Golf - the next episode please

Ernest Oreo

Golf badly needs some fresh blood into the pro game.
The demise of tiger, the expansion of Phil, the false-hope of Rors, the orangeness of Fowler, the baldness of Kuchar, etc etc - its all just directed us into a slump of mediocrity.
I'm not even slightly excited about the season this year.
The sight of Sergio et al rocking up, whinging and whining for 2 days and then wandering off with a bulging wallet, the game is just stinking right now.
We've got no personalties worth tuning in for. We've got boring 300+ yard drives off the tee, wedge onto the green, 2 putts and onto the next.

I'm just not happy about all this.

Mr. Larson

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

Golf badly needs some fresh blood into the pro game.
The demise of tiger, the expansion of Phil, the false-hope of Rors, the orangeness of Fowler, the baldness of Kuchar, etc etc - its all just directed us into a slump of mediocrity.
I'm not even slightly excited about the season this year.
The sight of Sergio et al rocking up, whinging and whining for 2 days and then wandering off with a bulging wallet, the game is just stinking right now.
We've got no personalties worth tuning in for. We've got boring 300+ yard drives off the tee, wedge onto the green, 2 putts and onto the next.

I'm just not happy about all this.

Why don't you consider turning Pro then to inject some much needed charisma into the game?

mike12

When Rory is on form he is just super to watch. Think the majors will be good this year Day, Scott, Stenson, Phil will all be there along with Rory lots of good young American golfers around as well. Hope Tiger is crap for the year would love to see Paddy contend in something Gmac will win again this year maybe not a major so it should be good enough.

golfguy1

Not sure what u are really looking for.

Best matchplay in yrs just gone.
4 man playoff last week

tiger demise? he is injured
Phil expansion? was never lean
Rory? Only starting out on his career will win loads of majors in the next 10-15 yrs.
Fowler and kuchar both world class major winners in the near future imo.

Looking back at some of your comments on the doonbeg thread im not sure you have a clue mind.

Ernest Oreo

Having a four way playoff doesnt necessarily make things anymore exciting in my book, particularly when you are dealing with 4 planks manicured to within an inch of their lives.
Same drive off the tee, same post-game comments. They even wear the same clothes!!!

Do some research on the days when we had snead vs hogan, faldo v norman, woods vs the entire field, palmer vs nicklaus, nicklaus vs watson etc.
That was entertainment.
Real competitions out there every week.
Now we just have a bunch of journeymen beefing up their bank accounts.

Arsenium

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

Golf badly needs some fresh blood into the pro game.
The demise of tiger, the expansion of Phil, the false-hope of Rors, the orangeness of Fowler, the baldness of Kuchar, etc etc - its all just directed us into a slump of mediocrity.
I'm not even slightly excited about the season this year.
The sight of Sergio et al rocking up, whinging and whining for 2 days and then wandering off with a bulging wallet, the game is just stinking right now.
We've got no personalties worth tuning in for. We've got boring 300+ yard drives off the tee, wedge onto the green, 2 putts and onto the next.

I'm just not happy about all this.

:-) Surely a wind up? Fantastic start to the year so far. The emergence of young talents like Spieth last year. Jimmy Walker coming from nowhere to win 3 times already.

The Rory show is fantastic...couldnt wait for Sunday nights coverage to start to watch every hole.

Boring 300 yard drives....Tiger and Phil cant hit a fairway to save their lives and their recoveries are just insane. Bubba bending balls 50 yards from either side...and that just with a wedge. Debuisson playing miracle shots from impossible positions....Gmac holing clutch putts that he has no right to hole...

Ah here I'd better stop. I think I've fallen for the bait.....

Ernest Oreo

Fair comment on Bubba.
He is worth the entrance fee.

I'm not looking for class clowns on the fairway, but I just feel golf doesnt have a spark right now. Augusta will rescue it as it always does, but that's a once off shot of adrenalin imo.
A huge component of the entertainment factor comes from the personalities within the game as far as I am concerned. And I just find this really really stale at the minute.

I dont like McIlroy, have never warmed to him. Dont mind admitting that.
I can appreciate his ability, but he brings nothing to the game.
He has no presence like nicklaus, seve, woods have / had.

Arsenium

I'm not McIlroys biggest fan either and I would take the point that they churn out the same prescribed rubbish when interviewed post round.I find very few of them say anything of any real note.

But he is still a huge draw and I dont imagine I would have looked forward to last Sun nights finale nearly as much if it was just the other 3 guys that were challenging.

Even if it was only to see if he could close the deal.

Ernest Oreo

I wasnt watching the final day very much last sunday.
Saw that a playoff was on the cards - watched the first dude tee off, and then decided it was time for bed.
Now if i cant be arsed to even watch one hole with a four-way playoff, surely there is something amiss?
I know it was just Honda, but this should have been an engaging finale to the competition. For me it wasnt. Maybe I have bigger problems.

ForeRight

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

I wasnt watching the final day very much last sunday.
Saw that a playoff was on the cards - watched the first dude tee off, and then decided it was time for bed.

Lies

The_Kew_Tour

If you can be excited by Golfers like Phil, Tiger, Rory, Bubba, Johnson, Fowler and Day then you are never going to be happy.

We have never had it so good with quality players we really have not.

People should appreciate this great era in Golf.

Who wants 2 or 3 men dominating anyway? when you can have 20-30 players in with a shout every week

benny79

Is Tiger not currently world no 1.... "The demise of Tiger"

BubbaM

Ernest Oreo, can I have the number for your dealer please?

thewobbler

All I'm reading here is the incoherent ramblings of a man who has been over saturated by televised golf.

Those wonderful rivalries he talks of, I wonder how many of them he actually watched all 72 holes of. I'd guess not a whole big pile, unless he had a private satellite hook-up to their caddies.

Ernest Oreo

Wobbler - probably fair comment that I have been infected by an oversaturation of televised golf in recent years.
However, I think you'll find that the oversaturation of televised sport is indeed a quite common phenomenon in 2014. But for one reason or another, please refer to the above ramblings, golf in particular does not engage me or interest me right now.

I am an avid student of the game, and have furiously dissected the famous battles of the past. TV footage, while scarce, is available. And I remember very well Faldo vs Norman, Woods vs the World, just to refer to two of the aforementioned 'rivalries'.

Oversaturation, as you refer to it, is probably a contributing factor. However, in my estimation it is minor in the overall scheme of things. People stopped watching Fair City years ago, not because it was pumped into our living rooms 5 nights a week. No. But because they foolishly decided to remove interesting characters such as Harry Molloy and Barry O'Hanlon.

neckedit

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

Wobbler - probably fair comment that I have been infected by an oversaturation of televised golf in recent years.
However, I think you'll find that the oversaturation of televised sport is indeed a quite common phenomenon in 2014. But for one reason or another, please refer to the above ramblings, golf in particular does not engage me or interest me right now.

I am an avid student of the game, and have furiously dissected the famous battles of the past. TV footage, while scarce, is available. And I remember very well Faldo vs Norman, Woods vs the World, just to refer to two of the aforementioned 'rivalries'.

Oversaturation, as you refer to it, is probably a contributing factor. However, in my estimation it is minor in the overall scheme of things. People stopped watching Fair City years ago, not because it was pumped into our living rooms 5 nights a week. No. But because they foolishly decided to remove interesting characters such as Harry Molloy and Barry O'Hanlon./quote]

Im sorry.......using Fair City as a comparison to anything is ridiculous and adds no weight to you arguement!

Ernest Oreo

Replace with Corrie or Eastenders so, depending on your disposition

burnhardlanger

Golf never was a televisual sport.

What I'd like to see is an major investment in the protracer/balltracker technology.

We only ever get a teasing glimpse of it when the majors/marquee tournaments come around.

It's the best way to convey how the game is played from tee to green.

Check this out from the Open last summer and the variety of different shot shapes. It's a lot better than the Player hits/Cuts to ball in air/Ball lands way of old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV2rTZpW9lQ

As for a viewing dynamic, it would be much harder to develop an edge to the game. It's a rich sport now and any controversy or negativity would impact on a players bottom line. Everyone minds their P's and Q's and it makes for a boring spectacle.

Arsenium

neckedit wrote: »

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

Im sorry.......using Fair City as a comparison to anything is ridiculous and adds no weight to you arguement!

I think it just derails it totally...and for that reason....I am out !!

neckedit

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

Replace with Corrie or Eastenders so, depending on your disposition

Not helping.......(",)

Ernest Oreo

The point is valid, imo.
You can use whatever televised equivalent you feel comfortable with.
Be my guest.

Mr. Larson

You guys all know this is the legendary Conno under a different guise, right?

FixdePitchmark

Mr. Larson wrote: »

You guys all know this is the legendary Conno under a different guise, right?

Hopefully.

SnowDrifts

Mr. Larson wrote: »

You guys all know this is the legendary Conno under a different guise, right?

Looking through his previous posts - I was thinking the same.

*Sits back and observes the entertainment*

Redzah

Ernest Oreo wrote: »

Fair comment on Bubba.
He is worth the entrance fee.

I'm not looking for class clowns on the fairway, but I just feel golf doesnt have a spark right now. Augusta will rescue it as it always does, but that's a once off shot of adrenalin imo.
A huge component of the entertainment factor comes from the personalities within the game as far as I am concerned. And I just find this really really stale at the minute.

I dont like McIlroy, have never warmed to him. Dont mind admitting that.
I can appreciate his ability, but he brings nothing to the game.
He has no presence like nicklaus, seve, woods have / had.

Whether this is a wind up or not, i agree with the OP.

Bubba is definately a character and worth the entrance fee. His problem is he doesnt have the consistency of a top player, even if that means consistent excellence with his scrambling, he just doesnt bring it week in week out and thus could never be included in a group of top players from this era.

The OP is right that there is little charisma with the Top Players, current top 10 is;

1Tiger Woods
2Adam Scott
3Henrik Stenson
4Jason Day
5Phil Mickelson
6Rory McIlroy
7Justin Rose
8Zach Johnson
9Sergio Garcia
10Dustin Johnson

With Woods being the obvious legend of the game but having lost the fear factor and aura he once had.

Mickelson (who has charisma) on the slide but a potential worthy successor to many of his attributes in Jason Day.

Stenson and johnson being big ball strikers who will periodically win regular tour events on courses set up for a long ball.

Scott, rose, zach being a likeable but boring.

And Garcia and McIroy being talented but not possessing likeability factor and both unlikely to ever fullfill their promise and potential.

Based on my thoughts on the above, i agree with the OP, too many players with no charisma and a lot of different winners each week with nobody pushing on. What the tour needs is a group of 3-5 players to break away from the rest, similiar to the Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Murray tennis top 4 which has recently been dismantled with federers slide.

Russman

Redzah wrote: »

Scott, rose, zach being a likeable but boring.

And Garcia and McIroy being talented but not possessing likeability factor and both unlikely to ever fullfill their promise and potential.

I kind of agree with you, but maybe its a symptom of the PC world we live in that any kind of non conformity gets jumped on ?
Maybe its not possible to be a combination of, say, Scott and Garcia ?

Rose bores me to tears watching him play I have to say.

Guess it depends what we want, Tiger was never in any way likeable yet half the fans love him. I'm a Sergio fan and half the fans hate him. Each to their own I suppose.

Sandwlch

Dont think the outlook is so gloomy. Tiger may be finished as far as hoovering majors goes, but for the next couple of years even him not doing it will be great drama. Rors certainly seems to lack bottle at the death or the drive and self control of the likes of Woods, Faldo, or Nicklaus but he can play some incredible golf so I woulnt discount him yet. Add in the likes of Mickelson, Johnson, Spieth, Matsuyama, Dubuisson, Rose, Walker, Delaet, Fowler, Streelman, Reed, Luiten, and Blixt all powering through the top 50 in the world and it looks like an exciting year in prospect.

burnhardlanger

Who cares about charisma Or characters.
I don't care about their opinions or politics or their shagging antics.

All I want to do is watch them play golf.

There's plenty of characters in the commentary box to make up for them.

Rikand

burnhardlanger wrote: »

Who cares about charisma Or characters.
I don't care about their opinions or politics or their shagging antics.

All I want to do is watch them play golf.

There's plenty of characters in the commentary box to make up for them.

far too many sh!tehawks in the commentary box if you ask me

PARlance

I do like to see "charaters" out there, just look at what someone like Ronnie O Sullivan does for snooker.

But it's not a make or break thing for me, I just enjoy watching golf.

And the day of the wild child sportsman is long gone, the money involved and the professionalism has put an end to that.

We (society) can't have it every way, sports players are dammed when they put a foot out of place so I can't blame them from turning into semi-robots.

We also seek out every last detail about them, follow them on twitter or discuss them to death on forums :P etc....
How could there be any real "characters" left, we know what they had for breakfast.... and the sponsors aren't keen if that was cocaine and hookers.

Too much off it on TV too (the golf) probably, I'm still in the phase were it's all good but I can see a time were I will watch it less, possibly.

To have a real character you need a bit of mystique... That just isn't the way things are done these days.

FixdePitchmark

In the absence of "characters". I want to watch the best golfers.
I still watch The European Tour.
I think for this reason (stars in US)The Euro Tour is a bit fecked.

But I wouldn't miss an event when Tiger and Rory are playing.
The majors are special too.

But there are not too many golfers being mentioned here that would keep you up till the early hours if you had something you had to get up for in the morning.

So I would agree that there are not enough top top players .
And the few that were making this more exciting are in decline or falling in and out of form.

Goosen
Els
Phil
Kaymer
Garcia
Schwartzel
Oosthuizen
Clarke
Westwood
Paddy

A major changing of the guard is taking place. But we don't know the next big stars yet. The y will come .

flashjohn

Phil normally posts a win before The Masters, I going to back him this week

Senna

I can't agree with 90% of this thread, I love watching golf for the golf and I think there are enough of the main contenders there week in/ week out to keep the personal side interesting.

Any tournament where no big name is going to be in contention come Sunday, just requires a couple of € bet to keep the interest:)

nomunnnofun

Seems to me that golf stars nowadays are damned if they do have personalities and slightly less damned if they don't.
Anyone that acts outside of the norm is chastised within an inch of their life.
For instance Rory walking off the course last year. Yes, it was a bit childish and he probably should have finished the round and took it on the chin, however, when you have grown up believing you will be the best golfer in the world, you finally get there, then get the multi-million sponsor dream you always wanted, you suddenly are having the round from hell playing like one of us hackers. I can imagine you would rather not go through this on live television and would prefer going home where you can wrap your driver around a tree in the back garden without being seen.:)
Also, when Sergio had an argument with Tiger about putting him off his shot, he made an off the cuff comment that was meant to be funny but unfortunately came out as slightly racist:o, he was harassed by media for weeks later. Did he apologise to Tiger, Did he shake his hand. Did he write him a letter.

I know the Tiger affair(s):eek: was a bigger deal than the above episodes but in fairness, with the amount of coverage and hassle he got because of it, you would swear he had murdered 15 women rather than having slept with them.

It's little wonder they spew out the same post round comments week in week out when anything slightly provocative will be twisted into mega-news. After all, they want an easy life as much as the rest of us ( with the added perks of playing golf around the world earning millions )

thewobbler

nomunnnofun wrote: »

Seems to me that golf stars nowadays are damned if they do have personalities and slightly less damned if they don't.
Anyone that acts outside of the norm is chastised within an inch of their life.
For instance Rory walking off the course last year. Yes, it was a bit childish and he probably should have finished the round and took it on the chin, however, when you have grown up believing you will be the best golfer in the world, you finally get there, then get the multi-million sponsor dream you always wanted, you suddenly are having the round from hell playing like one of us hackers. I can imagine you would rather not go through this on live television and would prefer going home where you can wrap your driver around a tree in the back garden without being seen.:)
Also, when Sergio had an argument with Tiger about putting him off his shot, he made an off the cuff comment that was meant to be funny but unfortunately came out as slightly racist:o, he was harassed by media for weeks later. Did he apologise to Tiger, Did he shake his hand. Did he write him a letter.

I know the Tiger affair(s):eek: was a bigger deal than the above episodes but in fairness, with the amount of coverage and hassle he got because of it, you would swear he had murdered 15 women rather than having slept with them.

It's little wonder they spew out the same post round comments week in week out when anything slightly provocative will be twisted into mega-news. After all, they want an easy life as much as the rest of us ( with the added perks of playing golf around the world earning millions )

I agree wholeheartedly. There was a thread on here when Darren Clarke won the Open Championship, in which he was roundly dismissed as a man who had wasted his talent. A man who had won over 20 tour events, played in 5 Ryder Cup teams, and won the most sought after prize in Europe, if not the world. Probably in the top 0.5% of professional golfers in history on stats.

Yet because he enjoys spending his money on cars, cigars, booze and blondes, and can be equal parts rude and charming, people want to stick the boot in.

FixdePitchmark

thewobbler wrote: »

I agree wholeheartedly. There was a thread on here when Darren Clarke won the Open Championship, in which he was roundly dismissed as a man who had wasted his talent. A man who had won over 20 tour events, played in 5 Ryder Cup teams, and won the most sought after prize in Europe, if not the world. Probably in the top 0.5% of professional golfers in history on stats.

Yet because he enjoys spending his money on cars, cigars, booze and blondes, and can be equal parts rude and charming, people want to stick the boot in.

But - thewobbler - I don't think you'll find too many, who don't believe Darren could have won 4 or 5 Open Championships.

We are fans of the sport - without us, the lads would not have the money they have. We can give opinions - the problem nowadays is that people think their opinions count. Thy don't. But we can still talk about the sports we love to our friends etc. That is the lifeblood of a successful sport. They want us talking about it - it adds to their value.

He is a character , I like him - sure I won 800 euro on that bet
But there is no way I'm going to agree that Darren should have the same number of Opens as Ben Curtis and Stewart Cink -

Ronnie O'Sullivan was wild - but won his Worlds - Plenty of footballers were wild and won all around them
But, some do end their career unfulfilled.

Maybe another days Debate.

thewobbler

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

But - thewobbler - I don't think you'll find too many, who don't believe Darren could have won 4 or 5 Open Championships.

We are fans of the sport - without us, the lads would not have the money they have. We can give opinions - the problem nowadays is that people think their opinions count. Thy don't. But we can still talk about the sports we love to our friends etc. That is the lifeblood of a successful sport. They want us talking about it - it adds to their value.

He is a character , I like him - sure I won 800 euro on that bet
But there is no way I'm going to agree that Darren should have the same number of Opens as Ben Curtis and Stewart Cink -

Ronnie O'Sullivan was wild - but won his Worlds - Plenty of footballers were wild and won all around them
But, some do end their career unfulfilled.

Maybe another days Debate.

It's still one more than Garcia, Montgomerie, Westwood and Donald.

He also peaked in tandem with Tiger Woods.

We all have differing standards in this world, but I always find it difficult to comprehend how a consistently brilliant golfer for a decade could be seen as an underachiever.

GreeBo

The next person who posts something about another poster gets a ban.
If you cant refute their argument without resorting to name calling then you dont belong here.

No more warnings.

Russman

thewobbler wrote: »

It's still one more than Garcia, Montgomerie, Westwood and Donald.

Combined !!