When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
"[Bleep] Augusta."
/Bobby Jones Green Jacket Up For Auction!
/Really Hoping The Masters Doesn't Cut The Tournament Winner Exemption...
/Augusta's Lack Of OB: Were You Bothered?
/Marty Hackel: All-White Is The New White!
/Golf Digest's fashion guru weighs in on the various fashion statements made during the Masters.
And he weighs in on the much talked about Luke Donald Saturday outfit:
While I thought it was solid, many had the opinion that it belonged either undercover or out at the Hamptons.
Fourth Masters Question: Time To Revisit Long Putters and Bracing The Putter?
/Brandel: "Why agree to talk if you’re not going to cooperate and what prompts Tiger to be so consistently smug, when he is interviewed?"
/Rory Even Handles Lost Luggage With Grace
/Third Masters Question: Will This Year's Setup Get The Credit It Deserves?
/After all, we live in a world where a champion heroically birdieing the last four holes and a host of other players performing brilliantly under pressure might just give some the impression something was faulty with the design or setup.
Well, we know tournament chairman Fred Ridley phoned in this year's setup...just kidding.
As I noted in Golf World Monday (link readable for non-subscribers too), Augusta National put on a show like few others this year thanks to what looked like a combination of a very solid setup by the committee, the addition of so much more grass on the course and slightly softer ground.
No, balls didn't roll down banks into creeks and lakes as much as they used to. And in general, we saw very few situations where you felt like the course was creeping over the edge. Schwartzel shot -14 and sure, there were plenty of red numbers but the weather was essentially ideal for four days. On a course with no rough, four par-5s and smooth greens, that's a number today's players should shoot.
That said, the architecture still is tainted by the recent changes, namely at 11, 15 and 17 where the tree planting does not get any less offensive. Huggan and Elling noted this and other course related topics in their pond scrum:
Huggan: The sight of Jason Day chipping out -- chipping out at Augusta! -- from behind a particularly mindless example of a Hootie tree right of No. 15 made me shudder.
Elling: Absolutely agreed. The whole idea is to be able to go for the green -- at your own peril. Chop-outs are for the U.S. Open.
Huggan: I don't have a problem with ANGC being longer, I might add. Something has to be done if the ball is not to be fixed by the USGA and the R&A. In fact, we have come full circle in that respect: 14 years ago the so-called "Tiger-proofing" began when Woods was hitting short irons to par-5s. Well, that's what we had again this week from the likes of Woodland and Quiros.
So I'm curious what you are seeing and hearing from those who watched the Masters.
Do golfers attribute this year's epic Masters to the great setup and conditioning giving today's players a chance to showcase their talents, or do they see low scores and think something is wrong?
I really do hope we've grown past such a childish assessment of a course's worth based on the scores, but I know better.