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Tim Gavrich

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Re: How will Winged Foot be any better?
« Reply #25 on: August 10, 2020, 10:34:46 PM »
It's wild how quickly Morikawa's tee shot on 16 all but erased his chip-in on 14. I think the chip-in was the more clutch shot, breaking him out of that huge tie as it did. The tee shot on 16 was the coup de grâce, and also incredible.


What recent major champions have hit not one but TWO shots of such incredible impact on the final nine, in the space of three holes?
Senior Writer, GolfPass

JESII

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How will Winged Foot be any better?
« Reply #26 on: August 10, 2020, 10:44:19 PM »
Wrong thread?

Tim Gavrich

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How will Winged Foot be any better?
« Reply #27 on: August 11, 2020, 02:49:00 PM »
Wrong thread?
In light of the several posts on the preceding page about Morikawa's tee shot on 16?
Senior Writer, GolfPass

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Re: How will Winged Foot be any better?
« Reply #28 on: August 11, 2020, 08:38:14 PM »
Count me in for someone who doesn't see the correlation between a great course and a great tournament.
I also don't believe that a better designed course will bring the cream to the top.


I do believe that a better designed course will impact the results.  But it certainly won't always provide the most deserving champion.  There are too many variables at play . . . everything from weather to course setup to what the players ate the day before!


What it cannot do is guarantee an exciting tournament.  There's always the potential for Tiger [or Martin Kaymer] to run away and hide and everyone else plays for second . . . and, interestingly, the former would be considered a great event and the latter a disappointment.  There's no guarantee that the player who produces the great shot at the right moment will go on to win, to make his moment iconic.  And in the converse, you can have a lot of guys not playing very well and wind up with six of them coming to the last hole with a chance to win, to make it exciting in spite of the play, which was another potential outcome this past Sunday.  An individual tournament is a total crapshoot.

Mark_Fine

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: How will Winged Foot be any better? New
« Reply #29 on: August 12, 2020, 09:03:50 AM »
Harding Park delivered a great event, no one can argue with that.  HP was as I said, a great test of golf and when you put the best players in the world on that kind of stage, it should make for good entertainment.  There was enough adversity and challenge that it eclipsed what is often just a putting exhibition.  However, there are very few (if any) here who would put HP in the same league as Winged Foot as far as the overall quality of the design.  Winged Foot’s green complexes for example are one of the best sets I have seen on the planet.  Honestly every architect should see and study them and anybody who rates courses should study them as well so they could see just how good green design can get.  Just like HP, Winged Foot also has the length as well as the diversity to go with it.  The WF Oaks are not quite as dramatic as the HP Cypress trees and if WF suffers from anything it is the relatively benign topography, however, overall architecturally WF is a superior design. But as Tom just said, the quality of the course still might not deliver the most exciting outcome.  It is strange in a way but on the other hand not too surprising.  One thing WF will do for sure is provide challenge and adversity to the best players in the world.  I have no idea who will win or if the leaderboard will be jam packed at the end, but I do know for sure it will be a mental and physical battle.  It will be a survival test so if you like that you will be entertained 😊
« Last Edit: August 12, 2020, 08:12:05 PM by Mark_Fine »