Topic: The Golf Thread

[DangerScouse]

Utterly stupid scoring system, thought they'd scrap it after the first time, guess I should have known better.

Yeah, it's completely joyless. No interest in it.

[Yosser0_0]

Wow that Valderrama course looks tough, nobody under par overall and only two at -1 today! Miss the fairway and you've had it, putting looks a nightmare too. Visually it actually reminds me of the Old course at Vilamoura, but I think that's where the similarity ends in term of a test.

[nuts100]

US Open at Winged Foot
Rough is brutal, wayward off the tee and buggered.

I’d be surprised if a few don’t have a 1iron or the likes in their bags

Just seen some clips online, 

[Statto Red]

Winged Foot is the venue Colin Montgomerie should have won the US Open at, or at worst got a playoff, had a lead going into the last hole, 3 putted the last for a double bogey & finished 1 shot behind the winner, the winner that year finished 5 over.

[lgvkarlos]

Wow that Valderrama course looks tough, nobody under par overall and only two at -1 today! Miss the fairway and you've had it, putting looks a nightmare too. Visually it actually reminds me of the Old course at Vilamoura, but I think that's where the similarity ends in term of a test.

Played it about 20 years ago.
 I was invited to play in a pro am which we won, so we  decided to use our winnings to play it £170 back then.
I was off 1 or 2 handicap at the time, couldn't have hit the ball better and didn't break 80.
 Greens were seriously difficult especially for a shit putter like me, and they would be much faster for the pro's. Definitely the hardest course I've played, ridiculously tight.

Never played Vilamoura but heard its really good.

[KennyDaggers]

Wow that Valderrama course looks tough, nobody under par overall and only two at -1 today! Miss the fairway and you've had it, putting looks a nightmare too. Visually it actually reminds me of the Old course at Vilamoura, but I think that's where the similarity ends in term of a test.

I’ve played some of the best courses around...Royal County Down being my favourite in Britain but Valderama is definitely the best I’ve played abroad.

The type of course the modern golfer will struggle with as you can’t over power it.

[Statto Red]

A load of mates go to Portugal, & play the courses in the Albufeira/Vilamoura area, Vale Do Lobo being one of them, Vale Do Lobo has this par 3

[Fiasco]

I'm not sure if they'll trim the rough before Thursday but I don't think it will make too much difference. You're looking for someone who is accurate off the tee, any other statistic wont really matter as much IMO. It won't matter if you're 1st in strokes gained putting if you keep finding that rough.

Morikawa for me, his baby cut will work well here. Niemann too, I think he's great value at 100-1.

[nuts100]

If I was rory I’d leave the driver at home
He’s long with a 3wood, but under pressure he’s got a big draw

If DJ can keep it in the fairway he’s got a massive chance here
Greens and rough are brutal

Will need a really good off the tee and round the greens
Would like to see Fleetwood play well and the other euros

[ALPH1217]

Winged Foot is the venue Colin Montgomerie should have won the US Open at, or at worst got a playoff, had a lead going into the last hole, 3 putted the last for a double bogey & finished 1 shot behind the winner, the winner that year finished 5 over.

Very true. He hit a great pressure packed drive on 18 but a dreadful approach with a 7 iron (I think) which led to trouble. Everyone talks about Mickelson collapsing but Montgomerie tanked it also.

[4pool]

Other than Tiger, some long shot picks

Lanto Griffin

Viktor Hovland

Sungjae Im

[RedForeverTT]

Just saw pictures of Wined Foot roughs. Disgusting. If there were no fans and marshals then players will lose their balls with no chance of finding it.

Everyone should leave their drivers at home.

[blert596]

Just saw pictures of Wined Foot roughs. Disgusting. If there were no fans and marshals then players will lose their balls with no chance of finding it.

Everyone should leave their drivers at home.

Berra concentrate on hitting the fairway then

[arthur sarnoff]

Just saw pictures of Wined Foot roughs. Disgusting. If there were no fans and marshals then players will lose their balls with no chance of finding it.

Everyone should leave their drivers at home.

So my usual round of golf then?

[RedForeverTT]

So my usual round of golf then?

Which is why I think it is a torture to play golf at a club that just held a tournament. It is never enjoyable for mere mortals. People might as well connect car batteries to their nipples.

[nuts100]

I like watching them squirm
Figjam has repeatedly whined about the rough being too severe. A quote awhile back from him was that he wasn’t going to play in tournaments that didn’t play to his strengths which is wide open so I can hit it anywhere and be in contention

US open has always had a premium on hitting the ball straight, then decided on crazy golf putting 😂

[Statto Red]

Hasn't the US Open has always been set up were possible for narrow fairways, unforgiving rough, certainly super fast greens, the course is a par 70 rather than par 72, but wouldn't surprise me if the winner is over par, last time the winner had 285, 5 over

[4pool]

btw..when you watch the highlights of previous US Opens at Wingfoot and Hale Irwin winning in 1974...I have the same model putter-- Acushnet Bullseye with flange. 

I've never got rid of it.

For you younger types, Acushnet was the forerunner of Titleist. I also have a sleeve of Acushnet balls.

I'm old..

[Fiasco]

I've just read that only one player has finished under par in the last 6 US Opens at Winged Foot. And I think competitively, the course record is -4? I'm trying to verify that.


But anyway, as has been said, this will be fucking brutal. You could be 7 over par going into Sunday and be right in this.

[Statto Red]

I've just read that only one player has finished under par in the last 6 US Opens at Winged Foot. And I think competitively, the course record is -4? I'm trying to verify that.


But anyway, as has been said, this will be fucking brutal. You could be 7 over par going into Sunday and be right in this.

-11 is the record score in a major at Winged Foot, got in the 1997 PGA Championships by Davis Love III , -4 is the record for the US Open, & that ended in a playoff,

[RedForeverTT]

-11 is the record score in a major at Winged Foot, got in the 1997 PGA Championships by Davis Love III , -4 is the record for the US Open, & that ended in a playoff,

I think PGA tend to be more level headed in their set ups than US Open. Those kind of greens that even Ben Crenshaw would have trouble putting.

Someone should take their balata balls to play on US open.

[Crosby Nick]

btw..when you watch the highlights of previous US Opens at Wingfoot and Hale Irwin winning in 1974...I have the same model putter-- Acushnet Bullseye with flange. 

I've never got rid of it.

For you younger types, Acushnet was the forerunner of Titleist. I also have a sleeve of Acushnet balls.

I'm old..

Wise words. When you find a flange that’s works for you, you stick with it.

[4pool]

Mine is similar to this one but does not have that alignment line down next to the shaft..

But mine is left handed. 

[nuts100]

Mine is similar to this one but does not have that alignment line down next to the shaft..

But mine is left handed. 

That's a bloody torture device 

[4pool]

That's a bloody torture device 

Golf has come a long way since the dark ages...

Tbf...that was the popular type putter on the tour back then. The greens were slower and you needed more of a pop stroke to roll the ball. The Brass face was soft. I guess a bit like the White Hot inserts in Calloway putters and others.

I brought it out in Spring time when i had my putter re gripped. Used it for a round and then picked up my other putter after the round. It was weird...lol. But after a couple holes, it was like riding a bike and I putted ok with it.

[4pool]

Golf Digest takes you hole by hole around the course:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SOuPhubYgo

[him_15]

Can we discuss Bales's transfer here?

[Statto Red]

Golf Digest takes you hole by hole around the course:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SOuPhubYgo

Those greens, the slopes are huge on most of them, they're going to be severe the way USGA sets them up.

[skipper757]

That 2006 Open at Winged Foot was crazy.  +5 winning score with so many big names fell at the last hurdle:

Padraig Harrington triple bogeyed 18 on Saturday and then finished bogey-bogey-bogey on Sunday to finish at +7.
Jim Furyk missed a par putt on 18 on Sunday to finish at +6.
And of course, both Phil and Colin Montgomerie with double bogeys on 18 on Sunday to finish at +6.

Phil was really at the top of his game, all around wise.  He only hit 2 fairways on Sunday and yet was only +2 on the day and in the lead going into 18.  It's absurd that in one of the most difficult majors in recent memory, at a tournament where the rough is notoriously difficult, and where the winner was +5, that he was only +2 through 17 having only hit 2 fairways.  To think, if he had just hit the fairway off the tee on 18, it could've won him his only US Open; 3 out of 14 fairways on that day could've done the trick.  Alas, he was wayward again off the tee, and his best chance slipped away.  To be able to stay near or in front all day with that terrible driving accuracy is a testament to his overall game and ability.  But Winged Foot got him in the end.  Just an astounding round really.

Colin Montgomerie must have horrible memories too of 18.  Right in the middle of the fairway, and he misses the green just barely to the right but in that thick rough with little green to work with if I recall.  Brutal.

[lgvkarlos]

btw..when you watch the highlights of previous US Opens at Wingfoot and Hale Irwin winning in 1974...I have the same model putter-- Acushnet Bullseye with flange. 

I've never got rid of it.

For you younger types, Acushnet was the forerunner of Titleist. I also have a sleeve of Acushnet balls.

I'm old..

I have the one without the flange in my attick. Great for short putts but has a sweets pot the size of a pinhead.

I'm old to 😂

[4pool]

I have the one without the flange in my attick. Great for short putts but has a sweets pot the size of a pinhead.

I'm old to 😂

 

[RedForeverTT]

I have the one without the flange in my attick. Great for short putts but has a sweets pot the size of a pinhead.

I'm old to [emoji23]

Titleist has a new version in 2003 which I also got one and converted to belly putter and now back to conventional. The line of sight is wonderful as it is a straight hosel with one red dot on the putter head to tell you where the sweet spot is.

Purist uses blade putters [emoji13]

[nuts100]

Titleist has a new version in 2003 which I also got one and converted to belly putter and now back to conventional. The line of sight is wonderful as it is a straight hosel with one red dot on the putter head to tell you where the sweet spot is.

Purist uses blade putters [emoji13]

Never been a good putter, but have an assortment of Scott’s and a Tour Piretti
It’s not the arrow lol

I’d 4 putt every one of those winged foot greens

[Lad]

Can we discuss Bales's transfer here?

Yeah go for it.

[RedForeverTT]

Never been a good putter, but have an assortment of Scott’s and a Tour Piretti
It’s not the arrow lol

I’d 4 putt every one of those winged foot greens

4 putt is a good score in Winged Foot.

I doubt I would enjoy playing there. To find the fairway requires 250 yards driving distance. And those slick greens speed probably has stimpmeter twice the speed of your regular club greens. 2 dozen of balls and 5 putters wouldn’t be enough for me.

[4pool]

This is what i'm putting with now as of the last month:

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/clearance-golf-clubs/putters-2019-nine-stroke-lab.html

To tell you how much I think of this putter and how good it's been, I ordered the same grip. So that in 3-4 years time when it's time to change the grip, I have the exact same one. As I may not be able to find one then as grips go out of style.

I line up better, see the line better, roll the ball better, and have made more putts. Which is what you want a putter to do.

Now I had an Odyssey O-works Nine. So very similar head and microhinge face insert. But night and day as to how much better the stroke lab is.

Edit, let me add I never tried out the Stroke lab putter due to Covid. So it was a leap of faith to buy one and trade in my old one. Glad I did. So much so my playing partners were looking at getting new putters due to how much better i've been putting..

[campioni]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di9gDBCs72c

6 handicapper tries to break 90 round Winged Foot last week. This is the front 9, the supposedly easier 9.

[nuts100]

This is what i'm putting with now as of the last month:

https://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/clearance-golf-clubs/putters-2019-nine-stroke-lab.html

To tell you how much I think of this putter and how good it's been, I ordered the same grip. So that in 3-4 years time when it's time to change the grip, I have the exact same one. As I may not be able to find one then as grips go out of style.

I line up better, see the line better, roll the ball better, and have made more putts. Which is what you want a putter to do.

Now I had an Odyssey O-works Nine. So very similar head and microhinge face insert. But night and day as to how much better the stroke lab is.

Edit, let me add I never tried out the Stroke lab putter due to Covid. So it was a leap of faith to buy one and trade in my old one. Glad I did. So much so my playing partners were looking at getting new putters due to how much better i've been putting..

Going for a complete overhaul on putting soon
I expect I’ll get a fastback or something similar
There’s a reason why pro’s use more forgiving putters these days
Can’t bring myself to buy a TM Spider though. 😂

But I reckon I could break 100 at winged foot if I used a 2iron off every tee apart from the par 3’s 😂
And then hope for the best on the greens. Well maybe break 110

[4pool]

Stating the obvious..Par is 72 at most courses. 36 of those strokes are calculated for the putter. Stands to reason putting is so important. You probably only use your driver 14 times or less per round.

My lowest round of putting is 24 since I got the new putter and i shot 83  . Let's just say a few penalties and not so great ball striking helped.

31 is the highest and I shot 80. Last round out was 28 putts and 80.

But it's not just the made putts. It's the ones that agonizingly almost go in. There's 2-3-4 of those per round.

[RedForeverTT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di9gDBCs72c

6 handicapper tries to break 90 round Winged Foot last week. This is the front 9, the supposedly easier 9.

Used up all his handicap by the 4th hole.