[George Pazin]

Oakmont the #1 course in the world.

From today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

U.S. Open: Miller ranks Oakmont best

A snippet:

Johnny Miller said he can't wait to come back to Oakmont for the 107th U.S. Open and believes all the changes, including the dramatic treeless look, have made the club "probably the best course in the world."

Forget the fact that Johnny hasn't been there since the trees came down, I can't see any reason Johnny would speak anything other than the absolute, unbiased, completely objective truth on this issue.



















 

[Tom Huckaby]

Love it.

Of course it would have made for more comedy if Miller would have come out and said "It's a dogtrack, too easy, boring, these guys today just suck."

 

[Jay Flemma]

Johnny Miller...the Bill Walton of golf broadcasters...minus the tie dye, Birkenstocks and Graffix.

[Peter Pallotta]

George
I don't want to go off-topic, but for years I've really believed that Johnny Miller is the sanest man in all of golf.

If Johnny says it, I'd listen. Some might suggest that his 63 is behind these comments. IMO, that's not the case.

Peter
 

[Tom Huckaby]

Right on Jay.

These golfers today are HORRRRRible.

Any Walton watcher ought to get that.
 

[Phil Benedict]

I think Johnny said the same thing about Shinnecock in '04.

[Doug Ralston]

Phil;

Shinnecock was, in 04. Now Oakmont is. Wait a few years ..... no one is #1 forever.

Doug

[Jay Flemma]

Phil;

Shinnecock was, in 04. Now Oakmont is. Wait a few years ..... no one is #1 forever.

Doug

Exactly.  For the 2011 open at olympic, that will be the best in the world.  Then at Congressional, that will be the greatest.  He's just selling the event...in typical 90's broadcaster fashion...what YOU are watching right now is the GREATEST THING EVER...IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME!

[Jerry Kluger]

I was just watching the Players and Kelly had Nick and Johnnie with her and stated that some of the players, including Tiger, didn't like Pete Dye courses.  Well, Nick and Johnnie would have none of that and they both called Dye's work quirky and good because of it.  Faldo said you could be one spot in the fairway and have one shot, yet you could be 5 paces either side of that still in the fairway, and you could have a completely different shot, which is what makes Dye's work so good.

[Kalen Braley]

I think Johny is Johnny and you either love him or hate him.  As for me, if he got hit by a semi going 60 MPH, then IMO that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the golfing viewership...

[Tommy Williamsen]

I think Johny is Johnny and you either love him or hate him.  As for me, if he got hit by a semi going 60 MPH, then IMO that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the golfing viewership...

It might be tough on his family.

[Adam Clayman]

Kalen, Bad form dude. delete?

[Bill Gayne]

I know this would never happpen but I'd love to see him go under the same cross examination as Wayne has under gone after saying the same about Shinecock.

[Justin_Zook]

You'd think Phil was playing out of a quarry on 11 today.  Excuses, excuses.  Thank you, Faldo, having the balls to call Johnny out on such folly.  

Other than that, Oakmont appears to be horribly amazing, and if Johnny really said that, then he would be right about Oakmont.  

[cary lichtenstein]

Other than that, Oakmont appears to be horribly amazing, and if Johnny really said that, then he would be right about Oakmont.  

Justin:

Great comment

Cary

[Jim Nugent]

I think Johny is Johnny and you either love him or hate him.  As for me, if he got hit by a semi going 60 MPH, then IMO that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the golfing viewership...

It might be tough on his family.

Adam and Tommy:  I think you totally missed the man's point.  What he was trying to say was that of JM got hit by a semi going 60, because JM is soooo perfect in every way, the semi would bounce off of him because he's invincible....  

Hey Kalen, how popular is JM in Utah?  

[TEPaul]

"The completely objective Johnny Miller declares..."

You know what, it's very true that people seem to love Johnny or hate him---I love the guy on air, Faldo too, but I'd prefer that both of them be subjective about their commentary and never attempt to hide their observations and their feelings on air. And why? Because those guys have earned the right to be subjective in their commentary, and they've earned it as players to start with. That's obviously why they sit in those booths.

It really makes me laugh to hear some fans, including on here, pan a guy like Miller basically accusing him of being full of shit. It makes one think those critics think they know more about the subject than he does. Guess what, they don't, I guarantee it.

Have you ever seen Miller do his homework on a golf course in preparation for a tournament broadcast? It's absolutely awesome.

I want to get the feeling that a good commentator knows more about the subject than I do and I get that feeling very definitely from the likes of Miller and Faldo.

That old worn saw that Ken Venturi used all the time---"You have to have been there to understand".

It's true, friends.

In my opinion, guys like Miller have earned the right many times over to be subjective about the things he says on air.

[Gary Slatter]

Did anyone else notice that in 4 minutes on yesterday's TPC telecast Johnny Miller said MORE about the course than Nick and Kelly had in 15 hours?  I like Faldo, but Miller is very good.
Faldo said he was tired but in reality he was probably thinking how much he has to learn about providing the viewers with critical information.

[John Keenan]

On JM, how do you think the brass at NBC would take it if he came out and made negative comments about the event or the venue? He works for and is paid quite well by NBC so the last thing he can or should do is diminish an even that they cover. It is a business remember.

.

[PThomas]

Faldo said he was tired

God I hope he wasn't serious about that, cause if he was and his performance suffered as a result than TGC should dock his pay

[Tom_Doak]

George:

When I used to edit the top 100 list for GOLF Magazine, the one certainty of the balloting was that if a player had won a major championship on a course, that course was listed on his ballot as one of the top ten courses in the world.

The only player for whom that wasn't true was Jack Nicklaus, who of course won majors on more than ten courses.

[Kalen Braley]

I think Johny is Johnny and you either love him or hate him.  As for me, if he got hit by a semi going 60 MPH, then IMO that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the golfing viewership...

It might be tough on his family.

Adam and Tommy:  I think you totally missed the man's point.  What he was trying to say was that of JM got hit by a semi going 60, because JM is soooo perfect in every way, the semi would bounce off of him because he's invincible....  

Hey Kalen, how popular is JM in Utah?  

Shivas,

I really love your intepretation there...that gave me a great chuckle.

Jim,

As far as I can tell, seeing how is Mormon he is well recieved.  He's designed a handful of courses out here and done a pretty decent job with them.  I also know that back in the 80s he would travel around to various congregations and speak to them as a "motivational speaker" of sorts.

As to my comments about the semi, I know they were kind of harsh, but..... I just don't understand what he has to do to get canned from his job.  He's the most negative, cup is half empty announcer I've ever listened to in any sport, much less golf.  Some will claim that at least he's honest, but this really isn't the case as many of his comments are so far off the mark.  Combine that with the fact of how he constantly bashes the players for poor shots, when he has hit more than his fair share of them in his playing days, and I just dont get it.

What I do see is a insecure man on the inside, who feels this constant need to tear everyone down to "elevate" his own self. Perhaps there is also a little bit of the typical "players these days couldn't hold a candle to me and the guys I played with" thing going on.  I guess if you dig this kind of announcing style then so be it, but its not my cup of tea.

[TEPaul]

"Faldo said he was tired but in reality he was probably thinking how much he has to learn about providing the viewers with critical information."

Gary:

I'm a big fan of Faldo as a commentator but you're right, yesterday and the day before did not seem to be his finest hours. He seemed to go on and on about what he felt was in the player's minds and not so much about the golf course, although it was pretty funny how in group after group a particular putt that seemed to have no consistency of break was really beginning to weird him out. Had that particular putt been my responsibility to comment on "on-air" I believe I would have said that the way to make it is the same way to make any putt which is to misread it and then miss hit it commensurately the other way. That, in my experience, is the way and the truth and the light of everlastingly successful putting.  

[Peter Pallotta]

Kalen
see, that's where we have completely opposite impressions of Johnny. I don't see "insecurity" behind his words and style; I see a very healthy "perspective" on life and golf. That is, it's because he knows that a golf shot is just a golf shot (and in the vast scheme of things not very important at all) that he feels comfortable criticizing it. Johnny's not attacking a man's family, or religion, or character - he's simply saying "that was a bad golf shot". The fact that people get all twisted out of shape about it says more about their lack of perspective than it says about Johnny. I think that's also behind his suggestions that a player might be choking, i.e. Johnny knows and has admitted that he himself choked often and had the yips etc, but since he's comfortable with those "failings" he's also comfortable pointing them out in others. Anyway, that's at least they way I see it, and it's just an opinion  -- but like I said, I really do believe that Johnny's the sanest man in all of golf. And honestly, it's been more than 20 years since Johnny won a major at Oakmont, and I really don't think he's still holding on to that.

Peter  

[Kalen Braley]

Kalen
see, that's where we have completely opposite impressions of Johnny. I don't see "insecurity" behind his words and style; I see a very healthy "perspective" on life and golf. That is, it's because he knows that a golf shot is just a golf shot (and in the vast scheme of things not very important at all) that he feels comfortable criticizing it. Johnny's not attacking a man's family, or religion, or character - he's simply saying "that was a bad golf shot". The fact that people get all twisted out of shape about it says more about their lack of perspective than it says about Johnny. I think that's also behind his suggestions that a player might be choking, i.e. Johnny knows and has admitted that he himself choked often and had the yips etc, but since he's comfortable with those "failings" he's also comfortable pointing them out in others. Anyway, that's at least they way I see it, and it's just an opinion  -- but like I said, I really do believe that Johnny's the sanest man in all of golf. And honestly, it's been more than 20 years since Johnny won a major at Oakmont, and I really don't think he's still holding on to that.

Peter  

Peter,

I understand what you are saying here johnny does have tremendous insight and at times does offer very interesting comments, my only wish is that he do this more often.

And before we go further, don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge fan of the anti-johnny in the form of Jim Nantz.  His constant use of cliches and lack of real penetrating analysis gets tiresome as well.  However I would take him everytime over johnny. But can't we ask for and get a healthy medium, like a Faldo or a Peter Aliss or even Ian Finch.  Is this really too much to ask??

As for the reasons why Johnny is the sanest man in golf, I would surely love to hear them...

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