The Golf Thread - 2017!
Discussion
Just got back. Great day.
Well Rory managed to lose his ball on the 15th (I was there helping look for it). The crowd was so thick though that he could hardly move to search for it and nobody seemed to know which patch of grass it had gone in. Very frustrating as he was getting going and could have got within 1 shot at the time without it.
Wouldn't have mattered in the end with Speith's astonishing finish under huge pressure. Really the stuff of champions.
Watching live I saw loads of terrible shots today though: massively wayward drives, virtual shanks, missing green by 20 yards from pitching wedge range etc. Their brilliant short games get them out of trouble a lot though. I suppose the TV edits everything to generally show the best shots by the best players. If a non-contender gets air time it's usually for a chip in or eagle or something spectacular.
Well Rory managed to lose his ball on the 15th (I was there helping look for it). The crowd was so thick though that he could hardly move to search for it and nobody seemed to know which patch of grass it had gone in. Very frustrating as he was getting going and could have got within 1 shot at the time without it.
Wouldn't have mattered in the end with Speith's astonishing finish under huge pressure. Really the stuff of champions.
Watching live I saw loads of terrible shots today though: massively wayward drives, virtual shanks, missing green by 20 yards from pitching wedge range etc. Their brilliant short games get them out of trouble a lot though. I suppose the TV edits everything to generally show the best shots by the best players. If a non-contender gets air time it's usually for a chip in or eagle or something spectacular.
SpeckledJim said:
My cheeky punt on Paul Waring E/W is not yet dead. But not exactly alive and kicking either.
I suppose he was 401 for a reason.
I suppose he was 401 for a reason.
SpeckledJim said:
Boydie88 said:
£5 EW on Kuch at 60/1 - hope he keeps it up!
That's a canny bet. If you don't win, I can't see it being by far.Great day out on the Saturday with my dad.
Walked the first 12 holes in the morning.
Picnic in the grandstand at the practice ground for lunch
Bit of time at the 14th green. Great atmosphere there.
Then the grandstand at the 18th green from 2pm until the finish. Sunburn and a sore bum!
First class organisation all-round. The park and ride was absolutely seamless.
Walked the first 12 holes in the morning.
Picnic in the grandstand at the practice ground for lunch
Bit of time at the 14th green. Great atmosphere there.
Then the grandstand at the 18th green from 2pm until the finish. Sunburn and a sore bum!
First class organisation all-round. The park and ride was absolutely seamless.
sidicks said:
Dan_1981 said:
Someone talk me through the ruling for Speith?
Balls unplayable so he takes a drop.... I get that. What's the line of sight relief rule he used to move out from behind the wagons?
Exactly that - the trucks are not part of the golf course and were in his way, so he gets to drop away from them to a point where they are no longer obstructing his view to the target.Balls unplayable so he takes a drop.... I get that. What's the line of sight relief rule he used to move out from behind the wagons?
Someone with a more detailed knowledge of the rules, will be able to give a more accurate summary, in due course!
With the added caveat that the 'line of sight' relief from the trucks HAS to be taken at the nearest point of relief.
But when taking a penalty under 'unplayable', Spieth was able to change that nearest point of relief from deep rough to the short grass of the practice ground. Presumably by taking the unplayable relief even further from the flag.
For me the oddity was not having the practice ground as out of bounds. Final group of a major out on a Sunday at the 13th means the range is empty, but what would have happened had a player looked for such relief at 10am on Friday when there might have been 50+ pros practicing there?
oyster said:
sidicks said:
Dan_1981 said:
Someone talk me through the ruling for Speith?
Balls unplayable so he takes a drop.... I get that. What's the line of sight relief rule he used to move out from behind the wagons?
Exactly that - the trucks are not part of the golf course and were in his way, so he gets to drop away from them to a point where they are no longer obstructing his view to the target.Balls unplayable so he takes a drop.... I get that. What's the line of sight relief rule he used to move out from behind the wagons?
Someone with a more detailed knowledge of the rules, will be able to give a more accurate summary, in due course!
With the added caveat that the 'line of sight' relief from the trucks HAS to be taken at the nearest point of relief.
But when taking a penalty under 'unplayable', Spieth was able to change that nearest point of relief from deep rough to the short grass of the practice ground. Presumably by taking the unplayable relief even further from the flag.
For me the oddity was not having the practice ground as out of bounds. Final group of a major out on a Sunday at the 13th means the range is empty, but what would have happened had a player looked for such relief at 10am on Friday when there might have been 50+ pros practicing there?
So on the unplayable relief ruling.....
I always thought it was two club lengths from the ball. That seems to be wrong?
Can you keep going backwards as far as you like? (kinda like entering a water hazard?)
oyster said:
For me the oddity was not having the practice ground as out of bounds. Final group of a major out on a Sunday at the 13th means the range is empty, but what would have happened had a player looked for such relief at 10am on Friday when there might have been 50+ pros practicing there?
They'd have stopped the pros practicing (in that direction at least) and let the player take his drop, I imagine.Dan_1981 said:
Ta.
So on the unplayable relief ruling.....
I always thought it was two club lengths from the ball. That seems to be wrong?
Can you keep going backwards as far as you like? (kinda like entering a water hazard?)
Yes, as far back as you like in a straight line from the flag through the point where your ball was deemed unplayable.So on the unplayable relief ruling.....
I always thought it was two club lengths from the ball. That seems to be wrong?
Can you keep going backwards as far as you like? (kinda like entering a water hazard?)
Assuming the ball was in the rough, that often means going back a long way as the terrain usually gets worse before it gets better (like the next fairway over, for example)
Someone on the BBC made a good, if pedantic point.
The practice ground was deemed part of the course, i.e. not out of bounds, and so was available to Spieth in his minute of need.
But practicing on the course is not allowed during the tournament, so how were all the players allowed to use it for practicing before their rounds?
Pedantic point, but I'm not sure what the 'strict' answer would be.
The practice ground was deemed part of the course, i.e. not out of bounds, and so was available to Spieth in his minute of need.
But practicing on the course is not allowed during the tournament, so how were all the players allowed to use it for practicing before their rounds?
Pedantic point, but I'm not sure what the 'strict' answer would be.
Nothing against Speith, but the practice ground not being out of bounds is about as stupid as the clubhouse not being out of bounds when Tiger hit his ball on the roof. I can't remember playing a course where the practice ground or the clubhouse isn't out of bounds.
Amazing recovery though.
Amazing recovery though.
I'm not sure what the set up is like at Birkdale, but you have to remember that the practice ground used by the pros in big tournaments is often not the same as what the usual members use - for instance at St Andrews they used to close the New and Jubilee Courses, and use the first holes of those as a practice area. As a result they are often not marked with white stakes as they aren't usually OOB, mainly as they don't expect the pros to be going 120 yards offline.
Must admit it didn't raise too much of an eyebrow with us, as our Practice Ground is part of the course as well - a big hook off the tee of our 7th hole will see your ball land in the middle of it - and tbh, it isn't too bad a way in
Was happy for Spieth though, even though I'm not his greatest fan, good to see him overcome what happened at the Masters a couple of years ago. I didn;t get to see it live as we were playing at Conwy (what a course!) in an Open, so were checking our phones most of the way round. Plus a couple of groups behind was a Scouse lad called Joey Barton, who was clearly also keeping up with what was going on, and very loudly updating his playing partners.
Must admit it didn't raise too much of an eyebrow with us, as our Practice Ground is part of the course as well - a big hook off the tee of our 7th hole will see your ball land in the middle of it - and tbh, it isn't too bad a way in
Was happy for Spieth though, even though I'm not his greatest fan, good to see him overcome what happened at the Masters a couple of years ago. I didn;t get to see it live as we were playing at Conwy (what a course!) in an Open, so were checking our phones most of the way round. Plus a couple of groups behind was a Scouse lad called Joey Barton, who was clearly also keeping up with what was going on, and very loudly updating his playing partners.
SpeckledJim said:
SpeckledJim said:
My cheeky punt on Paul Waring E/W is not yet dead. But not exactly alive and kicking either.
I suppose he was 401 for a reason.
I suppose he was 401 for a reason.
SpeckledJim said:
Boydie88 said:
£5 EW on Kuch at 60/1 - hope he keeps it up!
That's a canny bet. If you don't win, I can't see it being by far.But aside from the odd each way coming in, I'm far from good at it myself. Should have been watching live and lumped heavily on Spieth after the 13th.
The 'line of sight' rule is ridiculous. All of the TV and spectator hardware, including towers and grandstands is all visible from the tee..
If a player hits a shot behind it, that's their problem. They don't get a free drop when a tree is blocking their line of sight. Just call the towers and grandstands part of the course. Only poor shots will be penalised by them.
If a player hits a shot behind it, that's their problem. They don't get a free drop when a tree is blocking their line of sight. Just call the towers and grandstands part of the course. Only poor shots will be penalised by them.
TTmonkey said:
In what way was Spieths errant drive unplayable? - I never saw pictures, was listening on the radio in the car.
Can anyone describe please?
It was at the bottom of knee-high stringy cabbage halfway up a huge 30-degree slope. With the slope being in the direction he needed to go. To get it out of the first two feet of mire you'd have had to hit it basically straight up, but he also needed a lot of carry. Bumping it out a short distance wasn't a possibility.Can anyone describe please?
I wouldn't have fancied my chances of getting it more than four feet, never mind the 100 yards back to the fairway.
He made the right call, and followed it up with a very good (blind) shot into the green, a good chip, and a good putt. It was a real Seve Bogey.
Edited by SpeckledJim on Monday 24th July 14:45
He definitely made the right call and proved knowing the rules pays off
To then take the shot he did with the stakes involved was just superb play.
I left about half 4 after being there since the start on Sunday and listened to the rest on Five live, tremendous display of golfing talent from all the players. The course was in great condition and despite the massive Sunday crowds we found it easy to get good views at most of the holes.
I enjoyed this more than Troon last year and found it a better spectators course, shame next year looks to be a bit less spectator friendly. Still going though
To then take the shot he did with the stakes involved was just superb play.
I left about half 4 after being there since the start on Sunday and listened to the rest on Five live, tremendous display of golfing talent from all the players. The course was in great condition and despite the massive Sunday crowds we found it easy to get good views at most of the holes.
I enjoyed this more than Troon last year and found it a better spectators course, shame next year looks to be a bit less spectator friendly. Still going though
Edited by Blaster72 on Monday 24th July 15:21
TTmonkey said:
In what way was Spieths errant drive unplayable? - I never saw pictures, was listening on the radio in the car.
Can anyone describe please?
It doesn't really matter where the ball is or why it's unplayable. The rules allow a ball to be declared unplayable at any time, with three options for your drop.Can anyone describe please?
2 club lengths, not nearer the hole.
Straight back keeping the flag, the point of the unplayable lie and the drop in a straight line.
Back where you played the previous shot from under penalty of stroke and distance.
The player is the sole judge of whether a ball is unplayable.
The match referee made sure the JS was dropping the ball in line with the rules, which presumably was the case.
DocJock said:
The 'line of sight' rule is ridiculous. All of the TV and spectator hardware, including towers and grandstands is all visible from the tee..
If a player hits a shot behind it, that's their problem. They don't get a free drop when a tree is blocking their line of sight. Just call the towers and grandstands part of the course. Only poor shots will be penalised by them.
Not really, it tends to be a local rule invoked in tournaments, where all the added course furniture can get in the way. To me it would seem a bit unfair to make the pros hit from behind a camera tower, when a club golfer in the same position wouldn;t have that issue. If a player hits a shot behind it, that's their problem. They don't get a free drop when a tree is blocking their line of sight. Just call the towers and grandstands part of the course. Only poor shots will be penalised by them.
The R&A have given courses flexibility for just this purpose - http://www.randa.org/Rules-of-Golf/Appendices/Appe... . So it is up to the Club to define what a Temporary Immovable Obstruction, and then adjust the local rule accordingly.
Also, line of sight doesn't mean what you think it means, it doesn't mean you can see it, it means it's between you and the hole, and would interfere with your normal shot. Many courses have a similar local rule for staked trees - if you're going to hit the tree with your ball you're get a drop.
Moving on from The Open does anyone know much about Powakaddys? I have my sister's old Powakaddy Freeway in the garage - hasn't been used in about 10 years, so I suspect the (Lead Acid) battery will be long past it's best - can I just buy one of the new Lithium ones and install it in its place? The trolley looks to have one of the T-Bar connectors on it.
http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/equipment/electric-t...
It looks to be one of those, but has the old Powakaddy logo on it.
Playing 36 in one day at Conwy a tthe weekend had made me think maybe it's time for an electric trolley after 25 years of carrying.
http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/equipment/electric-t...
It looks to be one of those, but has the old Powakaddy logo on it.
Playing 36 in one day at Conwy a tthe weekend had made me think maybe it's time for an electric trolley after 25 years of carrying.
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