The Golf Thread

[Alpe d'Huez]

Big congrats to Sergio from the US. The Masters couldn't have had a finer winner, and he really pulled it together after falling behind, then missing the put on 18. To hold it together and keep cool after that, that took fortitude. Fortitude of a champion.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

At last Sergio wins a major, maybe Lee Westwood's time is yet to come. (Don't think he's that old yet, 43 is the new 23.)

The US Open comes next, think I like that one better because the course changes every year and it doesn't have that air of exclusivity and snootiness about it like the Masters does. Where the heck are they playing this year, have to look it up... oh, somewhere in Wisconsin.


Interesting stuff about Gary Player, btw., I'm learning new things.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I too love the fact that the US Open is at different courses every year, and the fact that it's an open, in that anyone who plays well enough can qualify and win (in theory anyway). Having said that, Erin Hills isn't that pretty of a course from what I've seen. Not that they're all going to be Pebble Beach or Bandon Dunes...

Interesting article on Player, including the history of his views on Apartheid. And how he was a polarizing figure in his day.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf-the-paradox-that-is-gary-player-1329010.html

 

[movingtarget]

Glad Garcia got the monkey off his back. Well done.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Not sure why I'm not on top of this one, but the Player's Championship at TPC Sawgrass is supposed to be fun and is currently mid-play!

Especially hole 17 - that is where the golf balls come to die! (Not necessarily with the pros, but each year thousands of balls get fished out of that little pond...)

Shhhhhhh... only golf claps allowed from now on.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

The mugshot we've all been waiting for, well, not really... the latest chapter in the downfall of Tiger Woods. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40089225

I'd frankly be surprised if he makes it past the age of fifty, due to many surgeries I wouldn't be shocked if he wasn't hooked on pain meds already. Equally it wouldn't surprise me if one day he accidentally ODs and ends up like Prince or Michael Jackson, sad really.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

That thought also immediately hit my mind when I heard about the DUI. That he might have been drunk, but this is possibly a self-medication related, due to likely pain issues, with prescription pain meds behind it. Anyone who's had, or knows someone who has had, back, spinal, or neural pain problems, let alone surgeries, knows this can be a very difficult situation to get through, for anyone.

Tiger's entire story has gone haywire. From hero to zero. Champion, to fraud. Family man, to sleeping with hookers. All the hyped comebacks resulting in setbacks and surgeries, now pain killers and an arrest with an awful mug shot.

It used to be almost fun to point fingers at him and chuckle. Now it's getting too real, and as you say, sad. I hope he finds whatever help he needs, as a human being.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

NM

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re:

It used to be almost fun to point fingers at him and chuckle. Now it's getting too real, and as you say, sad. I hope he finds whatever help he needs, as a human being.

I never laughed at him because I think being a pro athlete or a celebrity comes with groupies (the cynic in me thinks many men would not be able to refuse), but I agree, I really hope Tiger Woods has some good people around him right now.

Thanks for changing the title of the thread, btw., don't think I was able to do it myself. And the US Open is coming up, so there will be much more very quiet conversation going on.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Tomorrow is the first round of the very difficult US Open, serving it this year will be Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

If anything of note happens (providing I don't fall asleep first), I'll be sure to let you know.

And now shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... the pros are merely practicing, but practicing they are, nonetheless.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Suppose I should be paying more attention, but so far Erin Hills doesn't look like a very impressive golf course. I realize the golf tournament organizers (or whatever they're called) might have an interest in wanting to showcase pro golf in different parts of the country, but this course doesn't look particularly fetching. Not sure how difficult it is either, -7 played by a pro yesterday sounds a bit too easy. (Not that I would know seeing as I don't play golf, but usually a -1 sounds like much more of a challenge.)

I'll be rooting for my usual menz Jordan Spieth and Paul Casey, would be fun to see Angel Cabrera win, too. It's still way too early in the game though, we'll see who makes the cut after today.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Never mind, Angel Cabrera is already a projected cut with +3 today, and he's only on hole 3 so far!

Looks like many of the world's top players will also be going home early, which is what I think makes these majors so unpredictable and fun.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Whoah, Zach Johnson seems to have put on a pound, or twenty, since the last time he won a major.

Sorry for this very superficial observation, it's just something I grew up with.

 

[the delgados]

Re:

Whoah, Zach Johnson seems to have put on a pound, or twenty, since the last time he won a major.

Sorry for this very superficial observation, it's just something I grew up with.

Johnson, an avid christian, thanks his lord and saviour Jesus Christ for putting on the pounds.
I'm currently in jail and am unable to watch the U.S. open, but I heard the fairways are wide enough to accommodate the landing of a 747 airliner. Normally the fairways on a US open set-up are no wider than a bowling alley, so I guess that accounts for the low scores.
Surprised to learn that the likes of Dustin Johnson missed the cut. Guy hits the ball a mile and the course is set up for long hitters.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

I'm currently in jail and am unable to watch the U.S. open,

Can I just back up a bit to this one?

I mean, what the frick, man?

Snedeker has some very interesting shoes going on there, btw.

 

[the delgados]

Re: Re:

I'm currently in jail and am unable to watch the U.S. open,

Can I just back up a bit to this one?

I mean, what the frick, man?

Snedeker has some very interesting shoes going on there, btw.

I'm just goofing. Work has prevented me from watching a single second of the U.S open.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

I'm currently in jail and am unable to watch the U.S. open,

Can I just back up a bit to this one?

I mean, what the frick, man?

Snedeker has some very interesting shoes going on there, btw.

I'm just goofing. Work has prevented me from watching a single second of the U.S open.

Well, let us just say once they hit the ball into the rough it's a bit rough. (You basically need a weed whacker to get yourself out of that mess.)

Is there a particular player you would like me to keep an eye on?

 

[the delgados]

Re: Re:

I'm currently in jail and am unable to watch the U.S. open,

Can I just back up a bit to this one?

I mean, what the frick, man?

Snedeker has some very interesting shoes going on there, btw.

I'm just goofing. Work has prevented me from watching a single second of the U.S open.

Well, let us just say once they hit the ball into the rough it's a bit rough. (You basically need a weed whacker to get yourself out of that mess.)

Is there a particular player you would like me to keep an eye on?

Thanks, TR! Nice of you to ask.
I don't have any particular allegiance to any player, unless a Canadian starts to climb the leaderboard, then my stupid national pride comes out.
I enjoy watching a no-name come out of nowhere to challenge for a major championship win.

 

[BullsFan22]

How's Sergio doing?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

How's Sergio doing?

Have no idea seeing as the TV broadcasters had no live camera on him.

What I can tell you, however, is that Paul Casey had just chucked it into a sandpit. Live.

 

[GwaneTIme]

Golf is not pleasant to watch, it is pleasant to play. I didn't like watching it neither before starting to play it, neither after starting. Watching is boring. But as soon as you start playing it, when you'll feel the grass under your feet and the wind passing through your hair, golf will become part of your life, an activity that your life would be boring without. It allows you to detach from the real world. My Callaway Golf Balls are the best balls from all the existing sports, which by the way are also the best golf balls (more about them on https://golfclubguru.net/callaway-golf-balls-review/). But have you guys tried playing golf at night? All that I said before is nothing compared to night golf.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Golf is not pleasant to watch, it is pleasant to play. I didn't like watching it neither before starting to play it, neither after starting. Watching is boring. But as soon as you start playing it, when you'll feel the grass under your feet and the wind passing through your hair, golf will become part of your life, an activity that your life would be boring without. It allows you to detach from the real world. My Callaway Golf Balls are the best balls from all the existing sports, which by the way are also the best golf balls (more about them on https://golfclubguru.net/callaway-golf-balls-review/). But have you guys tried playing golf at night? All that I said before is nothing compared to night golf.

I don't mind watching the pros play because every shot counts. You miss a putt and that means you could have literally missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. I think it's kinda interesting to see the difference in prize money between first and second place in big tournaments.

As to your question - unfortunately I haven't gotten my hands on any golf clubs yet, but I have played virtual fairway solitaire. On some of these holes you can get yourself into a "twilight golf" situation, which means you have only 30 seconds to finish up the game before it gets dark and the game ends. https://www.izzygames.com/fairway-solitaire-t3401.html

So yeah, while this probably isn't as fun as playing real golf in the dark it is at least something. (Freaking hole 2 kills me each and every time.)

On a side note - there are a whole bunch of solitaire games online, but how, or even why, they managed to work golf into a virtual card game is still a mystery to me.

 

[Merckx index]

Speaking of golf and money, Tiger Woods turned down a $3 million appearance fee to play in Saudi Arabia. He said it was a long way and he didn't want to travel that far, but it might have been a polite way of protesting MBS and the Khashoggi murder. Certainly players who are going there, like Mickelson, are getting some flak.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Speaking of golf and money, Tiger Woods turned down a $3 million appearance fee to play in Saudi Arabia. He said it was a long way and he didn't want to travel that far, but it might have been a polite way of protesting MBS and the Khashoggi murder. Certainly players who are going there, like Mickelson, are getting some flak.

I can see how there would be a dilemma for golfers who are merely scraping by (this is also true for pro cyclists), if they need the money they probably can't say no to a decent paying contract or appearance fee where ever it may come from. But somebody as loaded as Tiger can easily decline, thought this article about the whole Saudi Arabia situation was rather interesting in that no golfer (except for maybe Paul Casey) was willing to take a definite stance.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/ti...n-saudi-arabia-dances-around-a-delicate-topic

On a side note - I thought Tiger had a rather bizarre take on skyscrapers (probably built by slave labor in that region of the world) popping up all over the skyline - he thinks this is a good thing?

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Mickelson -again?