[jebartle]

What a thrill to see Fred Couples hole for par after going in water with first shot. Can't wait to see this exciting tournament this week.

[DeanFL]

Originally Posted by jebartle

What a thrill to see Fred Couples hole for par after going in water with first shot. Can't wait to see this exciting tournament this week.

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a HUGE DITTO from me. I'm finding pro golf so very exciting and interesting now. And having SOME fans on the course is wonderful (although, the "In The Hole" is SO 1990s).
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[John_W]

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[jebartle]

Originally Posted by John_W

For me the Players won't be quite as exciting since my favorite Brooks Koepka had to withdraw due to knee pain again. When he's not playing, I like Rory. Last year Rory and Brooks were together and on Directv they had them as the featured group on Thursday and I got to watch the whole round of them without seeing the others, and they both played good. That's a nice feature that Directv that they have available, otherwise you have to go on the internet and pay extra for that feature. However, after one round the tournament was cancelled, Hideki had shot a 63 that day.

Looks like Rory has had some difficulties today, quad on 9, double on 1, yipsters. Tough course and expensive course to play, peak season $600, yipsters! Last time I played Peeble Beach it was much less.

[collie1228]

And don't forget the famous "Better than most" putt by Tiger Woods on this hole. One of the most exciting putts ever.

[DeanFL]

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...after watching some of the play from yesterday, who else has an 'itch' to challenge the 17th Island green? I would LOVE to have the opportunity to take 100 shots to make the green and see where 'best ball' lands.

I think yesterday's pin placement was 134 yards, and most used a P/W. Hmm, I'd use an 8 iron. Hope for distance and loft. Out of 100 balls, with no pressure, I'd hope to get 8-10 to land on the green and STOP before kerplunk.

THAT would be fun. Anyone else?
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[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by John_W

For me the Players won't be quite as exciting since my favorite Brooks Koepka had to withdraw due to knee pain again. When he's not playing, I like Rory. Last year Rory and Brooks were together and on Directv they had them as the featured group on Thursday and I got to watch the whole round of them without seeing the others, and they both played good. That's a nice feature that Directv that they have available, otherwise you have to go on the internet and pay extra for that feature. However, after one round the tournament was cancelled, Hideki had shot a 63 that day.

Unfortunately, Rory is having some serious swing problems. You cannot play high level golf with a two way miss. He needs to get with a coach and fix this before he plays in any more tournaments. Hopefully he can get it done before The Masters. That's the only one he needs to complete the career Grand Slam.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by jebartle

What a thrill to see Fred Couples hole for par after going in water with first shot. Can't wait to see this exciting tournament this week.

I have a great story about a second ball hole in one. Back in the late seventies, I was the assistant professional at a club in Massachusetts. My boss had some friends that played on the tour and one day, two of them came to play. My boss and I joined them and decided to have a match. We were each partnered with one of the tour pros. The match was going along fine. We got to the 11th hole which was a 211 yard par three with shrubs and a chainlink fence marking out of bounds on the left.

My boss hooked his shot into the shrubs and opted to play a provisional which he holed. My partner rushed over to the area where my boss had hit his ball and found it up against the fence and in the shrubs.

The rules state that if the original ball is found before the player has removed his provisional ball from the hole, the provisional is canceled and the original ball is in play.

My boss made a six. His partner made four and my partner and I both made three.

My boss was upset, but I did get to keep my job.

[John_W]

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[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by John_W

When you're on the green putting, there's always the chance the putt will go in. I think his most exciting shot was 2005 at the Masters with a one stroke lead, and during the final round 16th hole par 3, when he chipped in from off the back of the green. He was aiming for an old ball mark that was hardly visible and had 20' of slope before going in.



His greatest shot, and I also saw this one live, was the 72nd hole of the 2000 Canadian open with a one shot lead and the challenger Grante Waite lying 2 on the side of the green. Tiger on the par 5, 18th hole in a fairway bunker he hit a 6 iron from wet sand 218 yards across the lake to about 15' from the pin.

Those were both great but he's had so many that it's impossible to call one the greatest.

I was fortunate to witness one in person that was kind of meaningless. On day 2 of the 1999 Ryder Cup I was standing against the ropes of the 12th tee with my two sons waiting to get a close up view of Tiger. His group was coming up next and I could see them coming down the 11th hole. Tiger wasn't with them. Then I noticed two people in the woods about 200 yards off the tee. It was Tiger and Steve. He evidently had hit a pull off the tee that caught the trees and left him 240 yards from the green with no straight line to the target. I suddenly saw the flash of club in the backswing then saw his ball heading straight toward us. It began to hook and flew over the pond in front of the tiny green and landed about 20 feet from the hole. He missed the putt and the hole was halved. The thing was that his target was almost 90 degrees from where he had to start the ball and he hit it off of dirt.

After he had gone through the 12th hole, we walked up the 11th and found the spot that he had hit from. The mark in the dirt was still fresh. I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in jail. I've seen a lot of golf shots in my life, but that was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

To top it off, Steve gave the ball to my son.