Are Majors overrated

magic_murph · 14-06-2019 11:04am #1

What do you think - most of the golfers playing on a weekly basis are playing against say 70-80% the same field each week so no real difference in competition.

Sure in majors the courses may be set up more difficult but the competition the players face is the same so the quality level is the same. Some guys play well other fall off.

Not dissing the majors but I think too much emphasis is put on 'playing well is majors is so tough' etc where as they are just playing a golf course as - pebble beach is as tough to play in a major as it is in a regular event (if set up the same)

gimli2112 · 14-06-2019 11:07am

That's the way it is though. It's the same in Tennis and largely how greatness is measured. There's certainly something extra special about the majors you can even see it if you compare arguably the weakest, the PGA, with something like the players.

spacecoyote · 14-06-2019 11:17am

magic_murph wrote: »

What do you think - most of the golfers playing on a weekly basis are playing against say 70-80% the same field each week so no real difference in competition.

Sure in majors the courses may be set up more difficult but the competition the players face is the same so the quality level is the same. Some guys play well other fall off.

Not dissing the majors but I think too much emphasis is put on 'playing well is majors is so tough' etc where as they are just playing a golf course as - pebble beach is as tough to play in a major as it is in a regular event (if set up the same)

Set ups are not the same though, which is part of the factor. I posted a video of a guy trying to break 90 around Pebble Beach with the US Open set up & he was walking it with a former pro.

The Pro pointed out to him at one point, when he'd hit a drive into the rough, that with the normal set up he would be comfortably in the fairway, but that they'd shrunk the landing area significantly for the Open.

Maybe a couple of good examples are people like Phil or DJ, both big hitters, with relatively low accuracy numbers off the tee. They've both won & come top 5 at events in pebble on multiple occasions, but both struggled yesterday with the open set up, when many other players were putting up good scores in benign conditions

Mantis Toboggan · 14-06-2019 11:19am

No don't think so, every sport has to have its vocal point. Course setup is tougher but it's the pressure that makes it. Being able to bring your "A" game to play in tough conditions against the best in the world under immense pressure is what separates the truly great players from the rest.

Bandana boy · 14-06-2019 11:30am

No
they are awesome , the worlds elite doing everything in their power to turn up in the same place at the same time tailoring everything to be as close to peak form as they can manage.

Blinky Plebum · 14-06-2019 11:43am

Most players on average play about one event every two weeks so most events are missing a signifcant number of the top players.The majors are the only events where every player will be giving 100% to win and where all the players will play unless they are injured.They also have the most history and tradition attached to them.

The Canadian Open is a very big and historic tounrmament but Keopka and Woods didn't play last week so winning that is not quite the same as winning this week as nobody is missing this week.

Majors are generally used in both Golf and Tennis as a judge of greatness however for me 1 or even 2 majors wins is not a sign of being a great player you have to have major wins on top of a degree of consistency on the tour. I would class Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia as being a better players than Angel Cabrera even though Cabrera won more majors than them.

slave1 · 14-06-2019 11:58am

Majors are the best of the best, not easy to qualify for and a Major winner stands head and shoulders above those without a Major win.When thinking GOAT first stop is how many Majors did they win....

magic_murph · 14-06-2019 11:59am

Bandana boy wrote: »

No
they are awesome , the worlds elite doing everything in their power to turn up in the same place at the same time tailoring everything to be as close to peak form as they can manage.

But surely that's what they should be doing every week?

DuckSlice · 14-06-2019 12:08pm

Think of them as the Captains day in your club. Everyone wants to win the captains day because generally the prizes are better, course is tougher and the best players in the club usually turn up to play it.

weekly comps in my club normally about 25-35 players, captains is 70-85 players. Its a small club.

thewobbler · 14-06-2019 12:14pm

Ultimately what’s great about the majors isn’t the course, the field, the atmosphere, the history, the tradition, the marketing.

It’s simply down to the fact that 80 odd years ago, an elite group of golfers decided that in measuring greatness, you will be measured by your performance in these 4 tournaments.

This simple outlook has created an ethos, a yardstick, that will never be broken by any other tournament’s claims, marketing campaigns or prize money.

Players are competing not for a tournament. But for greatness.

That’s what makes them special.

callaway92 · 14-06-2019 12:31pm

thewobbler wrote: »

Ultimately what’s great about the majors isn’t the course, the field, the atmosphere, the history, the tradition, the marketing.

It’s simply down to the fact that 80 odd years ago, an elite group of golfers decided that in measuring greatness, you will be measured by your performance in these 4 tournaments.

This simple outlook has created an ethos, a yardstick, that will never be broken by any other tournament’s claims, marketing campaigns or prize money.

Players are competing not for a tournament. But for greatness.

That’s what makes them special.

Nah...I'd actually say it literally is down to the things you've mentioned:

the course, the field, the atmosphere, the history, the tradition, the marketing

PhuckHugh22 · 14-06-2019 1:19pm

Blinky Plebum wrote: »

M

The Canadian Open is a very big and historic tounrmament but Keopka and Woods didn't play last week so winning that is not quite the same as winning this week as nobody is missing this week.

Koepka was in the field in Canada last week.

slave1 · 14-06-2019 2:09pm

thewobbler wrote: »

Ultimately what’s great about the majors isn’t the course, the field, the atmosphere, the history, the tradition, the marketing.

It’s simply down to the fact that 80 odd years ago, an elite group of golfers decided that in measuring greatness, you will be measured by your performance in these 4 tournaments.

This simple outlook has created an ethos, a yardstick, that will never be broken by any other tournament’s claims, marketing campaigns or prize money.

Players are competing not for a tournament. But for greatness.

That’s what makes them special.

A lot more recent than that, mid-60s, it was Palmer who pushed to have the Major 4 tournaments, he wanted to promote the British Open to attract more Yanks and I think it was The Masters to be included too. Originally it was the US Amateur that was considered a major over the British Open

Pissartist · 14-06-2019 2:12pm

magic_murph wrote: »

What do you think - most of the golfers playing on a weekly basis are playing against say 70-80% the same field each week so no real difference in competition.

Sure in majors the courses may be set up more difficult but the competition the players face is the same so the quality level is the same. Some guys play well other fall off.

Not dissing the majors but I think too much emphasis is put on 'playing well is majors is so tough' etc where as they are just playing a golf course as - pebble beach is as tough to play in a major as it is in a regular event (if set up the same)

are you a golfer ? Weird thread and post if you are.

magic_murph · 14-06-2019 2:17pm

Pissartist wrote: »

are you a golfer ? Weird thread and post if you are.

I am a golfer but I just think the way the player talk about the majors they seem to over hype them. I absolutely understand the significance of winning and what that means to the career and legacy etc but when the talk about how hard it is to win a major I think that's a bit too much. I guess is IS hard to win a major as there is so few of them within a season so straight away the % change of winning is much lower than winning a regular tour event simply based on the frequency.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup · 14-06-2019 2:28pm

i find it odd that my favourite major and the one i think holds the most prestige, is the youngest. it seemed like just great marketing back in the day

Russman · 14-06-2019 2:29pm

magic_murph wrote: »

I am a golfer but I just think the way the player talk about the majors they seem to over hype them. I absolutely understand the significance of winning and what that means to the career and legacy etc but when the talk about how hard it is to win a major I think that's a bit too much. I guess is IS hard to win a major as there is so few of them within a season so straight away the % change of winning is much lower than winning a regular tour event simply based on the frequency.

Why is the Olympic 100m more important/harder to win than a league meet in Sheffield ? Its still just 100m.........

Fact is there are 4 tournament that for whatever reason, are the Majors, the biggest and the best. Why are they harder to win ? Mostly pressure IMO. Same as why its harder to score on a Sunday than the Thursday of an event.
I know we can debate whether in golf its possible to "peak" for a given week, but that aside, all the top players strive to be at their best for those weeks. Sometimes it makes no real logical sense, I mean the FedEx was worth $10m to win yet nobody really remembers who wins it each year (apart from the winners of course !!:D).

prawnsambo · 14-06-2019 2:46pm

magic_murph wrote: »

I am a golfer but I just think the way the player talk about the majors they seem to over hype them. I absolutely understand the significance of winning and what that means to the career and legacy etc but when the talk about how hard it is to win a major I think that's a bit too much. I guess is IS hard to win a major as there is so few of them within a season so straight away the % change of winning is much lower than winning a regular tour event simply based on the frequency.

It's quite simply because the majors attract the highest ranking players. And they got to that level because they were already prestigious events. The British Open was always considered the biggest competition of the year. The same as your club's captain's prize in the context of your club calendar. It's not really that complicated. Two of the majors are national championships, the other two are a golfer of the year competition and a tournament that spent a lot of time, money and energy making itself as exclusive as possible.

GreeBo · 14-06-2019 4:07pm

magic_murph wrote: »

I am a golfer but I just think the way the player talk about the majors they seem to over hype them. I absolutely understand the significance of winning and what that means to the career and legacy etc but when the talk about how hard it is to win a major I think that's a bit too much. I guess is IS hard to win a major as there is so few of them within a season so straight away the % change of winning is much lower than winning a regular tour event simply based on the frequency.

Is the World Cup Final game more important/significant than a pre-tournament qualifier?
They are both just 90 minute games of football...

Gwynplaine · 15-06-2019 12:15am

Should be in in 4 different counties, like in tennis.

thewobbler · 15-06-2019 12:22am

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Should be in in 4 different counties, like in tennis.

Let’s auction the rights while we are at it.

Mantis Toboggan · 15-06-2019 8:56am

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Should be in in 4 different counties, like in tennis.

Yeah I'd agree with that, majors are definitely skewed towards the Americans, if 3 majors were in Ireland every year we'd have a lot more winners.

munster87 · 15-06-2019 9:02am

Pressure of winning a major is a huge factor. A normal PGA tournament watch Gary Woodland finish top or top 5 with his current 2 shot lead. Instead watch him crumble over the next 2 days! There’s only so many fellas that are capable of holding their head and seeing out the winning of a major.

Henry Ford III · 15-06-2019 9:03am

No I don't think the majors are over rated.

15-06-2019 9:11am

munster87 wrote: »

Pressure of winning a major is a huge factor. A normal PGA tournament watch Gary Woodland finish top or top 5 with his current 2 shot lead. Instead watch him crumble over the next 2 days! There’s only so many fellas that are capable of holding their head and seeing out the winning of a major.

Exactly, it's a separation of the mentally tough from the rest. Woodland sank everything yesterday, he might resemble Koepka in physique but it's what between the ears that matters. I would be surprised if he held top ten. Another perk of majors which are not tailor made for long-hitters, intelligent course management is required. Fascinating to watch, and far from overrated.

FixdePitchmark · 15-06-2019 9:21am

Simple answer no.

Field way stronger (except The Masters)
The Master is The Masters so it gets a bye due to the grotesque wakiness of it and the bizarre feel of Augusta.
The uspga has improved, slot and change of schedule has helped it
Us open always interesting with course pick and set up.
The Open Championship fascinates me as on a Links and you can completely relate to the course . The history in itself makes it special. I even like the crazy weather.

When the top players are playing in other events . There is little or no emotion . It is just a pay cheque. You have the odd good story. But more rare as the top events become increasingly elite.

But when it gets to majors . You can feel the tension.

I'd be nervous on last days of some majors for certain players.

After Tigers last win. It's fairly clear the majors are so different.

Koepka a fairly unusual character. So it looks like any other tournament when he wins.

mike12 · 15-06-2019 10:05am

Someone said it they are playing for money each week.
I reckon if the majors had no prize money they would turn up.
No one remembers millionaire x won x amount of tournaments but most of us could name players who have won 1,2,3,4 majors.

munster87 · 16-06-2019 11:07pm

munster87 wrote: »

Pressure of winning a major is a huge factor. A normal PGA tournament watch Gary Woodland finish top or top 5 with his current 2 shot lead. Instead watch him crumble over the next 2 days! There’s only so many fellas that are capable of holding their head and seeing out the winning of a major.

Woodland, you can start anytime now!

whizbang · 16-06-2019 11:47pm

Because its now Sky Sports Only days, Only now; Yes are they overrated.

But when it gets to majors . You can feel the tension.

No. Not when the general public can't see it.

I'm a golfer. I'm not an armchair sportsman.

Rikand · 17-06-2019 12:02am

I tune into the odd pga tour event. I will if tiger or rory are playing.

I tune into every available minute of each major. Majors are awesome!

FixdePitchmark · 17-06-2019 1:17am

You can see stress in players now

Totally different

Are Majors overrated

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