Agreed. Here ya go...
Posted on 05/14/2005 6:12:23 AM PDT by beyond the sea
IRVING, Texas - The moment was packed with the kind of tension usually seen only at a major. In the locker room at the Byron Nelson Championship, players huddled around the television as Tiger Woods stood over a 15-foot putt. Upstairs in the family dining area, about 60 people set down their silverware and stopped their chatter to watch. On the course, the 1,500 fans surrounding the 18th green went stone silent.
They witnessed something that had not happened on the PGA Tour in seven years and 142 tournaments.
Woods missed the cut.
"Every guy in the locker room was watching," Jesper Parnevik said. "We're not allowed to bet, but guys were offering $1,000 he would make it."
No wonder there were no takers.
Woods made a slippery 6-foot birdie putt at Torrey Pines three years ago to make the cut on the number. He made a downhill par putt from 4 feet in the Masters two years ago to do the same thing. And who can forget that 6-foot putt in the 2000 PGA Championship to force a playoff, or that 15-footer in the dark at the Presidents Cup.
Maybe that's what was so surprising about this one.
He studied the line from both sides, consulted his caddie, then stood over the ball and went through his routine. One look at the cup. Shift his feet and give it another look. A third look and pull the trigger.
The ball broke gently to the right toward the cup, then flattened out in the final 6 inches and trickled by, a dramatic end to one of the greatest streaks in sports.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ummm. I do play golf occaisionally. I just don't think that thousands of people cheering someone else's 6 foot putt makes golf a great game.
As far as the self-absorbed part I take great pride in the three years of volunteer work I did. What did you do to advance the sport of golf?
LOL. Married life is a bitch.
Faldo's the best, my personal favorite. The stories of his work ethic and singlemindedness inspired me to practice. He hit his stride when I was little and started playing. I based my swing on the Leadbetter method, stuck to it exclusively, and because of it, I now have a very dependable swing that I can get back very quickly after taking a lot of time off. The key to developing a good swing is to either learn from a pro or to get an instruction book and not waver from it - and then practice a lot. And cancel all subscriptions to Golf Digest or Golf Magazine. Those magazines go from one random tip to another and only make people confused. Golf is the most overtaught and underlearned sport.
Old golfers never die, they just lose their balls.
He should try water polo... man just getting those horses to swim...
You're right. I am computer illiterate in many languages and am unable to post an image.
HELP!
;-)
She's beautiful!
(that goes for tennis, too)
Woods didn't have to show up to every tournament, so comparing these streaks is pretty meaningless. To maintain his streak, Ripken had to play EVERY SINGLE GAME for more than 13 years to break Lou Gehrig's record. If he had the flu or a sprained ankle, or simply didn't think he could hit against certain pitchers -- he didn't have the option of sitting out a game or two.
Hitting the baseball is difficult because you're matched up against an opposing pitcher who is trying to keep you from hitting it, but there could be a valid comparison between the two. Imagine standing in a batter's box and taking batting practice against a pitcher who throws straight fastballs down the middle of the plate, with the intent of letting you hit them as hard as you can. This would be roughly the equivalent of a teammate in hockey laying a perfect pass on the blade of your stick. Sounds pretty easy, right?
Well, not exactly. Imagine standing in a frozen batter's box on a pair of ice skates, and trying to hit those pitches straight up the middle into a net that is 4 feet tall by six feet wide -- past a goaltender who covers most of it.
Oh, and try to do it while an opposing player is trying to knock you on your @ss, too!
May I offer...... as an old (58) ex- professional baseball player and 'lifetime golfer wannabe': I know that each swing is extremely difficult to get results on the professional level.
Let me sum it up quickly because there is so much involved, but here is what I think...... and I've been thinking about these two swings for 50+ years.
The baseball swing is tough because........ the ball is moving, moving fast, and in some variant directions. BUT... in baseball you do not have to hit the ball STRAIGHT as in golf. In baseball you have a 90 degree pasture wherein the ball can go after contact. The ball in baseball also can cause an element of fear to the batter...... certainly none of that is in golf (unless someone has slipped one of those exploding balls on you).
HOWEVER......... my respect for the difficulty of the golf swing is enormous...... because in golf the swing must be nearly perfect in order to get great results. I have failed to break 78 for 40 years, so I still have not come close to getting the golf swing right.
Suffice it to say that both swings are so incredibly complex. For me, I'll stick to hitting the "moving pill". Golf for me is still one reason why I might take gas or take the bridge!
;-)
ROFL....
Great post and so true! Playing baseball in the past seems to me to actually cause most of us to HURRY our swing...... because we were so used to the ball moving. I may be wrong, but I think most old baseball players hurry their backswings.... which is a killer!
Yeh, it's tradition..... but I gotta say I think there should be noise............. any noise. Next thing you know they'll be taking all the birds in the trees off the course. ;-)
Maybe some enterprising person will set up a tourney somewhere where anything goes! ;-)
Agreed. Here ya go...
:)
After my round yesterday, I believe you are correct sir :)
Of course I havent picked up a baseball bat in nearly 5 years now...
or imagine having a ball coming at your head at 90 MPH because you took the pitcher deep your last at bat....
:)
-- Tony Curtis, imitating Cary Grant, in Some Like it Hot.
I had an old pro look at my swing once. He stopped me on the backswing and made me look at my right leg. It was locked straight when it should have been bent. Another baseball hangover. When I concentrated on bending my knees I hit it much better. Just another mechanical flaw that you can get away with in baseball.
Or slightly behind your head at 97 MPH.
yes or slightly behind your head :)
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