The Masters – A Ballstriking Nightmare
I love the Masters tournament. If you are a fan of golf, you have to. It gives me the golf bug and makes me want to get out there and work on my game. Especially my short game. What bothers me a little is that the ball-striking somewhat let me down.
Don’t get me wrong, the guys played great in tough conditions. Not the weather. It was perfect. What I am talking about is the course, competition and stage -those conditions. And under those conditions, the ball striking was, to say the least, frustrating.
Kenny Perry played great steady golf, until he came to the finishing holes and drove the ball into the bunker on 18. Tiger drove it into the woods and made bogey on the last two holes on Thursday and Sunday. Chad hooked it into the left side rough. I have played Augusta and the tee shot on 18 is no bargain. The hole dog legs right, uphill with a sloping fairway left into the bunker. Most of the guys try to bomb the ball down the right side. If they miss, like Tiger, they end up right. If they turn the ball at all, it ends up where Chad or Kenny hit it, in the bunker or left. Whatever happened to hitting fairways?
Augusta is one of the most generous courses for hitting fairways. Some, like 10, 13 and 15 are almost too big to miss. Thank God or we would never see a fairway hit on the back nine. Tiger, missed the fairway on 14, 17 and 18 in the last round. Oh by the way, did you see his tee shot on 1?
The quality of Ball-Striking always bothers me in every tournament – especially the Masters where we are watching the best of the best playing their best. I can understand a few stray irons of of the sloping lies into the undulation greens. What bothers me is the quality of the drives.
It wasn’t me standing there under those conditions so could I be a bit too critical? Possibly. I still love the Masters, the most beautiful golf course in the world and the greatest stage for golf. I would just like the guys to hit the fairway on 18. Maybe they should take out the bunker on the left and make it easier.
