Olympic Golf Would Be Medal Play? NOOO!
Geoff Shackelford delivers the boring news that the International Golf Federation proposed a 72 hole, medal play event for Olympic golf in 2016.
about 3 years ago
Ryan Ballengee
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as opposed to what ?
You want to have 2 match play tournaments for all 100…however many countries are involved in the Olympics ? Times however many players per country you’re going to allow ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I would think a mix
Like is done with the US Amateur would be the way to go. Two medal play rounds to get to the low 64 or 32 or whatever, and then do match play. All match play would be a nightmare, as you said.
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 17, 2009 2:28 PM EST up reply actions
possible...
…I wonder how the pros would react to that. I’m guessing Tiger would love it since he won 6 straight national titles under that format.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
And you can do what boxing can't
Have one on one matches decided by the participants!
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 17, 2009 2:34 PM EST up reply actions
lol
but it’s a little easier to run a boxing tournament – you can set up 4 rings in a gym and never worry about the weather.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
True
But, we can golf in crappy weather :)
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 17, 2009 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
Ryan said...
But, we can golf in crappy weather :)
The celebrity thing at Pebble Beach had bad weather and they didn’t play. I’m not sure what you think a 1-iron could do for the situation.
Truth has a well-known liberal bias.
crappy vs dangerous
They had some very serious weather Saturday night – knocked over trees (including a big 40’ Monterey Pine that fell across the 3rd fairway) and so much rain that the greens were puddled up. No way to play a golf course in those conditions – not to mention the danger to fans. When you get steady winds in the 40’s and gusts in the 60’s – there is no way to control a golf ball.
Crappy weather is rain and wind – but not to the point where it floods or damages the course.
Lee Trevino got hit by lightning during a PGA Tour event. He said later that if there was lightning during a round in the futre, he would hold a 1-iron over his head because “even god can’t hit a 1-iron.” :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I believe
that weather was worse than crappy. It was a dung heap!
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 17, 2009 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
no olympics!
I don’t think golf should allow itself get tarnish by the fat, arrogant and way too expensive olympic movement. Remember worlds fairs? They got too expensive and unrealistic too. Vancouver winter olympic cost are already through the roof and it is a year away, security alone is looking like over a billion. Golf should not sully itself by this foolish spending (generally by governments and corps who shouldn’t now) for a 2 week sports event.
all true...
…but here’s one thing from your strong argument that wouldn’t necessarily apply to a golf event – this would be one venue they wouldn’t have to build. courses already exist – all they need are the usual grandstands around a few tees and greens
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
2016 Olympica possibly in Chicago
The US bid city for 2016 is Chicago. Reportedly Chicago got bumped to the leader after Obama was elected and campaigned on behalf of the city. Olympia Fields hosted a US Open within the past 10 years and I’m sure would welcome the world stage again.
That said I am bummed that it would be pure Medal Play. I think a hybrid of Medal Play and Matches (a la US Amateur) would be the most exciting.
There are some really great options in Chicago, including Dubsdread, Olympia Fields (though that was a logistical problem for the 03 Open), and other places. I would hope they play it at a public course, though.
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 18, 2009 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
I'll bet it won't be A course...
They’ll have a course for the men’s side and one for the women’s side. They won’t want people comparing play from the men and the women on the same course – and they would have to spread the two tournmaments out over 2 full weeks if they only use 1 course.
Then again, using one course means one set of grand stands and one set of cameras. Oh well…
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Don't see the problem....
They have men’s and women’s swimming in the same pool and run on the same track. To extrapolate further, in the Winter Olympics the mens and womens skiing is done on the same hill, but the womens courses are shorter.
The only problem I would see is trying to run two tournaments on the same course in the two week time frame of the Olympics. You’d probably want to run one gender’s event during week 1 and the other the next.
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 19, 2009 3:56 PM EST up reply actions
swimming...
…the reason it doesn’t matter in swimming is because 50 meters is always 50 meters. 100 meters is always 100 meters. And so on.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
and....
The women swim 50 meters slower than the men. I don’t understand the argument that the organizers wouldn’t want people to compare the play between the men and women. Women (generally) don’t hit the ball as far as the men. The tees will be moved forward.
true enough...
…but in swimming, there isn’t this bizarre argument that the women are as good as the men. It’s part of the reason why you don’t see men and women playing tournaments on the same courses.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
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