Double Eagle!

[Garland Bayley]

Rick,

I can't agree that Bubba's shot thru the chute with a short iron that led to a par was BETTER than a 260 yard long iron that found the hole for three better than par. No way. I would say that Bubba's shot was poetic in a way because Louie caught the break, had an open look and failed to get it close. Bubba, ever the shot manufacturer HAD to manufacture something that few could do under any circumstances, much less to win the Masters. So, it wasn't a better shot, but it proved to be a bigger and more creative shot. Louie's shot will have more legs as time goes by even though he didn't win.

IMO the double eagle will be a footnote in Master's history. Bubba's shot will be the one remembered.
Making a double eagle is luck. These guys hit it close from time to time and make eagle. This one just happened to roll in.

LO couldn't even hit the shot Bubba hit. AND, Bubba's shot won the thing.

[Bill_McBride]

Rick,

I can't agree that Bubba's shot thru the chute with a short iron that led to a par was BETTER than a 260 yard long iron that found the hole for three better than par. No way. I would say that Bubba's shot was poetic in a way because Louie caught the break, had an open look and failed to get it close. Bubba, ever the shot manufacturer HAD to manufacture something that few could do under any circumstances, much less to win the Masters. So, it wasn't a better shot, but it proved to be a bigger and more creative shot. Louie's shot will have more legs as time goes by even though he didn't win.

And how do you hit a gap wedge 155 yds while hooking it 40 yards?   

[Wayne_Kozun]

Does anyone know where the term double-eagle came from.  It is obviously incorrect as if an eagle is defined as -2 on a hole than a double eagle is -4.  A Sesqui-eagle would be a far more correct term or triple birdie or albatross. 

But double eagle makes no sense.

[Dieter Jones]

Wayne, in Cricket a hat trick is 3 wickets in 3 consecutive balls. 4 wickets in 4 balls is called a DOUBLE hat trick!! GO Figure

Actually thinking about it a little more there were 2 "sets" of 3 consecutive ball dismissals hence the double hatrick.

Ah the gentle art of presenting a point of view and then stripping it of credibility yourself in the space of 2 sentences.

[Terry Lavin]

B McB:

I can't draw a ball with a pencil, but I'm sure many pros have the skill to approximate Bubba's shot. As for Louie, nobody has made that shot EVER in the masters on that hole. I'm not saying it wasn't a great shot in terms of technique or circumstance. It was. But in my opinion Louie's will prove to more memorable.

[Patrick_Mucci]

B McB:

I can't draw a ball with a pencil, but I'm sure many pros have the skill to approximate Bubba's shot. As for Louie, nobody has made that shot EVER in the masters on that hole. I'm not saying it wasn't a great shot in terms of technique or circumstance. It was. But in my opinion Louie's will prove to more memorable.

Terry,

If ever there was a picture perfect swing, Louie's swing on # 2 would seem to be it.
What tempo and balance.

Those guys are good.

[Joe Stansell]

I felt like a participated in a moment of history when Louie's ball found the hole. While Bubba's shot was impressive in its own right, the moment just didn't seem as significant to me. But it was incredible nevertheless.

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,
What is it about me?! 
The shot that Bubba created was wrought while he was under the hammer. He KNEW he had to pull the shot off or he was history (and definitely not Masters history). He had to have great expectations. He succeeded.......gut-wrenching, pit of the stomach golf under intense pressure. He had to see it, imagine it and do it.

On the other hand Louis had been swinging away as smooth as silk and lo and behold, wonderful to boot, a finely struck shot "....found the hole" as Joe says. FOUND the hole........sheer luck, chance,  not a mere bagatelle but happenstance that the hole was where the ball came to rest. He hadn't, sure as eggs are eggs, visualised an albatross had he?

So "Was Bubba's shot out of the woods better than Louis' double eagle?"

My word it was!!

Cheers,
An impassioned Scot,
Colin

[Mac Plumart]

Colin...

I am with you.

Louis' shot was amazing.  I watched that thing track in, then I hooted and hollered.  It was cool.  I'll never forget it.

But when Bubba hit that shot I was silent...dumbfounded.  He won the tournament with that shot.  End of story.  From the woods.  40 yard hook with a wedge.  (I think I got the specifics on that right).  Are you kidding me?  Game over.  Check mate.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Colin,

Louie's shot was well executed with a high degree of luck.

Bubba's shot was well executed with no luck.

[Greg Chambers]

B McB:

I can't draw a ball with a pencil, but I'm sure many pros have the skill to approximate Bubba's shot. As for Louie, nobody has made that shot EVER in the masters on that hole. I'm not saying it wasn't a great shot in terms of technique or circumstance. It was. But in my opinion Louie's will prove to more memorable.

 Nobody remembers who came in second.

[jeffwarne]

B McB:

I can't draw a ball with a pencil, but I'm sure many pros have the skill to approximate Bubba's shot. As for Louie, nobody has made that shot EVER in the masters on that hole. I'm not saying it wasn't a great shot in terms of technique or circumstance. It was. But in my opinion Louie's will prove to more memorable.

Terry,
VERY few pros would even think of Bubba's shot.
First you need loft to hook a ball that much and that quick.
So with that much loft needed, you have to be powerful to hit a GAP wedge (hooded) 162 yards.
that eliminates a bunch of players.
Again, Bubba regularly curves it.
Many do not.
With Louie in trouble many would've simply punched out, although that wouldn't have been easy with the MacKenzie bunker.
Finally, I'm not sure if a 162 yard shot is easier hooked by a lefty with a wedge or sliced by a righty with a long iron.

Every player in the field is capable of Louis' shot(and would always attempt it), it just happened to go in.
(but I must say what a beautiful swing that was)

In Bubba's case, few could hook a ball that quickly and even fewer would try it under the circumstances.

I'd say Louis' shot was more unlikely (that it actually went in), but Bubba's was more difficult.

Pat I'd say we can all agree Bubba had quite a bit of luck to draw the lie AND have a swing where he was.
I've never seen anyone down that far.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jeff,

Agree, he got lucky with the lie and area of his swing, but so did Louie and Bubba on # 17.

Had they encountered Phil's lie on # 4, who knows what the outcome would have been.

[Tim Pitner]

He won the tournament with that shot.  End of story.  From the woods.  40 yard hook with a wedge.  (I think I got the specifics on that right).  Are you kidding me?  Game over.  Check mate.

Not really, Mac.  Louis had a chance to halve the hole but failed to get up and down.  Now, Bubba might have made his birdie putt if he had needed it, but he had previously missed two similar length putts for the win. 

Regarding Bubba's shot, it seems to me it would be much easier for a lefty to hit a short iron with a big hook than for a righty to hit a big slice from the same spot.  It looked like a doable shot for a pro to me.  That he pulled it off at that time was very impressive.   

[Phil Benedict]

B McB:

I can't draw a ball with a pencil, but I'm sure many pros have the skill to approximate Bubba's shot. As for Louie, nobody has made that shot EVER in the masters on that hole. I'm not saying it wasn't a great shot in terms of technique or circumstance. It was. But in my opinion Louie's will prove to more memorable.

Terry,

If ever there was a picture perfect swing, Louie's swing on # 2 would seem to be it.
What tempo and balance.

Those guys are good.

What amazes me about Oosty is that he isn't a big guy; swings so effortlessly; and just pounds the ball.  Even Rory looks to have more effort in his swing.

[Howard Riefs]

How amazing was Bubba’s wedge on #10? Holy hook.

His caddie mapped it.





https://twitter.com/#!/jtedscott/status/190562184537968640/photo/1

[JLahrman]

What amazes me about Oosty is that he isn't a big guy; swings so effortlessly; and just pounds the ball.  Even Rory looks to have more effort in his swing.

We amateurs (even good ones) flail around with lots of movement in our swings that is counterproductive to hitting the ball. Pros waste no energy. Every motion they make contributes to hitting a powerful shot. I remember the first time I went to a PGA Tour event. I followed Ernie Els for about five holes. In person, his swing looks even slower and easier than it does on TV. He swings easier than pretty much every playing partner I've ever had. And the ball took off like a rocket.

[Doug Siebert]

The guys who look like they're really swinging easy get a higher percentage of their overall clubhead speed through hand (i.e. wrist) action.  The guys who look like they're putting more effort into it, like Tiger, have a greater reliance on arm/shoulder speed than Ernies and Freddies of the golf world.

I remember years ago experimenting with trying to swing more like Fred Couples - i.e., all shoulder turn with little/no hip turn, and very lazy arm movement.  I hit it nearly the same distance with short/middle irons (not quite as far with long irons/driver) but found I easily fell into a trap of coming badly over the top when I'd accidentally let the hips turn through on the downswing.  Guess it has to be natural!  The only thing really good about that swing was people in awe of how far I hit it while looking like I was casually swatting a fly