Mar 04

The statistical madness of Tiger Woods at Doral

Take out two benign par three holes, and Tiger Woods is leading the Ford tourney by five strokes. Without the bogey on Friday and the double on Saturday, the artist formerly known as Eldrick has a clean slate for the week. The lethal combination of birdies (t1) and greens in regulation (t2) is offset by his being tied for sixth in double bogeys (LOL).

What Tiger and others are doing to Doral is evidence that the Florida mainstay is outdated. Face it, what can you do to a flat golf course…fill in the fairways with sand, and dot the noveau-Sahara with grass bunkers? Doral is a type of course that is irreparable when faced with the onslaught of player fitness (seen Camilo read greens?) and modern technology (Verplank averages 283, while Toms averages 277…please!!)

With flat greens, flat fairways, trees that are too short to prevent being carried, and low-lipped bunkers, the only other option is to bring the water all the way in around all 18 greens, replicating the penultimate hole at Sawgrass TPC.

« Things That Make No Sense To Me: Honda, Omega, Wie, PGA Tour

Doral Open: Tiger, Mickelson, and last two Nationwide kings together Saturday »

3 comments

§ Kiel Christianson® said on : 03/05/06 @ 12:53
On the money, again Ron! It is obvious that Tour event courses are set up as tough as they can be, with rock-hard greens and extra-long back tees. But given the skills, equipment, and fitness of these guys, lots of the venues are way too easy. Heck, lots of them (like Doral) allow for all sorts of wild tee shots into parallel fairways, whereas lots of the course in northern Michigan, New England, Minnesota, and other locales with which I am familiar have nothing but thick woods lining the fairways. Phil gets a bounce off a spectator, but when you and I play, there are no spectators to serve as bumpers. (Well, at least not when I play. I know you've got a loyal following...)

Bottom line: There are harder courses out there, that would be very cool as Tour venues. But they are not set up for spectators or camera angles.
§ Ron Mon® said on : 03/05/06 @ 20:20
Right you are. Turning Stone Casino had two great venues in Shenandoah and Kaluhyat, but they needed a tournament-friendly track (read ample spectator room), and have one in Atunyote, their newest design from Tom Fazio. Don't be shocked if a PGA Tour event comes soon to Turning Stone, to replace the BC Open in Endicott, the greatest small-town event in America.
§ David Meyers® said on : 03/07/06 @ 16:45
Great piece.

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Ron Mon
TravelGolf.com blogger Ron Mon, an avid golfer and high school coach, sounds off on women’s and amateur golf, and draws parallels between astronomy and the state of pro golf today. Based in Buffalo, Ron also follows the PGA Tour and senior championships.
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