If you want to see some slow golf....

[Carl Nichols]

....turn on the Solheim Cup. The first foursomes group teed off at 1:10pm eastern and hasn't finished 12 holes yet.


No idea how this compares to the Ryder Cup.

[Carl Johnson]

On the same vein, a couple of weeks ago I spent six hours at the last round of the British Women's Open.  For the most part I followed three adjacent groups.  You have no idea how slow they play when you're watching on TV because TV generally keeps you on the action.  I watched one American player, one of my favorites, take absolutely forever deciding what to do when her ball landed on a gravel path from which she could take a drop.  Just a couple of groups before a European player had the identical situation and moved to conclusion quickly and got up and down for a par.  After all of the fooling around, the American wound up with a bogey.  I'll also add that from what I saw of her, in one of the groups I followed, Laura Davies just pulls a club and hits the ball.

[BHoover]

My feeling regarding the Solheim Cup can best be described as follows: nae Gerina Piller, nae watch.

[Thomas Dai]

I was told that one Euro ex-Ryder Cup player used to carry car magazines in his bag to look at during on-course delays and general slow periods. I guess a golf mag could have been construed as an outside influence, car mags apparently not!


I also recall during one televised Euro tour tournament back in the '80 that there was long on-cours delay, forget the reason, but the TV footage showed players and caddies playing an ad-hoc game of cricket on a fairway......bag as the stumps, iron held vertically as a bat, ball as a, well ball.


Atb

[Tom Bacsanyi]

Have any tour pros been spotted playing Poison on the tee box?  I'd love to see that.

[Marty Bonnar]

The general speed of these events seems to be set by the increasingly interminable opening events. Did you see it? Please. In the name of the sweet Blessed Saint Thomas of Naccarato, GET A MOVE ON!


F.

[Pete_Pittock]

With regards to some posters, this Solheim Cup should be viewed from a dentist's chair. More than 45 minutes longer than broadcast window and they only played 15 or 16 holes. Poor decisions by the TV director, non-cutting between groups.


They should either put a shot clock on the TV screen or have a portable unit on a golf cart overseen by the referee. Won't be watching tomorrow.

[Carl Nichols]

With regards to some posters, this Solheim Cup should be viewed from a dentist's chair. More than 45 minutes longer than broadcast window and they only played 15 or 16 holes. Poor decisions by the TV director, non-cutting between groups.


They should either put a shot clock on the TV screen or have a portable unit on a golf cart overseen by the referee. Won't be watching tomorrow.

The lead singles match is dominating the coverage today and is going to take more than 4 hours.

[Terry Lavin]

I love it. I enjoy the perfect swings, the fist pumps and the great crowd noise. I went to the Solheim here in Chicagoland some years back and it was a phenomenal fan experience, even better than the US Open and every bit the equal of the two Ryder Cups I attended. There's nothing quite like hearing all of those female cheers and the wildness of the first tee.


And, not for nothing, the Thompson/Nordquist match was brilliant.

[Carl Nichols]

Agreed, that was a great match.

[Frank M]

I love the event except for two things:


1. The persistent taunting of the crowd to get louder is annoyingly cringeworthy.


2. Players getting way too animated over beating teams/players they are either already crushing or have already basically crushed. A little more grace would make things a lot less annoying.


Of course these aren't only true of the Solheim Cup but mostly all these team golf competitions.

[Terry Lavin]

FM:


Well said bit IMHO the Ryder Cup nationalistic cheering has an uglier edge to it. I also think that the women better exemplify sportsmanship in a real, not phony way.

[Mike Schott]

They may have played slowly but you don't notice on TV. I watched 3-4 hours of it and it was compelling TV, some really fine golf. I watched about 2 minutes of the PGA event and about an hour today of the US Am.

[Kalen Braley]

I love it. I enjoy the perfect swings, the fist pumps and the great crowd noise. I went to the Solheim here in Chicagoland some years back and it was a phenomenal fan experience, even better than the US Open and every bit the equal of the two Ryder Cups I attended. There's nothing quite like hearing all of those female cheers and the wildness of the first tee.


And, not for nothing, the Thompson/Nordquist match was brilliant.

Can't. Tell. If. Being. Serious.


I watched it some years ago and have seen bigger crowds at Web.com events.  It was a real snoozer...

[BHoover]

I love it. I enjoy the perfect swings, the fist pumps and the great crowd noise. I went to the Solheim here in Chicagoland some years back and it was a phenomenal fan experience, even better than the US Open and every bit the equal of the two Ryder Cups I attended. There's nothing quite like hearing all of those female cheers and the wildness of the first tee.


And, not for nothing, the Thompson/Nordquist match was brilliant.

Can't. Tell. If. Being. Serious.


I watched it some years ago and have seen bigger crowds at Web.com events.  It was a real snoozer...

Hot take alert!

[Kalen Braley]

I love it. I enjoy the perfect swings, the fist pumps and the great crowd noise. I went to the Solheim here in Chicagoland some years back and it was a phenomenal fan experience, even better than the US Open and every bit the equal of the two Ryder Cups I attended. There's nothing quite like hearing all of those female cheers and the wildness of the first tee.


And, not for nothing, the Thompson/Nordquist match was brilliant.

Can't. Tell. If. Being. Serious.


I watched it some years ago and have seen bigger crowds at Web.com events.  It was a real snoozer...

Hot take alert!

Fair enough, I deserved that.


And I may get skewered for this next comment, but watching Women's golf is like watching the WNBA.  Yes of course they're the best, but I just don't see anything compelling to watch.


And its not a female/male thing.  I like watching Womens Lacrosse, track and field, softball,  Swimming, MMA, and even ping pong.

[RJ_Daley]

Thompson/Nordquist was worth the price of admission or time spent.  I liked how the opening hole was a short par 4 where many things could happen due to the design to start the match.  Some interesting holes with enough strategy in design and hole routing/pacing to give the matches some drama.  All these match play events are going to be painfully slow.  The U.S. Am final with all the putts being looked at from a dozen angles, and player caddie dissertations was maddening.  Yet, the match was wonderful golf on one of the greatest courses.

[Jim Franklin]

I love it. I enjoy the perfect swings, the fist pumps and the great crowd noise. I went to the Solheim here in Chicagoland some years back and it was a phenomenal fan experience, even better than the US Open and every bit the equal of the two Ryder Cups I attended. There's nothing quite like hearing all of those female cheers and the wildness of the first tee.


And, not for nothing, the Thompson/Nordquist match was brilliant.

Can't. Tell. If. Being. Serious.


I watched it some years ago and have seen bigger crowds at Web.com events.  It was a real snoozer...

Hot take alert!

Fair enough, I deserved that.


And I may get skewered for this next comment, but watching Women's golf is like watching the WNBA.  Yes of course they're the best, but I just don't see anything compelling to watch.


And its not a female/male thing.  I like watching Womens Lacrosse, track and field, softball,  Swimming, MMA, and even ping pong.

I will watch Women's golf. WNBA, not a chance. Piller, all day long.

[Kalen Braley]

Jim,


Its certainly a personal preference thing as I forgot to mention i really like Womens Tennis as well.


P.S.  Given how so many of the worlds best players are from Asia, perhaps they need a "Asia vs Rest of the World" format for womens golf now.

[Jerry Kluger]

Kalen: You think it is slow now - you ain't seen nothin if your proposal is implemented.

[Mike Hendren]

What a disappointing thread.  I likely watched 80% of the coverage and found a lot to like:

Thompson goes 8 under for 7 holes yet is denied victory by Nordqvist's brilliant come-back approach at the 18th.  Nordqvist totally ignoring Sorenstam's pep talk on the 17th tee.

Thompson's amazing use of the ground as leverage during her swing to reach a 446 yards par four with a driver and pitching wedge.

Angel, an 18 years old girl, driving the ball 330 yards.  Arguably the effect of technology on the women's game is disproportionately greater than on the men's. 

Plenty of missed short puts to flip hole results.

Catriona Mathew's relaxed yet serious approach to the game - a Scot at her best.

Kang's clutch putting and her joy for the game.

Michelle Wie's poor putting.

Christie Kerr will cut you.

A golf course built in the 1960's that gives you a peak back at the golden age and a look forward to the resurrection of golf course architecture in America.  Pete Dye might not be the greatest golf architect of all time, but I submit he is the most pivotal/critical. 

A 1st hole that's as good as the 10th at Riviera, just not as sexy.

Georgia Hall's play and demeanor.

I wish Judy Rankin was my next door neighbor.

Jim and Brian, please share what you find so compelling about Mrs. Piller's golf game.

Bogey

[Jim Franklin]

What a disappointing thread.  I likely watched 80% of the coverage and found a lot to like:

Thompson goes 8 under for 7 holes yet is denied victory by Nordqvist's brilliant come-back approach at the 18th.  Nordquist totally ignoring Sorenstam's pep talk on the 17th tee.

Thompson's amazing use of the ground as leverage during her swing to reach a 446 yards par four with a driver and pitching wedge.

Angel, an 18 years old girl, driving the ball 330 yards.  Arguably the effect of technology on the women's game is disproportionately greater than on the men's. 

Plenty of missed short puts to flip hole results.

Catriona Mathew's relaxed yet serious approach to the game - a Scot at her best.

Kang's clutch putting and her joy for the game.

Michelle Wie's poor putting.

Christie Kerr will cut you.

A golf course built in the 1960's that gives you a peak back at the golden age and a look forward to the resurrection of golf course architecture in America.  Pete Dye might not be the greatest golf architect of all time, but I submit he is the most pivotal/critical. 

A 1st hole that's as good as the 10th at Riviera, just not as sexy.

Georgia Hall's play and demeanor.

I wish Judy Rankin was my next door neighbor.

Jim and Brian, please share what you find so compelling about Mrs. Piller's golf game.

Bogey

The follow through.

[Jim Franklin]

In all seriousness, I enjoyed the Solheim Cup. Maybe I just like competitions, but I enjoyed watching.

[Carl Nichols]

What a disappointing thread.  I likely watched 80% of the coverage and found a lot to like:

Thompson goes 8 under for 7 holes yet is denied victory by Nordqvist's brilliant come-back approach at the 18th.  Nordqvist totally ignoring Sorenstam's pep talk on the 17th tee.

Thompson's amazing use of the ground as leverage during her swing to reach a 446 yards par four with a driver and pitching wedge.

Angel, an 18 years old girl, driving the ball 330 yards.  Arguably the effect of technology on the women's game is disproportionately greater than on the men's. 

Plenty of missed short puts to flip hole results.

Catriona Mathew's relaxed yet serious approach to the game - a Scot at her best.

Kang's clutch putting and her joy for the game.

Michelle Wie's poor putting.

Christie Kerr will cut you.

A golf course built in the 1960's that gives you a peak back at the golden age and a look forward to the resurrection of golf course architecture in America.  Pete Dye might not be the greatest golf architect of all time, but I submit he is the most pivotal/critical. 

A 1st hole that's as good as the 10th at Riviera, just not as sexy.

Georgia Hall's play and demeanor.

I wish Judy Rankin was my next door neighbor.

Jim and Brian, please share what you find so compelling about Mrs. Piller's golf game.

Bogey

Bogey:
I watched a fair amount on Sunday, and agree with a lot of what you said.  But I started the thread because of the slow play I observed in foursomes on Saturday, and I don't see anything in what you wrote disagreeing with that.

[David_Tepper]

"I wish Judy Rankin was my next door neighbor."

Michael H. -

+1 x 10! (and I would not mind getting to play a round or two with her each month or maybe just hit golf balls with her once a week or so)

DT