Less Distance... More Fun!!!
How many of you can truly say that this year’s first round at the Master’s was not the most fun in years?
The Master’s tournament organizers did a great thing by making the course more accessible to all style of golfers. The fact that there was almost a new course record achieved is enough to prove that there were some very exciting moments on Thursday at the Masters. Even the 57 year old, past champion, Sandy Lyle stole the spotlight once again from the beloved Greg Norman, who was the talk of the town all week.
Norman and other critics’ favourites played well of course, but did everyone honestly expect to have a record breaking day for players under par.
My hat goes off to the tournament committee for shortening the course and making it a shot making tournament. The players still have to make the putts but today they had a better chance to use the slopes of Augusta to strategically place the ball in good putting positions. If the course is too long, this becomes much more difficult, almost impossible on some holes for some of the best players in the world.
Even if a course plays shorter than the conventional “Major” length, players still have to produce. A “birdie hole” is considered a better than average chance at making a birdie, however, the player under the intense circumstances, still has to hit the proper shots to produce such a result. “You still have to make the shots”, is a sentiment many legends of the game have shared over the years.
Since we strive for entertainment, we should request that this style of course set up, tough but fair, be set up for more rounds in the future, this was a fun day of golf. I hope that there is more to come, and I believe the Masters Committee will agree that today is good reason to keep this up.
I am definitely a fan of watching the best players in the world play on one of the most respected courses in world. I am an even bigger fan of watching great players do great things on tough golf courses. Thursday we were fortunate enough to witness some of the best “major” golf in years.
I look forward to Fridays round. Happy watching!
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Yours in Golf,
Mat Vachon
Teaching Professional
Northern Swing Golf Centre
