Open Championship Commentary - OT or not depending on your comments

[Jason Topp]

I thought it would be worthwhile to start a thread for people to randomly comment on the Open.  I watched an hour or so this morning and have the following thoughts:

1.  While I am sure all find it a bit disappointing that the course played so soft and without wind this morning, it is interesting to see the pressure imposed by a major championship course with a bunch of half par holes that is playing easy.  Par must have been 68 this morning and viewed against that standard the course still provided a stern test.

2.  Next time I go to St. Andrews I want to spend some time around the 14th green.  Neither television nor my memory do a very good job illustrating why the best layup is to the left.

3.  It seemed like Hell Bunker might be relevant again.  I did not see enough play on the hole, however to determine whether that was the case.

4.  Tiger Woods has made it a habit to miss short putts at the end of rounds - something he never did prior to 2009.  I did not see his putts on those two holes but prior to that time he putted beautifully.  If he putts ok, and with the advantage he gained with the early conditions, I would guess he will win.

5.  I hope Rory keeps it going.  I am not sure why he is so fun to watch but I enjoy watching him as much as anybody.

[Marty Bonnar]

I think the Old Course is now officially utterly irrelevant as far as professional golf is concerned.
Stop them now before we see the old girl completely naked. (Watson already said it).
My advice would be to turn it into a museum piece and only play an annual amateur Hickory tournament on it.

In a nutshell - any golf course which depends ENTIRELY on the weather for its defences has no place on the Tour rota and the Tour rota has no place on it.

cheers,
FBD.

[Garland Bayley]

I picked Rory for the US Open, might as well go with the same for the British Open.

[Scott Warren]

I think the Old Course is now officially utterly irrelevant as far as professional golf is concerned.
Stop them now before we see the old girl completely naked. (Watson already said it).
My advice would be to turn it into a museum piece and only play an annual amateur Hickory tournament on it.

In a nutshell - any golf course which depends ENTIRELY on the weather for its defences has no place on the Tour rota and the Tour rota has no place on it.

cheers,
FBD.

Really, Marty?

Even on a very good day for scoring (for the most part), 8 holes played over par and as of a few minutes ago the average score was 71.74.

[Marty Bonnar]

Scott,
just my thoughts, mate, for all their worth!
I found the coverage possibly the most boring golf I've seen this year, and, trust me, I watched it from 9am this morning!
Listening to BBC commentators say things like: "conditions out here are wonderful - so benign" does my head in. Sorry.
cheers,
FBD.

[Jim_Kennedy]

It's the third tournament on TV that I've watched this year, only because it's third in the major line-up.

The golf course seems to be holding up well, but hopefully the elements will enter into the picture over the next few days.

[Tim Pitner]

4.  Tiger Woods has made it a habit to miss short putts at the end of rounds - something he never did prior to 2009.  I did not see his putts on those two holes but prior to that time he putted beautifully.  If he putts ok, and with the advantage he gained with the early conditions, I would guess he will win.

5.  I hope Rory keeps it going.  I am not sure why he is so fun to watch but I enjoy watching him as much as anybody.

Jason,

Tiger's putt on 17 was atrocious.  18 wasn't as bad.

McIlroy's swing is so fluid--it looks very natural.  Keep Haney and his ilk away from him.  Rory is the real McCoy--if it doesn't happen for him this week, it will sometime soon. 

[Sean Walsh]

Jason,

From the left you can either run the shot up (as the slope is perpindicular to line of play) or toss it in high.  If you toss it in high the landing area although sloped away is reasonably large and few unexpected kicks or hazards. Also if you go long it is a decent chance of up and down from the back of the green, straight back up the slope.

Attacking from the right takes away the low running shot because this shot is likely to hit the steep fronting slope and kick left towards the bunker.  The high approach has less margin for error as the front right of the green is steep and short stays short (with a terrible little pitch/putt to come), land on the downslope and you hit the steepest part of the green and may kick into the junk at the back of the green.  A miss to the right onto the 15th tee is your best miss.  Miss to the left and you have bunkers or a tricky swale at the back of the green.  You're also more likely to have a put going across the slope. 

Go left just short of the gorse and you're unlikely to have more than a 7 in hand and less hazards. 

[Tom_Doak]

My favorite comment while watching this morning was Curtis Strange saying about 14 green something like "you could never build anything like this today.  They would hang you by your thumbs."

Which I found funny, having just built a [tamed-down] version of that very green for Old Macdonald.

[Harvey Dickens]

My favorite comment while watching this morning was Curtis Strange saying about 14 green something like "you could never build anything like this today.  They would hang you by your thumbs."

Which I found funny, having just built a [tamed-down] version of that very green for Old Macdonald.

Tom,
      How about building 17 today? "Soooo let me get this straight....we are going to hit over a sign and the road is in play......riiiiiiiiigggghhhhttt."

[Scott Warren]

Could be a funding opportunity in that, Harvey. Build a billboard 120 yards in front of the tee to replicate The Road Hole, then sell the advert space to Titleist!

[Ulrich Mayring]

I don't think the Old Course's only defense is the weather. Only that all other defenses have been taken away by the maintenance practices.

Ulrich

[Garland Bayley]

How much of the defenses have been taken away by the mower? When you see all the rumpled nature of the land on TV, it makes one wonder how much more often the ball rolls to a relatively flat lie with shorter grass than it would have in say 1960. Is this at all significant? Or, am I just overreaching here?

[Marty Bonnar]

I don't think the Old Course's only defense is the weather. Only that all other defenses have been taken away by the maintenance practices.

Ulrich

Sorry, Ulrich, mein Herr,
but IF all the other defenses have gone (by maintenance or whatever), what is left, BUT the weather?
Actually, seeing Garland's post, I may have been wrong. Gravity might also be an influence. So now we've got gravity AND the weather. so everything is all right. Ahhhhh, the sweet joy of universal balance is maintained (none intended).
cheers,
FBD.

[Sean_A]

I rather enjoyed watching the golf today.  Of course we are not seeing shots like we would if the course was keen, but I still saw plenty of guys out of position and angling for a way to get close.  This is the very definition of indirect penalty - guys walking off greens with pars wondering how in the heck they didn't have kick in birdies.  Bottom line, this was hugely more entertaining than any other bits of golf I see all year including the Masters.  Sorry FBD, you are over-reacting.  Don't focus on the scores - focus on the shots.  There is a lot of entertainmant to be seen for those with eyes wide open. 

FBD, as an aside, what is an acceptable score if playing well on TOC? 

Ciao

[Harvey Dickens]

quote 
Could be a funding opportunity in that, Harvey. Build a billboard 120 yards in front of the tee to replicate The Road Hole, then sell the advert space to Titleist!
[/quote]

Scott,
        I think Target would be an appropriate sponser.

[David_Tepper]

"How much of the defenses have been taken away by the mower? When you see all the rumpled nature of the land on TV, it makes one wonder how much more often the ball rolls to a relatively flat lie with shorter grass than it would have in say 1960. Is this at all significant? Or, am I just overreaching here?"

Garland -

I think your theory is a bit of a stretch. If anything, courses such as St. Andrews probably played firmer & faster in 1960 than they do today, even if the turf may be more closely mowed now than it was then. From what I have seen, the tops & upper slopes of the ridges and mounds you see on links courses tend to shed water (and golf balls) very quickly and, as a result, have the thinnest turf (and firmest ground underneath) of anywhere on a course.

I also believe gravity was just as strong in 1960 as it is today!

DT     

[Garland Bayley]

...
I also believe gravity was just as strong in 1960 as it is today!

DT     

Sorry,

Not true. The earth has been gathering water from outer space, thereby increasing its mass and gravitational pull.

[Mark Pearce]

I'm sure I'll get shot down in flames today but what I saw of the coverage left me wondering whether previous generations can possibly have had the almost universally excellent short games of these guys.  How much of yesterday's scoring was down to their ability to get up and down from anywhere?  Of course, the modern ball, clubs and course conditioning all play  role in that?

[Martin Toal]

I think that part of the fun of The Open at TOC is that one day everyone shoots -4 to the turn because the weather is benign, and the next day it switches and they all shoot +2. Like many ladies, whether old or not, she is changeable and liable to surprise you when you take her for granted.

Whether the architectural merits of TOC, and I think it is a great venue for The Open, it has a pretty good track record in identifying the best golfers. And, yes, that does include JD.

[John Shimony]

I'm bouncing back and forth between the Direct TV ESPN and BBC coverage (leaving Comcast has been an excellent decision).  I love the commercialess BBC coverage and their low key style, only saw one digital green graphic.  ESPN seems to be giving more detailed descriptions of holes which is nice but every time they go to a commercial I change to BBC and since the coverage is so nice I end up staying there for a while until I realize I haven't seen any of Mickelson's shots in over a half hour.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Marty

Have you taken the 30 pieces of silver, are you moving from Fife – please be careful as the first warning apparently is the horses head in bed with you in the morning, the next is the long drop form the Firth of Forth railway bridge. What am I talking about, well let me remind you of your words
“I think the Old Course is now officially utterly irrelevant as far as professional golf is concerned.  Stop them now before we see the old girl completely naked. (Watson already said it). My advice would be to turn it into a museum piece and only play an annual amateur Hickory tournament on it.”

I walked up to the old pro seen speaking to Woods this morning and ask her advice. Being a true pro she refuse to offer me anything until I paid the fee. She did say this Old Lady still had many a new tune to play for the next few generations. So there you are, from the horses mouth more of less the Old Lady is still a challenge and willing to play with anyone brave enough to challenger her, but watch out for her stormy moods, she still has the ability to test even the best.

As for TOC – no I can’t agree with you, she is the real Lady and when the current generation of R&A demi-gods and pros have passed away TOC will still be flirting with the best in the world.

Melvyn

[PCCraig]

It's amazing everyone! They just rolled back the ball and technology now doesn't seem to be impacting scores!

[Adam Clayman]

Seeing bunkers surrounded by rough is the most disappointing aspect of the new and improved Old Course. Apparently core principles will have to find a new model to use as an example. Maybe Sandpines can fill their shoes?

[John Moore II]

Whats with these damn bagpipers? Do they only know one tune? I've heard that same tune on the pipes for the last 45 minutes. Come on guys, play a different song.