Simply put, Augusta messed up.

[R.J. MacReady]

Not taking anything away from Spieth, he would have won on any course condition you gave him.

But the fact is the famed Augusta greens were allowed to stay as soft as your favorite tee shirt coming out of the dryer. Look at the leader board. I will be shocked if the players this year don't have the highest birdie average of any Masters before.

Dustin had 3 eagles in one round, one of many Augusta records broken. And it was a bit sad to watch what the players did to one of my favorite all time holes #13 Azelia ( I purposely spell it this way, wife's name)

She was victimized this weekend. Not an ounce of fear from any golfer going for it in 2.
Kevin Na got an eagle on Friday at 13. And he could not stop smiling, he really could not believe he did it.

You could not ask for a better leader board and really enjoyed this years Masters. But tragedy is part of Golf's DNA, a birdie feast is not. And no course was better at holding that line than Augusta.

But somebody purposely or accidentally allowed Augusta to surrender, and it was wrong.

 

[NEhomer]

Yup.

 

[SJ76]

Not sure how much it rained prior to the tourney?

Fairways are fairly tight, but never a lot of thick rough at Augusta.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Not taking anything away from Spieth, he would have won on any course condition you gave him.

But the fact is the famed Augusta greens were allowed to stay as soft as your favorite tee shirt coming out of the dryer. Look at the leader board. I will be shocked if the players this year don't have the highest birdie average of any Masters before.

Dustin had 3 eagles in one round, one of many Augusta records broken. And it was a bit sad to watch what the players did to one of my favorite all time holes #13 Azelia ( I purposely spell it this way, wife's name)

She was victimized this weekend. Not an ounce of fear from any golfer going for it in 2.
Kevin Na got an eagle on Friday at 13. And he could not stop smiling, he really could not believe he did it.

You could not ask for a better leader board and really enjoyed this years Masters. But tragedy is part of Golf's DNA, a birdie feast is not. And no course was better at holding that line than Augusta.

But somebody purposely or accidentally allowed Augusta to surrender, and it was wrong.

Before I disagree...What did they mess up on?

Low scores for a major? I'm gathering.

If so, I agree that you want the course to offer significant resistance to scoring, but mother nature is to blame more than AN.

"Allowed"...subair can only do so much...Feb/Mar were pretty wet months (the most critical setup months)...plus it rained several days the week of the event. Ideal temps....the greens just were never going to get fiery.

They could've tucked the pins more on Thurs/Fri and let the 2nd cut grow a little more, that probably would've pushed the cut a little higher, but the winning score was going to be dbl digit under par regardless.

It was the year for scoring...every so often you're going to get one of those.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

Before I disagree...What did they mess up on?

Low scores for a major? I'm gathering.

If so, I agree that you want the course to offer significant resistance to scoring, but mother nature is to blame more than AN.

"Allowed"...subair can only do so much...Feb/Mar were pretty wet months (the most critical setup months)...plus it rained several days the week of the event. Ideal temps....the greens just were never going to get fiery.

They could've tucked the pins more on Thurs/Fri and let the 2nd cut grow a little more, that probably would've pushed the cut a little higher, but the winning score was going to be dbl digit under par regardless.

It was the year for scoring...every so often you're going to get one of those.

AN has state of the art drainage. The greens can be soft and playable 2 minutes after it rains, after 2 days it should be lethal. In my opinion, it was in their power to firm up those greens had they wanted to.

The issue is not about the pins or the rough or even the low scores to a degree. Augusta National is more about tradition and history than just about any sporting venue in the world today. And you should be able to expect those traditions. At the heart of Augusta are those big fast greens. Years ago I watched the greatest putter to ever live "Tiger Woods" putt off the green and into the water.

The difficulty of Augusta is tied to it's tradition and it begins and end with it's greens. And this week we saw a departure from that tradition. This is what I mean when I say they messed up.

In then end you may not hear much about it. Anyone who is even remotely tied to Augusta (not including the golfers) ESPN, CBS etc have to be extremely careful about what they say about the course. Augusta will punish those who criticize it. I think Gary McCord is still banned from working the Masters

 

[mrwallace2ku]

But somebody purposely or accidentally allowed Augusta to surrender, and it was wrong.

It's called "Mother Nature" who watered the greens into holding the darts being tossed by the players all week long. She is NEVER wrong.

 

[cezero]

I wonder if it might have been a little intentional.

Ratings for the Masters last year were the worst in many years. Why? No Tiger.

This year, Tiger played, but expectations for him to do anything at all were the lowest they've ever been in his entire career. Those of us who love the game are going to watch pretty much no matter what. I wouldn't be surprised if they chose to soften up the greens in order to get more casual viewers to tune in and keep watching.

Anyhoo, as a golf fan, I'm really glad Spieth won. Young guy who sets up rivalries with a whole group of young guys who are the future of the game. Nothing but good for growing the game, especially here in the US.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

AN has state of the art drainage. The greens can be soft and playable 2 minutes after it rains, after 2 days it should be lethal. In my opinion, it was in their power to firm up those greens had they wanted to.

The issue is not about the pins or the rough or even the low scores to a degree. Augusta National is more about tradition and history than just about any sporting venue in the world today. And you should be able to expect those traditions. At the heart of Augusta are those big fast greens. Years ago I watched the greatest putter to ever live "Tiger Woods" putt off the green and into the water.

The difficulty of Augusta is tied to it's tradition and it begins and end with it's greens. And this week we saw a departure from that tradition. This is what I mean when I say they messed up.

In then end you may not hear much about it. Anyone who is even remotely tied to Augusta (not including the golfers) ESPN, CBS etc have to be extremely careful about what they say about the course. Augusta will punish those who criticize it. I think Gary McCord is still banned from working the Masters

 

[Cyder]

Not sure how much it rained prior to the tourney?

Fairways are fairly tight, but never a lot of thick rough at Augusta.

I read it rained a ton and also rained at night during the tourney as well and that caused the greens to be so incredibly soft.

 

[SJ76]

I read it rained a ton and also rained at night during the tourney as well and that caused the greens to be so incredibly soft.

You mean those little guys with those little hand fans were not out there at night trying to make those greens lightning fast?


Augusta National has one of the best underground systems for greens on the planet. I'm sure they did all they could to make it legit. Those boys don't want anyone to light up their golf course.

No pride at Augusta? They think they are "bigger" than the PGA and USGA trust me.

 

[Cyder]

You mean those little guys with those little hand fans were not out there at night trying to make those greens lightning fast?


Augusta National has one of the best underground systems for greens on the planet. I'm sure they did all they could to make it legit. Those boys don't want anyone to light up their golf course.

No pride at Augusta? They think they are "bigger" than the PGA and USGA trust me.

I agree. Curious to see if they try and overcompensate next year and make it like trying to chip onto the hood of a car

 

[mrwallace2ku]

72 out of 79 times a minus 5 wins at Augusta...Tiger and Jordan run it up to -18 and people on this board think Augusta is going to get lit up every year. Augusta has added hundreds of yards of tee-to-green length over the years, not to mention the vegetation which continues to narrow down the gaps of fairways along it's paths. I don't need to see a 2nd cut of rough at US Open depths, would be ridiculous if they made it that way. Try playing #11 IF they did away with the pine straw to the left of that hole and let grass grow waist deep and played at a scoring average of 6.2 for a week on that 505 yard par 4 .

Augusta is fine and Lefty said it best when interviewed after he was done playing yesterday. Google that yourself.

 

[Cyder]

72 out of 79 times a minus 5 wins at Augusta...Tiger and Jordan run it up to -18 and people on this board think Augusta is going to get lit up every year. Augusta has added hundreds of yards of tee-to-green length over the years, not to mention the vegetation which continues to narrow down the gaps of fairways along it's paths. I don't need to see a 2nd cut of rough at US Open depths, would be ridiculous if they made it that way. Try playing #11 IF they did away with the pine straw to the left of that hole and let grass grow waist deep and played at a scoring average of 6.2 for a week on that 505 yard par 4 .

Augusta is fine and Lefty said it best when interviewed after he was done playing yesterday. Google that yourself.

When Tiger did it I think he was 12 strokes up so he was just insane. This time you had several guys well over what it would usually take to win. Looks to me like to greens were soft due to the rain. It's going to happen now and again.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

AN has state of the art drainage. The greens can be soft and playable 2 minutes after it rains, after 2 days it should be lethal. In my opinion, it was in their power to firm up those greens had they wanted to.

The issue is not about the pins or the rough or even the low scores to a degree. Augusta National is more about tradition and history than just about any sporting venue in the world today. And you should be able to expect those traditions. At the heart of Augusta are those big fast greens. Years ago I watched the greatest putter to ever live "Tiger Woods" putt off the green and into the water.

The difficulty of Augusta is tied to it's tradition and it begins and end with it's greens. And this week we saw a departure from that tradition. This is what I mean when I say they messed up.

In then end you may not hear much about it. Anyone who is even remotely tied to Augusta (not including the golfers) ESPN, CBS etc have to be extremely careful about what they say about the course. Augusta will punish those who criticize it. I think Gary McCord is still banned from working the Masters

This is where we disagree, in bold...the subair system is designed to make the greens playable quickly after a rain...yes, they can control moisture to a degree, but the weather didn't cooperate. Rained, Thurs & Fri evening. Only one warm hot day all week, Tues....the rest were mid 70s with little wind...just not the right environment to bake out the greens.

The people over at AN do think a great deal of their course and negative comments from the media are strictly prohibited! lol!!

 

[mrwallace2ku]

When Tiger did it I think he was 12 strokes up so he was just insane. This time you had several guys well over what it would usually take to win. Looks to me like to greens were soft due to the rain. It's going to happen now and again.

ONLY if Mother Nature allows it too. Those greens are the best in the world bar none. A week of hot OR just dry weather with no water and the scores will come back down to earth as usual. Springtime is an unexpected weather time of year. Who knows what will happen...perhaps they could build underground suction fans under the greens next and make them bone dry even under a thunderstorm conditions.

 

[Cyder]

ONLY if Mother Nature allows it too. Those greens are the best in the world bar none. A week of hot OR just dry weather with no water and the scores will come back down to earth as usual. Springtime is an unexpected weather time of year. Who knows what will happen...perhaps they could build underground suction fans under the greens next and make them bone dry even under a thunderstorm conditions.

I agree and I don't have a problem with Mother Nature playing a part here and there. I had to work this weekend and had sports radio on in the office and all the folks working down there kept mentioning the rain effecting the greens so to me this is an anomaly.

 

[SJ76]

Did anyone see any large ball marks/huge craters when those darts were flying in to the green?? NO

Did anyone see any drives off the tee that plugged? I don't think so.


Those greens were firm but probably a little damp/wet whatever. I have no clue of knowing, but I seriously doubt the greens were more than 1 degree more or less than usual on the stimp meter. I bet they are usually a 11-12? So maybe they were a 10.5?

That is still fast. 12 is unGodly fast.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

Somehow, someway, Global Warming has to be investigated.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Somehow, someway, Global Warming has to be investigated.

A damn "ice storm" brought down Eisenhower's tree on 17. That SOB was a RH "fade" golfer's nightmare off the teebox.

Global cooling people...global cooling.

 

[Broncosballer32]

Unreal, how people are. Just unreal. Makes you almost wonder why more golfers didn't shoot record breaking scores.