posted Apr 7, 2008

and the R&A reacted the same way against Woods by watering the rough, giving us the van de velde fiasco, before being more subtle and to some extent taking it on the chin and setting the courses to fight back fairly
do we tie renaldo to rooney 3 legged style because theyre to good,make a top boxer fight with 1 hand,why dont we lower the hoop in basketball to give shorter people a chance,or the all blacks play without south sea islanders.
some more debatable than others but you cant penalise the best players in a sport just because theyre good or in Woods and the Masters case good and black

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posted Apr 7, 2008

Agree with most comments about what make Augusta special -

The course itself should now be left as it is. Extending it further would be a joke. If anything make the rough thicker and punish the longer hitters dont give them an advantage.

I ve been to many Open championships and it's great to here the cheers of the crowd around the holes because somebody made eagle or birdie etc it gives everyone a buzz. This is also the same when watching it on TV. You want to the hear the crowd and you get to feel that excitement watching then in your arm chair. This was lost a little last year or for the last couple really since the lenghening began. So let the course be for goodness sake.

Augusta is an amazing place, the colour, the excitement the tension, and just the name itself creates knots in the stomach from pro to weekend hacker.

I havent missed a Masters since the age of 12. I just love the place. Just amazing.

Lets hope this weekend creates more fantastic memories and history all over again.

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posted Apr 7, 2008

Its a pretty course and obviously tricky, however I cannot see why Augusta is allowed to host a major. The club is men only, and hence sexist, I assume (possibly incorrectly) that it has a large racist membership. Not only this but the course is awash with cash from the major and so can afford to continue along these old fashion lines, and further deprive other courses and neighbourhoods from getting a share of any profits.

Coupled with this the entrants are by invitation rather than purely on qualification as per the other Majors (See also Monty's gripe on this subject on the bbc golf site).

The TV coverage is improving and I believe this year we'll be lucky and see the par 3 comp on wednesday. This is because Augusta control and limit TV rights, it only recently that we saw much more than the back 9 on sunday.

Why does everyone like to say the masters is so special and suck up to it? Simple really if you were over critical you wouldn't get invited back again.

I doubt I'll be invited now!

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posted Apr 7, 2008

so blueboy you want to help the inferior players by altering the course in their favour
the irony being that equipment changes have allready helped the inferior players and shorter hitters
ie bigger heads,composite shafts,long putters etc why not just give them a few shots start.
you dont seem to get it into your head that Woods won his 1st Masters with a set of steel shafted blades that have been around scince b4 Ben Hogan and only better players can use

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posted Apr 7, 2008

How can inferior players win the masters? For a start you have to be in the top 50 to even get in. Look at who isn't playing this year; Monty, Davis Love III & DiMarco etc etc
Your point that Woods won in '97 because of his clubs is plain wrong. He played well, simple as, and like Weir in 03 sank virtually every putt. Your blinkered if you think Augusta shouldn't change the course to reflect todays enhancements in not only length but the spin that can be generated. Hence, course is made longer and greens more undulating to counter spin. I see your point but for me football should make similar changes. Why haven't goals been increased in size. Can anyone realistically see Van der sar or cech being chipped or lobbed. Their frame is too big.
Changes have to be made and Augusta were just brave enough to make them and more sports should follow suit.

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posted Apr 7, 2008

The Masters to me have always had a special place for many of the reasons mentioned. I don't think I have ever seen a course as beuatiful--the azeleas, manicured fairways, pine straw, etc.

My main attraction though is that the tournament is at the same course--you can compare performances from year to year, see players grow in knowledge of the course, etc. To me there's something special about the familiarity with a sporting venue--i.e. having FA Cup in Wembley, and not moving it all over the place. I'm sure this will cause some howls, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Open played on the same course year in year out.

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posted Apr 7, 2008

blueboy youre totally missing the point, i am saying Woods embarrased the rascist augusta members playing with a set of clubs most of which design had hardly changed in 50 years yet the course was changed against him citing improvements in equipment making the course redundant
my point is woods won in 97 because of his athletism and abilty and was penalised for it. with him being classed as black motivating augusta and later the R+A, (check if the van der velde open was 97 with heavy watered rough)
surely every sport wants the best players to win the best competions not average ones
Woods is exceptional in that he is the first player scince Jack to have power, putting,and mental toughness plus a better all round short game, if hed been a southern good ol white boy would Augusta have reacted i doubt it and hed have won another 5 masters.
i cant agree with your desire to have shorter goal keepers or wider goals because goalies are getting bigger and better, rugby didnt put a size or speed limit when Lomu played, maybee ferrari should lose a gear, personally i think the swerving beach balls they play footie with put big goalies at a disadvantage, they dont try and catch anymore maybe we could try some beach volleyball players in goal,thats if theyre not all presenting sports programs bye then
as you seem to be keen on footie why do we see loads of black players and hardly any black supporters

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posted Apr 7, 2008

The race issue was sorted many years ago - they might change the course to harness Woods but it is nothing to do with race. The whole PGA tour was 'caucasian' only up to 1961 and the Masters was reluctant to drop this for their tournament, but by 1975 Lee Elder qualified and played several more times after this. I also believe Jim Thorpe played during the 80's and there are several others i'm sure. So don't go the race route, if Els, Mickelson, Norman or Faldo had made a similar score something would have been done to the course - it is the way the Masters works - they like Par.

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posted Apr 8, 2008

I believe , although I may be wrong...but I think I read it somewhere..that Woods won his first Masters in 97 playing the same Mizuno blades that he played as aa amateur. He was contracted to Titleist at the time but such was his clout even then that he had not finalised a set of irons with them. Today his contract with Nike stipulates that he need not play a minimum number of clubs made by them...he can play darn well what he wants. Such is the economic power of the "wunderkind".

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posted Apr 8, 2008

Hayston, he should have stayed with the Mizuno's, would have helped his career no end, I reckon he would have the 19 majors by now if he had

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