Overhead photo of Bubba's screaming hook that won the Masters

[Phil McDade]

2) What is the greatest recovery shot in the history of major championship golf?  I still give the edge to Watson's chip a Pebble in '82...

Tiger's pitch-in on the last round of the Masters? That may be the best over-the-top, this is crazy good shot in the final round of a major. But, negated a bit by Tiger bogeying the last two holes and thus forcing a playoff (that he still won).

Trevino's par chip-in on the 71st hole at the Honourable Company in the '72 Open Championship, when it looked like Jacklin was going to win. Tony proceeded to three-putt from close range to hand the victory to Trevino. (Trevino had four hole-outs from off the greens at the '72 Open.)

Lyle's shot from the bunker at 18 at the 1988 Masters was a very good shot. But Mize holing out in the playoff at the 1987 Masters was probably the best one there.

Seve's parking lot shot at the '79 Open Championship at Royal Lytham?

Tway out of the bunker at the '86 PGA to top Norman.

Watson's chip-in, to me, still stands out -- tied for the lead on the 71st hole with the world's best golfer, at Pebble, staring at a probable bogey. The shot won the US Open and beat Jack -- hard to top that.

[John McCarthy]

I only like blimp shots for basketball and hockey.

[Jim Nugent]

Larry Mize's chip-in at the 11th hole to win the playoff with Norman.

Doug Ford holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole back in the late 50's to win the Masters. 

Maybe not a recovery shot, but in the "I'll be damned that's amazing" category:  at the 1961 PGA, Jerry Barber was four strokes behind Don January with three holes to play.  He sank putts of 20 feet for a birdie at 16; 40 foot for par at 17; and 60 foot for a birdie at the 18th hole to tie January.   Barber won the playoff the next day by one stroke with a 67.

From what Jeff Warne says, sounds like the graphic is not widely off the mark.   

[Michael Whitaker]

RJ,

Except the Masters doesn't use blimp coverage in its telecast.  You'll never see a blimp shot during the telecast as apparently ANGC isn't a fan of using it.

You can add "Semi-Luddites" to their title along with "Male Chauvinists"

http://www.examiner.com/business-of-sports-in-national/gender-and-corporate-discrimination-alive-and-well-at-the-masters

Hmm... then I would guess you think this club should admit men? http://www.ladiesgolfclub.com/

[Kevin_Reilly]

So, it is not a stretch of the imagination at all to say as Jeff witnessed, that a ball a few yards in the bush, from the area where the bunker begins, is 155 on the curvy path we know it was.

From another golf board, someone did this quick estimate on Google Earth:

[Sean Leary]

So, it is not a stretch of the imagination at all to say as Jeff witnessed, that a ball a few yards in the bush, from the area where the bunker begins, is 155 on the curvy path we know it was.

From another golf board, someone did this quick estimate on Google Earth:

That looks about right to me...

[Jim Nugent]

Kevin, except from what Jeff said, Bubba's tee shot ended further from the green, about even with the beginning of the Mackenzie bunker.  That would make the shot longer. 

[Rich Goodale]

I'm with Jeff W. and his supporters.  Bubba's was inarguably the most difficult shot that ever won any major tournament (or any other tournament, for that matter).  Every single one of the players in this year's Masters field could have made Watson's (the older and other one's) chip, or Ouisthazen's (sic's) double eagle or even Mize's or Woods' chips in.  I would guess that you could put a million top PGA pros (and or chimpanzees) in Bubba's place in the trees a million times and none of them would get the ball as close as Bubba did through planning, years practice and skill (rather than dumb luck).  If Tom Watson's shot was the "greatest" of all time then there are at least 1,000,0000 collected works of Shakespeare just waiting to be downloaded from some monkey's computer.......

[Andy Troeger]

This newer photo makes more sense to me. The first one isn't a realistic ball flight at all...no ball is going to go almost directly out, turn straight right, and then straighten out again with that much sidespin.

[Doug Siebert]

Watson's chip-in, to me, still stands out -- tied for the lead on the 71st hole with the world's best golfer, at Pebble, staring at a probable bogey. The shot won the US Open and beat Jack -- hard to top that.

I couldn't ever rate a shot as the best ever when its a shot you and I could hit.  Not saying we could get it first try, let alone with that kind of pressure, but it wasn't a shot that required extraordinary skill that only a few possess.  I'd put Bubba's shot in that category.

[jeffwarne]

Anthony Gray, errr, Jeff "Oustenheizen" Warne   Oosthuizen might be closer.

Remember that Bubba's approach, with all the lefty-hook flight, was essentially coming in from the left side of the fairway. It moved similar to the end of the blue line, so that part of the photo is correct, JF.

Blimp would mean Snoopy would be a sponsor, or whoever flies the blimp these days.

I thought the coverage was adequate, and I don't need more than adequate. You had the start and you had the finish. What else do you need, a road map/gps?

Anthony would've spelled it differently each time.
True that they never remember second place
The shot was 155 and 162 according to two different accounts from Bubba, which puts it back up the hill about 20 yards from the second photo.
It's funny, if you watch the video the ball in flight had to have come pretty close to Oosthuizen as he walked to the green

[Jay Flemma]

Yeah, I'm thinking the second photo isn't as far back as it should be too.

Lots of good ideas on best recovery shot ever.  Rich, I can't agree when you say guys could chip in Tom's shot at Pebble though.  He was one of the greatest short game players that ever lived. Most pros would have had a 30 footer coming back and lost to Jack...Tom put it in. I think it's tougher than Mize's chip, b/c Mize wasn't in the rough.

Dick Daley, again I'm not sure what the CNS guys may have been thinking, but I can ask.  Again, I didn't even think about the question b/c I saw that ball come out of the woods, zoom left, bounce take a Nancy Pelosi-esque left lurch, and grab a chair like a golf writer who just got a new Dan Jenkins book to read:) I didn't think I missed anything. My friend kind of exposed himself when he said "You ought to write this article to put pressure on the Old Boys Network" at ANGC to get blimp coverage. I told him sorry, but that's not my type of story.

[Rich Goodale]

Jay

As Doug says above, all that T. Watson needed to do was to hit a soft chip straight at the pin and hope that the pin would do the dirty work.  Even I could do that, given enough chances.  You could give me (or even Lee Westwood) a million chances and we'd never be able to hit B. Watson's shot (requiring extraordinary--almost super human--length, line and sipn).

[RJ_Daley]

Dick Daley, again I'm not sure what the CNS guys may have been thinking, but I can ask.  Again, I didn't even think about the question b/c I saw that ball come out of the woods, zoom left, bounce take a Nancy Pelosi-esque left lurch, and grab a chair like a golf writer who just got a new Dan Jenkins book to read:) I didn't think I missed anything. My friend kind of exposed himself when he said "You ought to write this article to put pressure on the Old Boys Network" at ANGC to get blimp coverage. I told him sorry, but that's not my type of story.

Jay, you are telling the story from 'your' perspective.  I have to assume by your account that you were facing Bubba, somewhere on the opposite side of the FW and 10 green looking back, thus your 'perception' of a 'Nancy Pelosi-esque left lurch'.  But, the fact is, that from the actual player's perspective, which is the only true and relevant perspective, the ball zoomed out of the woods on a left hand player's hook flight, zooming right (not left).  It was a quick seating table for one, however.  Too many writers get there perspective mixed up these days and ascribe metaphors that aren't correct, but use the opportunity to inject their non sequitur and irrelevant to the issue at hand political inclinations.  You'd do better to say, 'the ball came out of the woods, and hooked harder than a $2 Naples working girl, with 6 clients waiting, and two hours before she had to get home and make her man and kids a quick pasta puntanesca.'  M'capisci? 

In that second aerial, I have to believe the witness, Jeff, and it seems quite logical that Bubba was standing on the pine straw, right where the sunlight shows an area half in sunlight and half shaded from the light, near the pop-up box X.  That would make the yardage just what Bubba and caddie (and Jeff) say it was.  That still has the ball flight hooking some 30-40 yards with a 9I, and would be out of this world good.  Rich says it would take a million attempts.  All I need at that same yardage with a 4-5I is one lucky swing of a blade-stance wide open right hander slice (but I'd never get a rapid preferred seating like that, even with a nice tip to the matri'd).  I'm not saying that swing would come on my first or hundreth swing, but certainly not a million... If I had to hook it that far as a lefty player, maybe 10,000 attempts, but still no table on the dance floor....  

[jeffwarne]

Dick Daley, again I'm not sure what the CNS guys may have been thinking, but I can ask.  Again, I didn't even think about the question b/c I saw that ball come out of the woods, zoom left, bounce take a Nancy Pelosi-esque left lurch, and grab a chair like a golf writer who just got a new Dan Jenkins book to read:) I didn't think I missed anything. My friend kind of exposed himself when he said "You ought to write this article to put pressure on the Old Boys Network" at ANGC to get blimp coverage. I told him sorry, but that's not my type of story.

Jay, you are telling the story from 'your' perspective.  I have to assume by your account that you were facing Bubba, somewhere on the opposite side of the FW and 10 green looking back, thus your 'perception' of a 'Nancy Pelosi-esque left lurch'.  But, the fact is, that from the actual player's perspective, which is the only true and relevant perspective, the ball zoomed out of the woods on a left hand player's hook flight, zooming right (not left).  It was a quick seating table for one, however.  Too many writers get there perspective mixed up these days and ascribe metaphors that aren't correct, but use the opportunity to inject their non sequitur and irrelevant to the issue at hand political inclinations.  You'd do better to say, 'the ball came out of the woods, and hooked harder than a $2 Naples working girl, with 6 clients waiting, and two hours before she had to get home and make her man and kids a quick pasta puntanesca.'  M'capisci?  

In that second aerial, I have to believe the witness, Jeff, and it seems quite logical that Bubba was standing on the pine straw, right where the sunlight shows an area half in sunlight and half shaded from the light, near the pop-up box X.  That would make the yardage just what Bubba and caddie (and Jeff) say it was.  That still has the ball flight hooking some 30-40 yards with a 9I, and would be out of this world good.  Rich says it would take a million attempts.  All I need at that same yardage with a 4-5I is one lucky swing of a blade-stance wide open right hander slice (but I'd never get a rapid preferred seating like that, even with a nice tip to the matri'd).  I'm not saying that swing would come on my first or hundreth swing, but certainly not a million... If I had to hook it that far as a lefty player, maybe 10,000 attempts, but still no table on the dance floor....  

To be clear, this "witness" was 70 yards away on the other side of the fairway so I don't think my testimony would hold up in court.

I'd say your description is about right and I'd guess the ball was about 2/3-3/4 of an inch directly above where the second aeriel places the green Bubba dot.
I'm basing that on proximity to the Mackenzie bunker, the TV replay from behind,Bubba's quoted 155-162 yardages combined with the 135 measurement on the second aeriel, and the area that looks like a gap on the aeriel.
It's interesting because on TV it looks exactly like he was aiming at the scoreboard across the fairway which is where I was .
I took what was probably not an "ANGC approved route" through the woods to secure my position. I'm hoping the two elderly ladies I pushed down will recover . ........... just kidding.

The ball kicked/spun hard right(lefty hook). Only way it was a left kick was from behind the green as the camera behind the green showed it.
He used a 52 degree gap wedge which when severely closed at impact can easily travel 155-162 in the hands of Bubba.

[Tony Ristola]

Won't get into what was the greatest shot, but Bubba's shot would have been easier for a right handed player; hooking a wedge that much is a hell of a shot, but it was 150 or so yards, which used to be a 7-iron in the early 80's, and I think a lot of guys could have hooked it that much with a less lofted club.

The tight lie in the trees helped him spin it... any which way, it was a tremendous shot under huge pressure, and added to it was trying to win his first major.

I think Augusta need plant more trees as Oakmont had after Miller shot 63.

[jeffwarne]

Won't get into what was the greatest shot, but Bubba's shot would have been easier for a right handed player; hooking a wedge that much is a hell of a shot, but it was 150 or so yards, which used to be a 7-iron in the early 80's, and I think a lot of guys could have hooked it that much with a less lofted club.

The tight lie in the trees helped him spin it... any which way, it was a tremendous shot under huge pressure, and added to it was trying to win his first major.

I think Augusta need plant more trees as Oakmont had after Miller shot 63.

Tony,
150 for a TOUR player in 1980 might've been a 7 iron, but not for the longest hitters-Dan Pohl etc.let's say an 8 iron.
But when duck hooking it could well have been a 9 iron or wedge(about 50 degrees) for the strongest of that era.
To hook a ball you need enough loft to severely close the face so I don't think using a less lofted club would've helped much, but certainly the old spinnier balls would've made curving it easier. 

[Craig Sweet]

I think there's plenty of posters on this board that could hit that shot (right handed golfers, obviously from the other side of the fairway) and get the ball on the green...and really, that is all Bubba was trying to do.

Best shot I have seen at the Masters would be Tigers on 16..required a precise chip to a very small landing area.

[Brent Hutto]

The shot was 155 and 162 according to two different accounts from Bubba, which puts it back up the hill about 20 yards from the second photo.

Reminiscent of that Seve story that has the punch line "Seve, is that ball still moving?"...

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jay,

I think the blue line misrepresents the flight of the ball.

Why would a ball stop hooking after it made the initial hard right turn, and then, upon hitting the green, begin spinning wildly to the right ?

[Tim Martin]

Jay,

I think the blue line misrepresents the flight of the ball.

Why would a ball stop hooking after it made the initial hard left turn, and then, upon hitting the green, begin spinning wildly to the right ?

Pat-I agree. It makes no sense that the ball straightens out once it starts heading for the green.  

[Ronald Montesano]

It would stop hooking because the spin necessarily diminishes a bit, but not so much that it doesn't release with hook spin once it strikes the green.

[Patrick_Mucci]

It would stop hooking because the spin necessarily diminishes a bit, but not so much that it doesn't release with hook spin once it strikes the green.

Ron,

A ball, coming straight at the green for 80-100 yards, doesn't suddenly develop enormous side spin upon impact.

[Kenny Baer]

Jay

As Doug says above, all that T. Watson needed to do was to hit a soft chip straight at the pin and hope that the pin would do the dirty work.  Even I could do that, given enough chances.  You could give me (or even Lee Westwood) a million chances and we'd never be able to hit B. Watson's shot (requiring extraordinary--almost super human--length, line and sipn).

I disagree with that.  It was a great shot considering the circumstances but any pro is capable of moving the ball that much if forced to, I saw Mickelson hit a slice onto the 18 green from the right trees at ANGC.

[Scott Warren]

Jay Flemma:

Again, I didn't even think about the question b/c I saw that ball come out of the woods, zoom left, bounce take a Nancy Pelosi-esque left lurch, and grab a chair like a golf writer who just got a new Dan Jenkins book to read:) I didn't think I missed anything.

Am I missing something? From my vantage point in front of a television half a world away, I could have sworn that the ball moved to the right both in the air and after landing on the green.