Tiger's effects on the game of golf

[nkhera1]

Is it just me or can every rookie hit it 320 easily. I'm not the only one who noticed this.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_arnett/02/07/inside.golf/index.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2321052

It is interesting that these young guys can reportedly hit it as far as and possibly even farther than Tiger Woods (Bubba Watson's ball speed is reportedly 10 mph faster than Tiger's). Now the rest of Tiger's game is probably better than that of these rookies, but it really puts doubts into my mind if he can continually win majors (like Augusta) when these other guys can hit it farther and straighter. What are your thoughts?

[dales]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

There's more to Tiger than jus his physical golf game. The man has a mental edge over everybody he plays. I don't know how you feel but I don't see it as coincidence that two tour-proven veterans blew a chance at a win when forced to go head to head with Tiger in a playoff these past two weeks. Tiger can will himself to victory and I think that gives him a large advantage over the rest of the field, whether or not they can hit it as far as him.

[Triggerfish]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

"There's more to Tiger than jus his physical golf game. The man has a mental edge over everybody he plays. I don't know how you feel but I don't see it as coincidence that two tour-proven veterans blew a chance at a win when forced to go head to head with Tiger in a playoff these past two weeks. Tiger can will himself to victory and I think that gives him a large advantage over the rest of the field, whether or not they can hit it as far as him."

Could not agree more with this. Let's see when one of these guys is playing with Tiger on his heels late in the tournament...my money is on Tiger. Hell John Daly can blast them also....
__________________

[GrandMaster B]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

Watching J.B. Holmes in person last week at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, doesn't begin to describe the awesome power these players have today. Which leads me to question wether or not some of these players are on some sort of performing enhancement drugs. Now I am not accusing anyone, but it can't just be the equipment. I am about the same size as Sergio Garcia and he hits the ball 100 yards farther than me. Now the announcers will say it all come from the use of your hips to drive the ball through your backswing, but I don't know how some of these players can generate that much club head speed and not hurt themselves. Bottom line is, I would like to see mandatory drug testing on the PGA Tour. Sorry if I got off topic. Tiger works out and has great upper and lower body strength. Daly is just big and fat and can generate power. I guess I just don't understand where the power comes from on some of these smaller players.

[Herbsinator]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

Is it just me or can every rookie hit it 320 easily. I'm not the only one who noticed this.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_arnett/02/07/inside.golf/index.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2321052

It is interesting that these young guys can reportedly hit it as far as and possibly even farther than Tiger Woods (Bubba Watson's ball speed is reportedly 10 mph faster than Tiger's). Now the rest of Tiger's game is probably better than that of these rookies, but it really puts doubts into my mind if he can continually win majors (like Augusta) when these other guys can hit it farther and straighter. What are your thoughts?

The game isn't about who can hit it the farthest. Even if these young guys can hit it past tiger 10-15 yards...Tiger probably still will have a better GIR avg. and Tiger is still the best putter on Tour, IMO.

[nkhera1]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

The game isn't about who can hit it the farthest. Even if these young guys can hit it past tiger 10-15 yards...Tiger probably still will have a better GIR avg. and Tiger is still the best putter on Tour, IMO.

I agree that it isn't about hitting it the furthest but I just thought it was interesting. Also when Tiger Wood's came into the PGA he had to refine his game a lot and these players will have to as well. I'm not saying that all of the sudden Tiger is going to suck but it just shows that we can't just proclaim Tiger to win 18 majors. Also how is Tiger the best putter? Maybe the best clutch putter but he seems pretty streaky to me.

[larrygiterdone]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

i think they need to grow the rough longer in order to level the playing field with all of these big hitters joining the tour......

[nkhera1]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

i think they need to grow the rough longer in order to level the playing field with all of these big hitters joining the tour......

Agreed, all they do is make courses longer, but that just helps longer hitters. However, Tiger Woods did do pretty good at the US Open and PGA Championship even though they had pretty think rough but it definetely makes it tougher.

[forensicd]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

Every course today takes the easy route by saying "lets just make the hole longer". Why not make the hole tougher? Why not add dog leg surrounded by bunkers so people actaully have to be accurate vs long? Todays game is more and more becoming long ball contests. If you cant drive it 300 yards, you are in trouble. Some of the par 4s are getting insane in distance, approaching over 500 yards. If you cant drive it 300 yards, you are stuck with a 250 yard shot on your 2ND SHOT on a par 4. Shorten the courses, but make them harder, like they used to be. Power vs finesse will become a thing of the past as they keep lengthening the courses, and all those great accurate, finesse players will be gone.

[ComfortablyLomb]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

Watching J.B. Holmes in person last week at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, doesn't begin to describe the awesome power these players have today. Which leads me to question wether or not some of these players are on some sort of performing enhancement drugs. Now I am not accusing anyone, but it can't just be the equipment. I am about the same size as Sergio Garcia and he hits the ball 100 yards farther than me. Now the announcers will say it all come from the use of your hips to drive the ball through your backswing, but I don't know how some of these players can generate that much club head speed and not hurt themselves. Bottom line is, I would like to see mandatory drug testing on the PGA Tour. Sorry if I got off topic. Tiger works out and has great upper and lower body strength. Daly is just big and fat and can generate power. I guess I just don't understand where the power comes from on some of these smaller players.

Uh, timing and an actual golf swing. If Sergio is actually driving the ball 100 yards further than you then the problem is on your end. I generally drive the ball 260-270 off the tee with relatively little muscle mass (I'm just tall and lanky) simply because I know how to coil my body like a spring, shift my weight dramatically, and swing a golf club properly. I'm not going to say the muscle doesn't help but you're totally overstating it's effect on how far a golf ball can be hit. I'm willing to bet you don't catch the same penny sized sweet spot on your driver every time you take a swing. Just because the clubhead is the size of an SUV doesn't mean more than a tiny bit of that surface is worth hitting. I'm willing to bet that you don't drop your club into the slot every time you take a cut at a ball. I'm willing you don't play with clubs that were specifically made your game or prototype models like many pros get from the manufacturers. And I'm willing to bet you don't play in perfect conditions on fairways that are cut down nice and thin and can give a ball an extra chunk of yards in roll on top of a fairway that isn't set up for tour conditions. Seriously, I've played with far too many people who can pop the ball 280-300 off the tee (including one kid who was 5'8" at best and of average build) to question whether or not professional golfers are abusing the juice.

[Herbsinator]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

I agree that it isn't about hitting it the furthest but I just thought it was interesting. Also when Tiger Wood's came into the PGA he had to refine his game a lot and these players will have to as well. I'm not saying that all of the sudden Tiger is going to suck but it just shows that we can't just proclaim Tiger to win 18 majors. Also how is Tiger the best putter? Maybe the best clutch putter but he seems pretty streaky to me.

I think the numbers lie a little bit. He has a higher putts per hole average than some of the other players on tour, but a lot of that comes from the fact that he hits the green a lot more often than other players. So when they can get a lot of up and downs and in turn 1 putts, tiger is hitting the green and lags and ends up with two putts. The scores count the same but Tiger got his differently.

[D_Dogg]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

I think the numbers lie a little bit. He has a higher putts per hole average than some of the other players on tour, but a lot of that comes from the fact that he hits the green a lot more often than other players. So when they can get a lot of up and downs and in turn 1 putts, tiger is hitting the green and lags and ends up with two putts. The scores count the same but Tiger got his differently.

When calculating the putting statistics, the PGA uses only putts taken on greens hit in regulation. This from their website:

"Putting Leaders measures putting performance on those holes where the green is hit in regulation (GIR). For these holes, the total putts are divided by the total holes played. By using greens hit in regulation we are able to eliminate the effects of chipping close and one putting in the computation."

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/r_104.html

[larrygiterdone]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

When calculating the putting statistics, the PGA uses only putts taken on greens hit in regulation. This from their website:

"Putting Leaders measures putting performance on those holes where the green is hit in regulation (GIR). For these holes, the total putts are divided by the total holes played. By using greens hit in regulation we are able to eliminate the effects of chipping close and one putting in the computation."

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/r_104.html

yea but there is still a difference in just barely being on the green lookin at a 60 footer and being two feet from the hole

[D_Dogg]

Re: Tiger's effects on the game of golf

yea but there is still a difference in just barely being on the green lookin at a 60 footer and being two feet from the hole

No debate there, it's still a GIR. The reason I provided the clarification is b/c the previous poster seemed to think that getting up and down for par would affect one's putting statistics, which it wouldn't. If you have to get up and down for par, you didn't hit the GIR.