| |
Price per head - Onshore Bookmakers
Old whines go flat -- For crying out loud, just shut up and play
By Karen Guregian
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The bellyaching about the course changes at Augusta National continued yesterday. That’s right. On the eve of the Masters, there was more of the same bitching and moaning.
It’s really gotten old, and quite frankly, somewhat annoying. The players should stop whining, and play the game. Can the criticism for now.
See what happens. Watch the scores over the next few days, especially with the expected dry conditions. See who’s in the hunt and who wins before ripping the joint apart.
Sure, the powers that be appear to have turned this magnificent shrine, one geared toward shot-making and skill, into a U.S. Open-style survival test, minus the 7-inch rough. The character, charm and essence of the course created by Bobby Jones certainly isn’t what it used to be. But this was all born out of necessity.
The advanced technology of equipment, golf balls in particular, ultimately renders every course a piece of cake for the world’s best players. That dictates change. The players know that.
When you have Phil Mickelson toting a pair of super duper fusion drivers in his bag that he can launch a mile in either direction, well, you get the picture.
Changes had been made prior to 2003 in an attempt to stay ahead of the technology curve, and once again, chairman Hootie Johnson and the Masters committee felt it was necessary to tinker with the course, add more length to a number of holes, to try and keep a leash on Tiger Woods and his long-bombing buddies.
The common view is the changes aid the likes of Tiger, Phil and the heavy-hitters. According to Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els told him over dinner the other night he believed only 10 players had the ability to win on the course, the way it is now constituted.
Mark Calcavecchia, meanwhile, claimed the other day that because of all the manipulations, a shorter hitter had no chance of winning the tournament. He pretty much ruled out former Green Jacket winner Mike Weir for that reason.
Wasn’t it the so-called short-hitting Weir who won the Masters in 2003, after those last changes were incorporated?
That’s why you have to play the game, before you start crying.
At least the aforementioned Weir was willing to give it a shot, before throwing the course down the toilet. When asked about his chances yesterday, he wasn’t about to rule himself out, or let anyone else bury him, either.
“The long hitters are still going to have an advantage, but I can still get it done,” Weir said. “I think I have as good a chance as anyone the way I’m swinging right now, and the way my short game feels.”
Weir, who averages 271 yards off the tee, doesn’t consider himself a short hitter. That said, did he believe, as Calcavecchia charged, that some players had no chance because of the changes?
“There will be some guys (who have no chance) because of their mentality,” Weir said. “I mean, if they buy into it, they’re going to believe that. If they don’t buy into it, they’ll have a chance.”
So some golfers are defeated before they’ve even teed it up.
Listening to Johnson yesterday, the intention was to try and put the same clubs in the hands of the golfers as they used 30 years ago. Instead of hitting wedges into practically every green, which is what Tiger and Phil have been doing, use what Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer used, a 6- or 7-iron.
“We’re just trying to have a good test of golf on our golf course under the best possible conditions,” Johnson said.
Still, the players complain. Come to think of it, that’s what they usually do before every tournament. Then they play, and somehow, much of the griping is forgotten.
|
|
Topics:
|
