Players Championship

[GPK]

Originally Posted by pgardn

Number 17 would be a great hole if:

They had it in a valley with very little wind. You cant punch it and stay on. And the wind changes direction up that high often. I dont think it is fair that the players have to assess the wind on the ground, to figure out what is going on up above on a green like that surrounded by water.

Kev. Can they put some sort of wind sock high up in the air that shows wind direction. The players can pick the perfect club based on ground wind, hit a perfect shot and still go in the water because the winds aloft change. I know this happens with shots on other holes. But on this hole one plays too large a price for the randomness of atmospheric conditions imo.

Pat...no wind sock. In golf, many times, Mother Nature is the only defense the golf course has. I highly doubt that many people have given as much in depth thought into it like you have. I love the way your brain operates Pat, and only wish I possesed the same type knowledge so I could set my brain in motion like that.

Every player and caddie have a yardage book (produced by Gorgeous George) and on ever page of these yardage books there is a directional guide showing were North, South, East and West is. It is both the players and caddies job to be aware of the predominate wind condition starting the day and also the changes that it makes throughout the day. I have played enough golf in my life to know how the wind is going to affect my ball a very high % of the time. These guys are TONS better than I am, so they are even more accutely aware of how their ball is going to react in certian wind conditions. But, neither they, nor I, are ever 100% right under the circumstances. Again, it may seem "unfair", but in an era where the technology is so far advanced (especially the golf ball) and the talent gap between the PGA Tour and your average player is continously widening, Mother Nature is essentially the only defense left that keeps these guys in check. The technology has rendered many golf courses obsolete and in response to that, too many golf course architects are building longer and more difficult golf courses that are just too tough for the average player. They are too tough because the average player does not possess the skills necessary to take advantage of the advanced equipment on the market.

I need to stop because I could go on forever and bore everyone to tears. Besides, work calls. We can continue this later if you like. I have a million opinions on the game