Do you find really low scores in a tournament interesting or boring?

[StrokerAce]

I understand that some people only watch the majors, but of those that watch golf regularly do you find it interesting when a lot of players go really low?
The Travelers Championship is a great tournament; the fans are great, the host is great, the players seem to like it, but it used to be that shooting 62, 64, even 65 was impressive.

Look at this scoreboard:

 

Do you find it interesting when pro golfers completely dominate a golf course or is it like watching NBA players play on a 9 foot hoop with a high school 3 point line?

What Say You?

[Hacker60521]

Personally I just enjoy watching the game since the players are competing against each other. So I’m not as concerned about the course. That said, we’ve all seen some tournaments that seem to be designed to punish the player — even with good shots. That bothers me. 

[fixyurdivot]

I don't care to see events where birdies are as common as pars.  I know it's just numbers, but these are the worlds best players and the course layout/set-up should challenge them accordingly.  I prefer venues like the US Open where shooting par is a good round.  

 

[Siamese Moose]

I want to see both. For Majors I prefer scores close to par, but for the occasional regular event it can be cool to see way under par. With that said, I rarely watch anything but the majors.

[RickyBobby_PR]

I don’t care about the score. I want good shots into greens rewarded. I want to see amazing golf and some excitement with lead changes or the chance for them down the stretch.

I like seeing birdies and eagles and when hole locations are setup to create those chances it lead to excitement on Sunday on the leaderboard.

These guys on tour are +6 or better handicaps. Shooting 8-10 under a round is fun to watch. 

Edited June 21 by RickyBobby_PR

[Kenny B]

I didn’t watch today, so I can’t say why the scores were so low.  I’m willing to guess that conditions were soft, fairways generous, and rough short and not penal.  Good players will go low and as they say: “These guys are good."

They just spent four grueling days at the US Open, and they probably welcome easier conditions.  As most tournaments go, they get tougher on the weekend.  

Personally, I’d like to see a premium put on driving accuracy; shots from the rough should be difficult but not impossible to reach the green and a good shot is rewarded.  I enjoy watching a player make shots, and difficult shots are more impressive.  Scores don’t mean a lot to me; they are just a way… other than height ... to measure yourself against other golfers.

[cnosil]

Golf for me is simply something to have on for entertainment.  Doesn't matter to me if the players shoot -10 or +10.   

 

[rkj427]

Typically, I only watch the majors, where the pros have to be on their best to make the cut and play the weekend, more due to the conditions there being more challenging to them.

As far as scoring, it doesn't matter, as course conditions and length of rough or the penalty of the hazards really impact just how low or high they may be in relation to par.

 

 

[revkev]

I don’t have a problem with it. I like variety.  It’s interesting to see how guys compete under situations where par is king verses times when trees a birdie barrage. What kills he is I’ve played that course.  It’s been remodel a few times since I did.  Same thing was true of Brown Deer park in Milwaukee, another birdie fest. They aren’t as easy as these guys make them look.

 

Also I’ve played TPC Sawgrass and shot a lower score there than on either of those two “easy” courses.  

[chisag]

5 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

I understand that some people only watch the majors, but of those that watch golf regularly do you find it interesting when a lot of players go really low?
The Travelers Championship is a great tournament; the fans are great, the host is great, the players seem to like it, but it used to be that shooting 62, 64, even 65 was impressive.

 

... What I miss is golf shots and for me score is almost irrelevant. All golf shots not just bomb and gouge. Watching 330+ yd drives and wedges followed by a putting contest to shoot in the low 60's just isn't very entertaining for me. One of the reasons I absolutely love The Open Championship as we get to see so many different golf shots, especially around the greens. Watching someone putt from 30yds off the green is mesmerizing. That is the reason I watch every televised LPGA event. Most of the Ladies can't just over power an older course flying what were strategic bunkers and hazards and they all play a variety of shots. I watched Brooke Henderson chip/putting with a hybrid up a huge bank then 20 feet to the hole and was a few inches away causing Morgan Pressel who thought it was a really bad decision to say "... and that's why she is playing and I am in the booth".  

[TSauer]

I will say watching them struggle and only going 5 or 6 under for the week does make things entertaining. But, it really doesn’t matter to me if they’re 5 under or 20 under, as long as there isn’t a runaway winner all day on Sunday. I like it when it’s close and there are several people in contention and it comes down to the wire. 

Edited June 21 by TSauer

[Preeway]

It isn’t the scores that make a tournament exciting or boring but rather how well the course does or doesn’t challenge the players. Today, the course didn’t appear to be very challenging. 

[goaliedad30]

Low score wins. Tee it up ....

[Rob Person]

 I love watching the players jockey for position on the board and be challenged at every shot. It's even more interesting to watch one player jump ahead by 5 or 6 strokes early in the tournament,  and then fight to maintain the lead the rest of the rounds, or watch an underdog come out of nowhere and rise up the board!

I tend to watch more LPGA and Senior tournaments lately too. It seems more competitive to me for some reason.

 

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

What I don’t like is watching the. Best in the world be out to shame because some s*** decided the setup needed to be ridiculous. Theres nothing fun watching Nelly Korda and other top level golfers look bad, same on pga tour.

nor different than watching a pitcher get rocked in the first inning and flounder like a fish out of water because the manager doesn’t want to go to the bullpen too early. Or a blowout in basketball, football or any other sport. That’s not even remotely close to entertaining.

Golf courses don’t offer the same challenge to all golfers. The guy who drives it 200 is playing the course differently than the guy who hits it further even at 230 yards it’s a different course for that golfer than the 200 yard golfer.

Good shots are rewarded with good results not a ball rolling off the green because they are baked out and hard. 

[RetiredBoomer]

46 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

What I don’t like is watching the. Best in the world be out to shame because some s*** decided the setup needed to be ridiculous. Theres nothing fun watching Nelly Korda and other top level golfers look bad, same on pga tour.

nor different than watching a pitcher get rocked in the first inning and flounder like a fish out of water because the manager doesn’t want to go to the bullpen too early. Or a blowout in basketball, football or any other sport. That’s not even remotely close to entertaining.

Golf courses don’t offer the same challenge to all golfers. The guy who drives it 200 is playing the course differently than the guy who hits it further even at 230 yards it’s a different course for that golfer than the 200 yard golfer.

Good shots are rewarded with good results not a ball rolling off the green because they are baked out and hard. 

I admit to having a radical opinion about this.  I think that all courses, including the ones in major championships, should be little over six thousand yards long and playable to the typical recreational player.  

Your club champion and your home pro should shoot seventy or thereabouts on it.
The defending US Open champ should threaten to break sixty on it.

That's how we'd really see how good the touring pros are.
If we keep trying to defend par against them with brutal courses, we're not actually seeing the TRUE difference between us and them.

Of course, I don't follow pro golf, so a real dedicated fan's opinion may be radically different.
You all know what you want to watch more than I do.

[StrokerAce]

after thinking about this for a while and reading through the comments, in some way I wish that scores were always really low so that "scratch amateurs" would stop thinking that they would be able to compete against tour players - in any form or fashion.

the "I'm a plus handicap and could beat a KFT player" comments need to stop... really.

[RickyBobby_PR]

41 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

after thinking about this for a while and reading through the comments, in some way I wish that scores were always really low so that "scratch amateurs" would stop thinking that they would be able to compete against tour players - in any form or fashion.

the "I'm a plus handicap and could beat a KFT player" comments need to stop... really.

Many have a misperception of how good a scratch golfer is. Yes they are good but not that good. There are 3-5 handicaps that think that is good golf. Its night and day between a scratch and a 3-5 handicap 

[chisag]

3 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

after thinking about this for a while and reading through the comments, in some way I wish that scores were always really low so that "scratch amateurs" would stop thinking that they would be able to compete against tour players - in any form or fashion.

the "I'm a plus handicap and could beat a KFT player" comments need to stop... really.

 

...  I played with a mini tour winner practicing for the Phoenix Open qualifier at my home course. He shot 7 under on the front 9 playing from the tips at 7089 yds. He was averaging around 350 yds off the tee. That was impressive but even more so was his wedge control. One hop, a skip and backed up 1 foot. Every time and always dancing around the pin. He hit a drive on #18 that caught a slope and went in the water that is 410yds from the tee.   He dropped and hit his wedge over the lake to a front pin tucked over a bunker about 2 feet past the hole and backed up a foot for an easy tap in. 

... With that kind of off the chart talent, he missed the Monday qualifier by 1 stroke. That's how good the guys on tour are and a scratch player would have no chance chance competing against them. This is from  a mini tour event in Des Moines that he won:

"He moved to 16 under with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 14. He added to his lead on 16 after smoking his drive within five yards of the front edge on the 371-yard hole. His chip rolled within four feet, and he knocked in the birdie putt. “He obliterated that one on 16,” said Marek, a 36-year-old pro based in Berkeley, California, who said he’s probably played on every mini-tour in the U.S. “I thought it was a leaf when I drove up there, and it turns out it’s his ball. He’s got some clubhead speed, touch around the greens, and he’s a really good guy, too.”  

[StrokerAce]

22 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

...  I played with a mini tour winner practicing for the Phoenix Open qualifier at my home course. He shot 7 under on the front 9 playing from the tips at 7089 yds. He was averaging around 350 yds off the tee. That was impressive but even more so was his wedge control. One hop, a skip and backed up 1 foot. Every time and always dancing around the pin. He hit a drive on #18 that caught a slope and went in the water that is 410yds from the tee.   He dropped and hit his wedge over the lake to a front pin tucked over a bunker about 2 feet past the hole and backed up a foot for an easy tap in. 

... With that kind of off the chart talent, he missed the Monday qualifier by 1 stroke. That's how good the guys on tour are and a scratch player would have no chance chance competing against them. This is from  a mini tour event in Des Moines that he won:

"He moved to 16 under with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 14. He added to his lead on 16 after smoking his drive within five yards of the front edge on the 371-yard hole. His chip rolled within four feet, and he knocked in the birdie putt. “He obliterated that one on 16,” said Marek, a 36-year-old pro based in Berkeley, California, who said he’s probably played on every mini-tour in the U.S. “I thought it was a leaf when I drove up there, and it turns out it’s his ball. He’s got some clubhead speed, touch around the greens, and he’s a really good guy, too.”  

That's incredible! 

[buckpillar]

I like a low score as long as there are several players battling for the lead, but one of the best rounds I watched was a British Open when Phil Michelsonand Henrique Stenson battled in the final round, that was fun to watch, shot for shot neither one blinked and play unbelievable golf.

[buckpillar]

12 hours ago, Rob Person said:

 I love watching the players jockey for position on the board and be challenged at every shot. It's even more interesting to watch one player jump ahead by 5 or 6 strokes early in the tournament,  and then fight to maintain the lead the rest of the rounds, or watch an underdog come out of nowhere and rise up the board!

I tend to watch more LPGA and Senior tournaments lately too. It seems more competitive to me for some reason.

 

 

The women are really great to watch, the competition is so good from top to bottom

[funkyjudge]

On 6/21/2024 at 9:15 AM, RetiredBoomer said:

I admit to having a radical opinion about this.  I think that all courses, including the ones in major championships, should be little over six thousand yards long and playable to the typical recreational player.  

Your club champion and your home pro should shoot seventy or thereabouts on it.
The defending US Open champ should threaten to break sixty on it.

That's how we'd really see how good the touring pros are.
If we keep trying to defend par against them with brutal courses, we're not actually seeing the TRUE difference between us and them.

Of course, I don't follow pro golf, so a real dedicated fan's opinion may be radically different.
You all know what you want to watch more than I do.

At those yardages and conditions that are very playable to the typical recreational golfer, the top pros would threaten 55-56 much of the time!

I play on a tour with about 40 club professionals and NCAA college golf coaches, and two guys who used to play on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour (I think it was the Hogan or Nike Tour when these guys were playing it).  These guys are all in the “Open” (e.g. - scratch) Division; I play in the Senior Net Division. However, I have been paired with both of the former professional tour golfers, who are now in their 60s, and I can assure you that 99.999% of amateur golfers would not be able to beat these guys, yet both of them still carry zero to plus handicap indexes. The guys playing on ANY of the professional golf tours are better than these two guys by a significant margin, so there’s no way that these so-called “plus-handicap amateurs” could compete with KFT or PGA Tour (or DP World Tour) players on anywhere near a consistent basis. Sure, lightning may strike once in a decade and these amateurs might shoot 66 or 67 on a difficult track, but to compete on the professional tours, you need to do that in about 75% or more of your rounds to be even somewhat competitive.

[RickyBobby_PR]

33 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

At those yardages and conditions that are very playable to the typical recreational golfer, the top pros would threaten 55-56 much of the time!

I play on a tour with about 40 club professionals and NCAA college golf coaches, and two guys who used to play on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour (I think it was the Hogan or Nike Tour when these guys were playing it).  These guys are all in the “Open” (e.g. - scratch) Division; I play in the Senior Net Division. However, I have been paired with both of the former professional tour golfers, who are now in their 60s, and I can assure you that 99.999% of amateur golfers would not be able to beat these guys, yet both of them still carry zero to plus handicap indexes. The guys playing on ANY of the professional golf tours are better than these two guys by a significant margin, so there’s no way that these so-called “plus-handicap amateurs” could compete with KFT or PGA Tour (or DP World Tour) players on anywhere near a consistent basis. Sure, lightning may strike once in a decade and these amateurs might shoot 66 or 67 on a difficult track, but to compete on the professional tours, you need to do that in about 75% or more of your rounds to be even somewhat competitive.

They couldn’t compete with mid of the road lpga golfers. I have friends who play with some on a periodic basis. In stays between -1 to +1 and gets beat by 10 shots from the same tees and he’s 300+ off the tee