatever. Mine - I have a huge family with huge dinners. One year we had four turkeys (one regular, three deep fried with different flavors) with equal amounts of ham, sides, desserts, etc. Needless to say we usually have a ton of leftovers. Well one year we did not and I was dlissapointed so I organized second Thanksgiving the Saturday after. This became a tradition and now we have a full second Thanksgiving the Saturday after. My second favorite is my dad is Mexican so with that side of the family we have a full Mexican dinner with various kinds of tamales, enchiladas, etc in addition to traditional food. So, what is yours?

Ham.... Mashed potatoes with gravy on both. Cannot wait.