The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - 4/16/09

by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 16, 2009 11:31 AM EDT Comment 16 comments

Supposedly, twice per week we talk about the world of professional golf through the lens of the Western classic. Supposedly. Getting back on track!

The Good

The Masters ratings - Despite it being Easter, the Masters basically had the same rating as last year overall. That's a solid for the tournament. Woods and Mickelson in the Sunday fireworks show and the playoff action combined to draw people to the TV. We can argue all day here about course design and the like, but people loved the Masters. I did too.

The white belt - I bought one a few months ago in anticipation of golf season. I'm digging it now after some trepidation. It looked really good with the Puma Golf shirt that I recently got. Too bad I need to drop some lbs before I look like Geoff Ogilvy.

Harbour Town - It is a classic gem. Though not on the pedestal of Augusta National, it is a quirky course that is short by PGA Tour standards. Yet, still, the players flock to it the week after the Masters. That may tell you that the course and the fans matter to the players just as much as the date on the schedule.

The Bad

Golf media on Twitter - The folks at Golf Channel, Golfweek, Golf.com, etc, made the foray into Twitter in time for the Masters. The problem is that their audiences really don't do microblogging. Golf Channel has 325 followers. Golfweek has a paltry 47. Can't blame them for the effort, but I wonder if Twitter and their audiences go together.

Rules officials - Rory McIlroy clearly broke the rules of golf at Augusta when he moved sand in the bunker by kicking it. He never got penalized for it, though.

The Ugly

Google search - Sometimes, I should just stop finding out the keywords that get some people to this site. "Brittany Lincicome wet shirt" was modestly popular in the last couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong. Brittany is a good looking girl, and she fishes. Part of me wants to believe that people only come here to laugh and think and debate golf. Then the other part of me realizes that I'm a man.

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Comments

not so sure on McIlroy

He didn’t “move sand” – he kicked sand in frustration when he left his first attempt in the bunker. He didn’t kick where the ball was or around where it finished. The discussion was about whether he was testing the conditions – but he had already played a shot in the same bunker, so he wasn’t testing the conditions. I have seen other players take a swipe at the sand after muffing a shot. I don’t see any difference in that and kicking the sand. Frustrated behavior – but not a rules violation.

This garbage that AN was trying to keep him in the tournament is nonsense. He was a shot away from missing the cut and wasn’t going to contend or draw any kind of media attention by playing the weekend.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 16, 2009 11:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t buy the conspiracy theory at all. That seems silly. I do think he broke the rules, but I’m a strict interpreter of the rules. :)

by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 16, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

what rule did he break ? if there was no conspiracy, then he didn’t break a rule. The officials have a few years of experience under their belts. (no – not white belts)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 16, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Like you mentioned, I think he “tested the conditions” by kicking the sand. That’s open to interpretation, though. I can see why you think he didn’t.

by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 16, 2009 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I saw the other side, too – but he had already played a shot from the bunker – he had nothing to test.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 16, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I never noticed that poster before !

How did Eli Wallach get top center since he was “the ugly”, and Lee van Cleef is lowest of the three as “the bad” ?

CLINT, baby ! (lol)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 16, 2009 12:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, man.

But when you say “white belt” all I can envision is this stylish fellow:

"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into a even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose." - Winston Churchill

by turnover on Apr 16, 2009 1:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Haha, this is the kind of response that I love. More pictures in responses!

by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 16, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

how the heck did you get a picture to post ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 16, 2009 2:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

When you hit reply, there’s a picture of a tree at the end. Click that and you just type in the URL of the picture you want to show here.

by Ryan Ballengee on Apr 16, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

how about that...

all this time I thought YOU were the only one allowed to post pictures

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 16, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

One can also, using photobucket...

…or some such similar image-hosting site, just copy and paste the html code into the body of a comment.

At least, that’s what I did to post the visage of the always-dapper Mr. Tarlek.

"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into a even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose." - Winston Churchill

by turnover on Apr 16, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs