[Jud_T]

John,

He hit gap wedge into 13.  If the greens aren't 13+ he shoots nothing.

[George Pazin]

Ran:

It doesn't help that two of the best Masters players of recent vintage -- Tiger and Lefty -- are sidelined/not-in-top-form due to injuries.

One of the most baked-out courses I'd ever seen -- Royal St. George's in 2003 --also produced one of our most unlikely major winners in Ben Curtis.

More capricious conditions leads to an unpredictable leaderboard?

The rest of the leaderboard that year was packed with world top 10 players, so I reject your last sentence!! Seriously, the conditions there were fascinating to watch and didn't produce a questionable result in any way, contrary to popular belief.

Tiger 2K wins yesterday by 10 strokes...

[Phil McDade]

Ran:

It doesn't help that two of the best Masters players of recent vintage -- Tiger and Lefty -- are sidelined/not-in-top-form due to injuries.

One of the most baked-out courses I'd ever seen -- Royal St. George's in 2003 --also produced one of our most unlikely major winners in Ben Curtis.

More capricious conditions leads to an unpredictable leaderboard?

The rest of the leaderboard that year was packed with world top 10 players, so I reject your last sentence!! Seriously, the conditions there were fascinating to watch and didn't produce a questionable result in any way, contrary to popular belief.

Tiger 2K wins yesterday by 10 strokes...

I give props to Tiger, and you give me grief? What's the GCA world coming to?

The Masters is historically unkind to first-year players, and two of them ended up T-2nd (although both, particularly Spieth, are guys I'd expect to have some sustained success in the coming years). Of the seven players under par, not a one of them has ever won a major save for Bubba -- whose game (and these guys come around every so often -- Couples, Mickelson, Tiger ) is clearly well-suited for Augusta National and the Masters set-up. (I'm not a fan of the World rankings; they reward consistency and high finishes more than wins.)

Agree on Tiger 2K lapping the field this year.

[Cliff Hamm]

I have followed professional golf for 50 years or so and never remember it being so weak at the top.  Depth may be greater than ever but who are the stars?  Phil - missed the cut.  Adam Scott?  Rory - almost missed the cut and played himself out of it.  Who else?  This is certainly not Nicklaus, Palmer, Player.  Not to mention Casper, Watson, etc.

Cliff

I have to say your comments leave me baffled. The Masters has just been won for the second time by a guy who if he did any more tricks he could be a circus act. Not to mention he was pushed most of the way by a player who looks as though he could potentially dominate golf for years to come.

Nostalgia is one thing but come on, these guys aren't stars !?!

Niall

There's been fourteen different major winners over the last four years (McIlroy and Mickleson twice). Seven missed the cut: Duffner, Simpson, Els, Schwartzel, Bradley, Mickelson, and McDowell. Watson will probably win, Mcilroy is tied for eighth, and Scott tied for fourteenth. The other four (Clarke, Oosthezien, Bradley, and Kaymer) weren't in great form coming in but made the cut.

There just aren't many seasoned winners playing well this year and there have been a couple of quirky late career major winners over the last four years.

It's more of a reflection of the current major champions than the golf course.

If by stars you mean dominant players who you expect to contend in major after major no.  Bill's note that over the last four years there have been 14 different winners says it all.  Current players with 3 or more majors:  Woods, Els, Mickelson, Singh,and Harrington.  Not exactly a fountain of youth albeit u don't typically win 3 before 25.

Bubba looked exceptional, but Andy North and Lee Janzen both won 2 US Opens.

Anyway, unless Tiger comes back, Phil turns it around I don't see dominance at the top and there hasn't been going back awhile.  I will contend that there are less dominant golfers now than anytime in my lifetime but with a very deep bench.  McIlroy and Spieth are certinly capable of changing that in a flash...

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Jud T.

If he shoots nothing does he still get a green jacket?


Steve,

of course there are many factors that affect the speed to one degree or another, however the main factor which can diminish the speed is height of cut.

I don't know the height of cut during the Masters, or wether they cross cut with hand mowers morning and evening, or even rolled them. However I found the tentative putting not an inspiring form of golf and would prefer to see a more positive putting stroke which at least gives the impression of „going for it“ rather than the touch putting at Augusta.

If this can be achieved with lower speeds then I believe there'd be more fire in the competition.

However I wouldn't like to see moister greens making the ball stick closer to the flag and missing out on all those great chips and long putts.

[Rick Shefchik]

I've never seen so many well-struck approach shots fail to hold the Augusta greens. Often you hear about rain in the weeks prior to the Masters, but this year the greens seemed to be drier than the typical U.S. Open course. At the Open, the greens are generally surrounded with ankle-deep rough, so the ball stays relatively close to the hole; at Augusta, a missed green often takes the ball well away from the putting surface. It's much more interesting to watch players try to recover on the Augusta National greens than gouging out of the greenside rough at a U.S. Open, but do we want to see it as often as we did this week? More water on the greens would mean a more interesting Sunday back nine.

[Tim Pitner]

Well, the conditions produced a repeat winner so it's not as if experience around the course was totally irrelevant.  Bubba Watson is a strange fellow (to my eye) and not a player for whom I root, but he's quite a talent--his extraordinary length, preferred shot shape and all-around shot-making skills suit Augusta very well.  The Masters has always rewarded length.  It was disappointing that Scott, McIlroy, etc. didn't contend and there was no drama on the back 9 on Sunday, but Bubba's win doesn't necessarily say much about the course or the state of the top players in today's game.  When he's on his game, Bubba's tough to beat.

[Jud_T]

Jud T.

If he shoots nothing does he still get a green jacket?

Yes,

But the powers that be's world view would be threatened and their jockey shorts would tighten as if by divine intervention...

The weird thing to me is while the greens were lightning, the approaches didn't seem commensurately firm, so guys only hit bump and run shots when nothing else was really viable.  I know that's the player's modus operandi anyway, and I'm not sure if it's the blade height Faldo was alluding to or simply what mother nature gave them, but it seemed an odd combo of prep.

[Niall C]

Cliff

By stars I mean players who can compete, who have style/presence (call it what you will) and of course bags of skill, and Bubba has that in abundance as has Spieth. Put it this way, which 2 ball would you rather watch, Watson and Spieth, or Singh and Harrington ?

Niall 

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