The Golf

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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

Perhaps a little golf thread? Plenty of golf chat seems to creep its way into other threads - maybe it's time it got given the status it deserves, and is allocated its own little corner of the forum?

What clubs you play with? Will Rory win the Masters, or miss the cut in time to get his ass to Milton Keynes for our QF?
By the Hammer of Thor, how has Luke 'Cash Machine' Donald gotten to world rank #3? And would you rather get a hole in one or get to have a shower with the team post-victory in Cardiff, May 2011?

I got from eBay for £40 a set of 1980s Titleist Tour Forged blades. I'm going to play with these a bit to see if doing so will help me play with my main set.
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Re: The Golf

Post by namron »

:sleeping:
We dont need the English to win the European Cup
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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

good to see rory NOT blowing up in the wind.
3 over par yesterday which means he's not out of contention (yet...)

goonhead - i need a new driver i think. something stiff shafted and i would think 9.5 degrees. something with plenty of forgiveness - im not one of those guys who likes to work the ball off the tee. Utiulise the power fade - aim left and bring it back nicely...

thoughts?

what irons u play with?
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ColinM
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Re: The Golf

Post by ColinM »

I've a stiff shaft 10.5Deg Nike sasqutch driver (not the square one), had little use. £60 if your interested. I opted for something a little more flexible in a TaylorMade form.

The Nike driver makes a noise thats second to none, if you liek that sort of thing
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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

ColinM wrote:I've a stiff shaft 10.5Deg Nike sasqutch driver (not the square one), had little use. £60 if your interested.
Is this the yellow headed one? Have hit this before and if it's the one im thinking off makes a sound that would cause things on the 38th parallel to kick off...
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ColinM
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Re: The Golf

Post by ColinM »

thats the one
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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

im gonna go into the pro shop and try a good few out on the driving range i think before i get anything...
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backawaygoonahead
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Re: The Golf

Post by backawaygoonahead »

My advice gentlemen is to never use a driver with more than a 7 degree loft, watch your handicap tumble. Frankly only old farts with zero strength or wimmin should use anything above 9 degrees.

My weapon of choice is a 5 year old King Cobra with the 7 degree loft that keeps me from hitting the clouds or sending the ball back over my head & hitting the ball a stupid distance for a fat old cove who is ever more rapidly closing in on the pension. :wink:

Don't believe you haven't the talent to get such a weapon airborne, its easy - trust in Uncle Backaway - take it back low and slow, make a full turn, complete your back-swing and then accelerate from the top without snatching at the club. Couldn't be easier.

As ever no need to thank me. :D

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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

WGC Cadillac kicks off later today. This of course is the 2nd of the WGC events, following hard on the heels of Luke Donald's win a fortnight ago in the Arizona desert matchplay event.

They have arranged 1st and 2nd day pairings for the top 21 ranked players in the world so that: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 etc are playing together. The cynical might question if this was merely an effort to boost ratings by putting an out-of-sorts Tiger against an out-of-sorts Phil Mickelson. Personally I expect to see a lot of this group as I watch on TV, and fully anticipate to see GMAC wiping his ar$e with Tiger's driver head cover, which is of course a tiger...

There are a few other tasty groups in there as well though, outside of the Donald/Westwood/Kaymer and McDowell/Woods/Mickelson circuses - i've highlighted a few in red...

Not often that someone brave enough to pull off a tartan-flares and white driver combo is shortest off the tee, but with his playing partners being Dustin Johnson and my man Bubba - Mr. Poulter may well be reaching for an extra Weetabix this morning...

One's to watch -
Mark Wilson, already won twice on the PGA Tour this year. A man in form.
Bubba Watson - one win this year and is beginning to show a bit of maturity in course management. Can bomb the ball a mile but is now becoming more consistent in keeping it on the fairway.
Ricky Fowler - I expect RF to get a win soon and I expect that when he does, it will be a big one.
Jhonatton Vegas - phenomenal start to his career on the PGA Tour. Could go well.
Martin Kaymer - best player on the planet currently, and if he plays well he will win.
Luke Donald - won the matchplay with a dominant display two weeks ago. His game is showing a lot of promise now that he has accepted he isnt the biggest hitter of a golf ball. Stop trying to hit it so hard, concentrate on playing it accurately...

Could spring a surprise this week:
Nick Watney, Matt kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose

Whiteknightoftheweld's tip:
Martin Kaymer to win
Nick Watney a good each-way bet

Full draw (times for day 1)

11:20 am Davies, Rhys Bjorn, Thomas Palmer, Ryan
11:30 am Chowrasia, S.S.P. Crane, Ben Hansen, Anders
11:41 am Poulter, Ian Johnson, Dustin Watson, Bubba
11:51 am Goosen, Retief Molinari, Francesco Karlsson, Robert
12:02 pm Senior, Peter Na, Kevin Noh, Seung-yul
12:12 pm Aiken, Thomas Streelman, Kevin Clark, Tim
12:23 pm Wilson, Mark Haas, Bill Fisher, Ross
12:33 pm Fowler, Rickie Ishikawa, Ryo Vegas, Jhonattan
12:44 pm Kuchar, Matt Furyk, Jim Els, Ernie
12:54 pm Kaymer, Martin Westwood, Lee Donald, Luke
1:05 pm Choi, K.J. Rose, Justin Allenby, Robert

Tee #10

11:20 am Hoffman, Charley Baddeley, Aaron Points, D.A.
11:30 am Ogilvy, Geoff Johnson, Zach Sabbatini, Rory
11:41 am Singh, Vijay Scott, Adam Watney, Nick
11:51 am McDowell, Graeme Woods, Tiger Mickelson, Phil
12:02 pm Casey, Paul McIlroy, Rory Stricker, Steve
12:12 pm Kim, Anthony Harrington, Padraig Villegas, Camilo
12:23 pm Fraser, Marcus Van Pelt, Bo Fujita, Hiroyuki
12:33 pm Overton, Jeff Day, Jason Yang, Y.E.
12:44 pm Ikeda, Yuta Laird, Martin Moore, Ryan
12:54 pm Mahan, Hunter Jimenez, Miguel A. Quiros, Alvaro
1:05 pm Oosthuizen, Louis Schwartzel, Charl Molinari, Edoardo
1:15 pm Byrd, Jonathan Hanson, Peter Kim, Kyung-tae
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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

update on the action:

Bubba Watson withdraws
Weather delay - predicted to be about 2 hours.
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backawaygoonahead
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Re: The Golf

Post by backawaygoonahead »

Welder trust we can look forward to your pre-tournament analysis for the season. Would you oblige me by making one tiny change ? The way you lay out the players names, I was amazed briefly to find a third Molinari brother - Retief Molinari. I would imagine a far better putter than his siblings - but just then I caught myself on.

Now then, the big question for 2011 - will Woods win a tournament or will he win 4 ? Fancy him to win the Master much as it would please me if he FTQ'd. Kaymer a cert to end the year world no 1 ?

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WhiteKnightoftheWeld
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

backawaygoonahead wrote:Now then, the big question for 2011 - will Woods win a tournament or will he win 4 ? Fancy him to win the Master much as it would please me if he FTQ'd. Kaymer a cert to end the year world no 1 ?
Tiger - hmmmmm....
he cites a swing change and he has personal/family issues. I think his head's gone personally, he no longer believes that he's the man to beat.

one thing is for sure, with the putter he is not the man he was. the difference between a good golfer and a not so good golfer - watch even the low handicappers versus the 10-15 men at your club? It's not the first shot they play (off the tee). It's the 2nd shot - the one that comes before the scoring shot. Tiger used to time after time after time land the ball in birdie range, and then with his putting record more often than not he'd rack up a red number on his scorecard. Now however, the drive's as likely to be 20 feet off the fairway than on it, his second shot won't land when he wants it to, his 3rd (which before is a birdie putt) is now a bunker shot/long putt/chip from the fringe, and he's no longer guaranteed to make every 6 footer he faces...

throw in then the 'aura' factor that young Rors spoke off... used to be if you were 2-3 shots clear of Tiger going into Sunday you were looking over your shoulder, worried about his charge, psyched out by the man. before you can say "b0££ocks I've just shot 78 bang goes the Masters", sure enough Tiger's atop the leaderboard... Nowadays, the guys that have started to win/contend in Tiger's absence, or the fresh faces on the scene, have become used to the man being mediocre. If he needs to go on a charge and watch the rest of the field wilter, well, I'd suspect that the new likely lads will simply raise their game rather than being blown aside...

He has just moved into his new house, complete with the most advanced practice facility the world has ever seen. a year or so on his personal troubles are now beginning to sort themselves out, change of scenery and an intense focus on golf... I think we'll see Tiger win this year. Once he does I fully expect him to start dominating again. I can't see it at the Masters, were it to be the Open or US Open though i wouldn't bat an eyelid...

world #1:

world number one is a toughie to call - i'd expect there's a bit of too-ing and fro-ing before we see one person build enough of a lead to dominate it for a while.

kaymer I feel will only get better and better. his to lose in my opinion

mcdowell if he can have another season like last will push for this. either himself or Luke Donald to challenge kaymer for this non-event.

rory could well challenge for this - but i think he needs to ditch the caddy. far too often he 'blows up' mentally - a good caddy will get him re-focused, won't allow him to hit a driver when the rest of the field hits a 3 wood, etc etc etc... even at quail hollow once he established a lead he couldnt play it safe. open at st andrews on friday last year, dubai on saturday this year, florida last week... far too often when he has a bad round it's an absolute stinker and he's out of contention...

luke donald is one to watch for the masters - incredibly accurate player, leads PGA tour in up and down stats, very accomplished putter. his only failing is that he isnt the biggest hitter, and Augusta in recent years has turned the course into a very long one...

casey and poulter are bound to be seething that some of their euro counterparts are hogging the limelight. these 2 could have a big season...

sadly i think westwood has had his moment in the sun, and if he doesnt win a major this year i dont think he ever will.

other contenders - tiger as mentioned, but he'd need to turn things around quickly.
bubba watson has the potential, ross fisher, justin rose, nick watney and matt kuchar could have big seasons. not likely to contend for #1 spot because of how the rankings work, but could have a lot of success...

finally - one to watch. Peter Uihlein. US Amateur champion. Numerous other amateur awards. #1 ranked amateur player in the world. going to be playing thursday and friday at the masters with phil mickelson. this guy will be very good once he turns pro...
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

watney looking good for e/w at the minute.
kaymer decently placed, but hunter mahan out in front.

pity he looks like a porn star/red neck...
Image

i also came close to backing martin laird - the scot who plays on PGA tour. had a good run-in at the end of last season of course. he could be an outside shout for ryder cup...

first round is being completed today, after a storm caused play to be held up for a few hours yesterday. In addition to blowing tee times out of the water, it also succeeded in blowing over a large scoreboard on the 18th green, and 2 - yes two - camera towers over, one of which ended up in a lake beside the 9th green...
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Re: The Golf

Post by WhiteKnightoftheWeld »

not blowing my own trumpet - i have tried but can't reach.
WhiteKnightoftheWeld wrote:Could spring a surprise this week:
Nick Watney, Matt kuchar, Dustin Johnson, ...

Whiteknightoftheweld's tip:
...
Nick Watney a good each-way bet
Watney wins the thing, and in doing so is no longer able to be called the best player who hasn't won on tour... that accolade will probably now go to Ricky Fowler who shot a day's joint best 66 yesterday. Wasn't he marvellous in his Oklahoma State burnt orange?

Kuchar and DJ also top 10.
the bit's of my prediction that i've omitted - Kaymer and Justin Rose. Both had stinkers, but, still, there's always another tournament just around the corner...

Other joint-best-round of the day - Mr Tiger shoots a 66 also. Was pretty pumped at the end of it, reacted with his caddy like he'd just holed in one stroke the 16th at Phoenix. I think he'll be back soon enough...
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Re: The Golf

Post by Jackie Brown »

Good cars, maybe a bit over priced mind you.
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