Too Windy to Tee it Up

[Sven Nilsen]

Read this quote over the weekend:

In 1952 golfing dentist Cary Middlecoff, complained to Scottish-born Pebble Beach golf pro Peter Hay that windy conditions precluded the use of tees. Hay replied: "Show me in the rule book where it says you have to tee up the ball. Now get back out there and play."

It made me think back to Kapalua and watching several of the players complaining about the ball being blown off the tee. 

I can understand the suspension of play when it is impossible to keep a ball in place on the green, a case where the conditions make it impossible to play by the rules.  But on the tee it seems like a different story.

[David Ober]

Read this quote over the weekend:

In 1952 golfing dentist Cary Middlecoff, complained to Scottish-born Pebble Beach golf pro Peter Hay that windy conditions precluded the use of tees. Hay replied: "Show me in the rule book where it says you have to tee up the ball. Now get back out there and play."

It made me think back to Kapalua and watching several of the players complaining about the ball being blown off the tee. 

I can understand the suspension of play when it is impossible to keep a ball in place on the green, a case where the conditions make it impossible to play by the rules.  But on the tee it seems like a different story.

If your'e ball is being blown off a tee, it's going to be blown off a green -- unless the greens are ridiculously slow.

[J_ Crisham]

Read this quote over the weekend:

In 1952 golfing dentist Cary Middlecoff, complained to Scottish-born Pebble Beach golf pro Peter Hay that windy conditions precluded the use of tees. Hay replied: "Show me in the rule book where it says you have to tee up the ball. Now get back out there and play."

It made me think back to Kapalua and watching several of the players complaining about the ball being blown off the tee. 

I can understand the suspension of play when it is impossible to keep a ball in place on the green, a case where the conditions make it impossible to play by the rules.  But on the tee it seems like a different story.

Sven,  The moral to the story is that dentists are wimps but that being said did you know that the modern golf tee was invented by a dentist? True story

[Sven Nilsen]

Read this quote over the weekend:

In 1952 golfing dentist Cary Middlecoff, complained to Scottish-born Pebble Beach golf pro Peter Hay that windy conditions precluded the use of tees. Hay replied: "Show me in the rule book where it says you have to tee up the ball. Now get back out there and play."

It made me think back to Kapalua and watching several of the players complaining about the ball being blown off the tee. 

I can understand the suspension of play when it is impossible to keep a ball in place on the green, a case where the conditions make it impossible to play by the rules.  But on the tee it seems like a different story.

If your'e ball is being blown off a tee, it's going to be blown off a green -- unless the greens are ridiculously slow.

David:

At modern green speeds, I suspect you are correct.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Read this quote over the weekend:

In 1952 golfing dentist Cary Middlecoff, complained to Scottish-born Pebble Beach golf pro Peter Hay that windy conditions precluded the use of tees. Hay replied: "Show me in the rule book where it says you have to tee up the ball. Now get back out there and play."

It made me think back to Kapalua and watching several of the players complaining about the ball being blown off the tee. 

I can understand the suspension of play when it is impossible to keep a ball in place on the green, a case where the conditions make it impossible to play by the rules.  But on the tee it seems like a different story.

Sven,  The moral to the story is that dentists are wimps but that being said did you know that the modern golf tee was invented by a dentist? True story

Jack:

I did not know that.

I always suspected it was a dentist that invented the hockey visor, a nice alternative to the full face shield.  Savvy.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

A ball sitting in a cupped tee v a bull sitting on a smooth green - Sven: are you saying more force is required to move a ball off the green? Seems intuitively like that wouldn't be the case - but can't say for sure...

Either way, I would have thought a vaguely predictable pass at the ball would be wholly impossible under either circumstance. Would be fun for a few holes for sure - would start to get old long before the 18th though...

Brian:

I made no comments touching on physics (other than agreeing with David Ober). 

The point I was making is that on the tee you always have the option to not use a tee.  It would require a massive wind to move a ball sitting on tee length grass.  But on the green, severe wind can decisively interfere with play.  If it is impossible to replace a ball on the spot it has been marked, it is impossible for the player to play within the rules.

I was thinking of Poulter in particular, who on camera made a statement regarding the potential of injury if a ball on the tee were to move.  There is nothing in the rules that entitles the player to start a hole using a tee.  If Poulter thinks the ball might move and he might be injured, he has the option to forego the tee and play off the deck.

Sven

[Bob_Huntley]

Bump

www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=14062.20;wap2

Christy O'Connor Snr., was probably the best wind player ever but did like a sip or two.  Harry Wheatman was a bull of a man and I am sure Christy was careful with his tongue thereafter.

Bob

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bob,

Where is George Pazin these days ?

[Rich Goodale]

Thinking about this a very little bit, Sven, I think that tees should be cryit doon!  Golf would be a far better game if you were allowed to take a free drop on the tee, but nothing more.  Of course, the hackers would never return to the game, but good riddance! (insert "not so sure" emoticon here)......

For some history, regardez!

http://golf.about.com/od/equipment/ss/golf-tees.htm

Rich

[Ally Mcintosh]

When I was growing up, teeing off the deck with everything aside from a driver was an indication of how much of a man you were.

[JMEvensky]

Bob,

Where is George Pazin these days ?

I asked the same question in another thread.

Sorry for the ,worthwhile IMO,threadjack.

[Bob_Huntley]

Pat and JV.

re Pazin, I don't know.

Bob

[Bill_McBride]

Bob,

Where is George Pazin these days ?

I had an IM exchange with George last week.  He's been working hard in his business and I think may have said something about the recent flood of green, red and blue ink being perhaps a bit intimidating.

(in all honesty I made up that last bit). 

He's coming down my way soon and hopefully we'll get in a game. 

[Doug Siebert]

I posted a few weeks ago in the thread about windy golf regarding a round I played at Lahinch in 1995 in wind that was posted in the clubhouse as force 9 (around 50 mph steady according to Wikipedia)  I just dropped the ball on the teebox and hit a slightly hooded 1 iron on most holes.  My dad was using a tee and driver but he had to noticeably tilt the tee.  I can't remember which hole it was for sure, but on one of the more exposed tees hitting into the wind I took a picture of him addressing the ball with it angled forward about 15*.  Wish I knew where that photo was, I'd scan it in and post it.  People we showed it at the time to thought it was a stunt with the ball glued to the tee

I remember it took him about a minute to successful address and hit the ball on the 2nd, which is up pretty high and one of the more exposed on the course.  The wind was mostly with us, so he'd mess around getting the ball set on the tee, then when he put his driver behind it it'd screw up the airflow and the ball would fall off the tee.  This happened a few times, eventually he solved it by placing his driver about 4" behind the ball at address.