Thin2win

The Majors are the Majors... until they aren't. The 4 majors that Bobby Jones won in a calendar year aren't the 4 majors that are celebrated today. You can't get that tradition and history without starting. If the LIV group puts up an Invitational event every year and calls it a major... so be it. The Masters was made a Major in the 1960's... because it was the event that had the single highest purse. So by that token, the Players should have been a major for awhile. I'm not a fan of the funding that backs LIV, its bad. But the format idea itself sounded good when the PGL was trying to pitch it to the PGA, too bad the PGA ignored it and the LIV came to be.

I'm also a member of the bucket hat brigade.

I'm here to win a 2018 odyssey putter, and I'm not leaving until I do. Really. Something about the running jokes, generally welcoming attitude and people seeking to discuss club minutia that might or might not actually matter has kept me coming back. These forums are the only SM I use. They have been a great community and this week will lead me to the 4th annual pnw spy Meet-up. I like the idea of the new testing format, but in practice it just hasn't engaged me. The lack of major OEM tests, is bad. Really bad. But for me, the biggest issue is that HQ has gone off the deep end and the content it produces is the worst golf content on the internet. Since the first ball test, it has gotten progressively worse. People find the forums from the main page, the main page is Charles Barkley double hitch bad.

that was me last month, i feel you. an eagle and 5 birdies, squandered by a quad, a triple and 2 doubles...

On Sunday afternoon I got a hall pass to get out and go golf for a 3 hour window between the responsibilities of life. I met up with a single on the first tee. Nice guy, grew up right beside the course but only started playing last year in the covid boom. a college baseball player, and once he works out a consistent golf swing he is going to mash the golf ball. My game was fine, my short game was really good. 11 putts through 9 holes and a -1 total score. I got a par on 10, then birdied 11 to get to -2 for the round. This was easily the lowest score I have had on a course this late in a round. But... my 3 hour hall pass expired and I had to head off the course and to Home Depot to pickup some drywall screws and thin set... Yep, I left my best round going ever to get back to remodeling a bathroom...

I guess I would have just liked the Tour to figure out how to incorporate 225 Million and 8 Events into the existing structure.... Maybe it didn't happen all in 1 year, but over a 5 year period as existing contracts expired they could have come up with something. But, that cat is out of the bag.

I've said from the start of this that LIV was much more of a threat to the DP tour then the PGA tour. The PGA has some prestige behind it that it can lean on. The DP tour has lower pay and other then the British Open, a forgettable schedule.

Yeah, with Ferrari doing a double dnf, Wasn't much going on out front. Russell gets another podium out of it. I'm a merc/ Hamilton fan. And I'm fully off the opinion that merc has the worst race strategy team in the paddock. I think they are so used to just having the fastest car and not really carrying about actual the strategy of when to pit, what tires to use, etc. Watching them dump Hamilton behind slower traffic every race in a car that isn't up to par is comical. Russell has had a solid year, and at the same time done really nothing. His race strategy keeps him in the hunt and in good position. Merc needs to figure out it out. RB are the best on the grid at it. Having been the chasers in the slower car for years they have developed all the little things much better and are rightfully in the driver's seat for a championship.

This is one that I have a little different opinion on. I think from just the US perspective, the idea of growing the game is laughable. But if you are talking globally... that is a different conversation. This is a league that is viewable on YouTube, the most watched content provider on the planet. That reaches a lot more eyeballs then the PGA Tour and its current broadcast rights. While the LPGA tour does a pretty substantial world tour, the PGA tour doesn't stray from the continent that often. If LIV continues to travel to global locations and provide ways for people to watch for free anywhere on the planet... Its hard for me to ignore that as a way to help grow the game. It is also seemingly trying to include a pretty diverse group of players in terms of ethic and regional background. I think that claim of growing the game, while it isn't their obvious priority, can't be dismissed as not happening.

I bought one already, maybe now is your day:

Other note from watching it. Having the shotgun start, was really nice from the viewing standpoint. If I was a spectator going to the event, 5 hours onsite to watch the whole event is a lot better then 9+ hours if you want to watch at a normal pga event. I did like that.

There is always the concern with NHL when it comes time for the Olympics and risk of injury. Also, WNBA players often go play in Turkey/Russia during the off season.

Initial thoughts, production quality is way better then i was expecting.

yes. yes he is.

yep, I'm in.

The Team names are about the worst ever. Like, they could have gone with Laser, Blaser, Phaser, and Michelle. and had them been better.

That would require the Saudi group to pay women and promote womens sports. If that sort of paradigm shift occurred maybe this would be a good thing. The pga as it is setup, has been making the top players disgruntled for a good while. With it being a 501c non profit, I'm under the impression that that is why it can't put out different pay scales and rules for the top 10 or so players, the entire membership has to be treated the same. It is also why the pga gives so much money to charity. It is setup very different then the other American sports. I like my job and my company, but if I was offered 5x the money to go from thirty five 4 day work works to eight 3 day weeks... yeah. I'm in. Saying this isn't good for golf might be short sided. It isn't good for strength of field and the PGA. but it is better for professional golfers. I thought the PGL plan was a really cool idea to make the non major weeks worth watching. Maybe this inspires the PGA to change, adapt and come out with a more compelling product. Because the FedEx cup format sucks(imho). And watching 48 stroke play events is boring. The Zurich is fun, but the teams are a one week thing and it comes off as a gimmick. I'll put a 3 golf tee wager that by the last LIV golf event of this year, it has a stronger strength of field then the pga event the same week.

The pga tour has issues that it is going to have to figure out sooner then later. There are the 4 majors, the players, and About 6 other events that are worth watching. Then there are basically 30 events that aren't good to watch. It sucks that the reason some issues are getting looked at is because of LIV. It also sucks that the PGA took such a hard line stance against it instead of working with it from the start to figure out how to add the $225 million to its current pool and into something that would work. Watching indy cars split into cart and the irl was bad for everyone, but eventually it came back better. I'm guessing this plays out similarly. It is going to make every event that isn't a major feel diminished. And the majors that much bigger assuming that everyone (DJ. etc) gets in. It's a bummer, but it is happening

I watch the PGA during the majors. I watch the LPGA the other 40 or so weekends, they are good. And they inspire me to get better in a way watching the pga doesn't. I'm never going to have 180mph ball speed with my driver(well, probably not). But what I do have, is the exact ball club head/ ball speed that Minjee Lee has. If she can play a course at 6300 yards and score how she does I can at least dream of playing that well. Watching Rory blast a 370y tee shot followed by a 205y 8i is cool, but doesn't inspire me to go play better golf.

What I really wanted to say was, I have an open fall calendar this year, why wait?

Next year? I've got an open fall calendar...

I think Golftec can do really good things for the more analytical learners. Their method is hard for those that learn by feel. But if seeing that data, seeing your swing and understanding it, they are pretty hard to beat. They do have a good package that has lots of vetting and results behind it. But finding the right coach/instructor that speaks in a way that makes sense to you is probably the single more important part of any lesson plan. To one of your first points, your swing cues will always change. Your body will get used to that finish left, and it wont feel like you are finishing left. so to get that same "feel", you will end up finishing further and further left. Without a coach or visual to let you know when you have used that cue to its target... you just keep going until it has gone too far and is now doing the wrong thing for you. From your write up, I would say the visual is a good tool for you.

So, I couldn't find a Triad locally. I tried 3 proshops, my local Dicks and the local golf store. Given that, I decided that it was probably not my ball just given the challenge of sourcing it. But, if I do find them, I will try them and throw up some numbers because I am curious.

The Lake Chelan muni course is lots of fun... hole #12 is a 270y par 4. but its green is crazy sloped. Played a number of tournaments there and when they decide to roll that green it really becomes basically what those poor girls faced. 20 years later, I can remember my high school district golf tournament there and having 2 people in my group 7 putt on that green.