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Barney Adams: Stop calling golf “fun”

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Industry ads aimed at promoting participation have the same theme, “Play Golf Because It’s Fun.” I disagree with the presentation, but admittedly it takes explanation. Fun is considered, light, enjoyable among other adjectives. Golf hasn’t been around for centuries evoking a unique passion because it’s “fun.” It’s hard and frustrating yet we come back sometimes—even ignoring weather we wouldn’t otherwise be outside in.

Why?

Because it’s rewarding! Not on the whole, that’s reserved for the very few who are excellent players. “Rewarding” for the masses will be a well-played hole, even a singular shot. We are rewarded in small victories, not mastery.

How then do we focus on the concept of reward? The answer falls into what we call course layout and must be championed by those organizations promoting the game—the PGA of America and the USGA. I’ll proceed with some typical examples with real data, not opinion.

This is data-centric: Years ago, the former Technical Director of the USGA reported that his study revealed an average driving distance of 192 yards. Who are the 192s? The short answer is they are the overall majority of players who play and financially support the game. Their brethren are not coming on board in numbers, and pure age analysis shows that they are a declining population, albeit with a huge reservoir that is retiring and could decide to play.

They love to watch the 300-yard drives of Tour players and marvel that the average iron into greens is an 8—albeit some 170 yards. Further, these iron shots are struck consistently, high, landing with spin allowing them to shoot for targets within the confines of the green.

The 192 group doesn’t hit 170-yard 8-irons. If they make that good swing, their 8-iron goes roughly 120, and rather than a spot on the green, they are trying to get on the putting surface.

What does this have to do with rewarding? I was recently asked to analyze a course that had installed forward tees, but something was off. The overall yardage was 5,900 par 70, which seemed perfect.

However, there were six holes in various forms of what follows: yardage 354, a 192-yard drive leaves 162 and in each case, it was a forced carry of 162 yards. The 192s don’t have a high soft shot that carries 162 plus yards. They may have an occasional low bullet that doesn’t hold, but the sensible play is to lay up.

This gets old and it’s not rewarding. If their second shot on forced carry holes was, say, 125 yards they would have a chance to hit a solid shot onto the green, and that’s rewarding. We 192s aren’t good enough to hit center face solid shots every time. Give us the chance that we’ll be rewarded with a birdie putt just some of the time and the experience is one that keeps us playing (“fun,” if you will, but more accurately defined).

Further, a 370-yard par 4 with a slightly downsloping fairway into a green wide open in the front—and again we have a chance to be rewarded.

It isn’t a simple distance issue: It’s an understanding of the concept of reward and setting one set of tees accordingly. Golf courses are fairway width, firmness, elevations, hazards and the list goes on. That’s why I say the good folks who promote the game need to embrace the concept. Produce guidelines on how to make courses rewarding.

Years ago, I was very fortunate to be able to play a few rounds with Lee Trevino, arguably one of the greatest ball strikers of all times. He didn’t play “the tees” he picked the ones he wanted, some forward, some back. I asked why and he said, “Barnyard, I just want to be able to hit shots to the green. I always did.” I never forgot his comment, but I didn’t appreciate the genius behind it until I came upon the concept of rewarding golf. It’s exactly what Lee was doing!

Of course, I’m just one small voice. The PGA of America and USGA are the leaders and it’s up to them to turn the concept of rewarding golf into a movement designed to increase participation.

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Barney Adams is the founder of Adams Golf and the inventor of the iconic "Tight Lies" fairway wood. He served as Chairman of the Board for Adams until 2012, when the company was purchased by TaylorMade-Adidas. Adams is one of golf's most distinguished entrepreneurs, receiving honors such as Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 1999 and the 2010 Ernie Sabayrac Award for lifetime contribution to the golf industry by the PGA of America. His journey in the golf industry started as as a club fitter, however, and has the epoxy filled shirts as a testimony to his days as an assembler. Have an equipment question? Adams holds seven patents on club design and has conducted research on every club in the bag. He welcomes your equipment questions through email at [email protected] Adams is now retired from the golf equipment industry, but his passion for the game endures through his writing. He is the author of "The WOW Factor," a book published in 2008 that offers an insider's view of the golf industry and business advice to entrepreneurs, and he continues to contribute articles to outlets like GolfWRX that offer his solutions to grow the game of golf.

59 Comments

59 Comments

  1. Adams fan

    Sep 12, 2019 at 3:33 pm

    Why does this bitter old man still have relevancy or a platform? He created a one-hit infomercial wonder 20 years ago. He doesn’t need a platform like WRX to keep pontificating….waiting for his next “get off my lawn” moment.

    • Barney Adams

      Sep 12, 2019 at 6:08 pm

      My goodness it’s my brother Harry. Never got over my eating his ice cream.

  2. JimmyD2

    Sep 10, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Wow! We should stop calling the game of golf fun because what the scorecard shows as par on some holes may be too difficult for our skill level… Maybe a better recommendation would be to forget about the scorecard and “Just Have Fun”. When I was in the military I used to love visiting family and getting out to PLAY golf together! My father, who only played during these rare visits (and never practiced!) had more fun than any of us. My “happy place” for the past decade+ has been playing a round of golf with my son, especially when we get to play as a twosome. Golf is and should be Fun! As the great philosopher Tin Cup once said, “Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if you’re not good at them.”

  3. Dave r

    Sep 9, 2019 at 8:08 pm

    My wife tells me I’m having fun so I guess I’m having fun.

  4. Todd Dugan

    Sep 9, 2019 at 6:03 pm

    I think of golf as an OPPORTUNITY to achieve a sense of accomplishment by doing something well which is not easy to do well. If it were easy to do well, then the reward would not be nearly as great. But there is a risk, as doing something poorly is disappointing…for me, anyway. There is also a nice social element to playing. I also think of playing golf as a sort of ritualistic “life exercise” in doing things correctly.

  5. scott

    Sep 9, 2019 at 7:28 am

    I think i have fun.
    Only really know when I take the winnings off my playing partners.

  6. Prime21

    Sep 8, 2019 at 11:40 pm

    I’m still confused. Are you saying in order to be fun it has to be easy? EVERYONE on the planet has to have the ability to access a pin? I could counter by saying I can hit high, soft shots and easy courses that allow for run up on every shot are no fun at all. Everyone has a different opinion, whether they are in the AVG or not. Simply because you have an opinion, which is “supported” by numbers doesn’t mean you have the support of the others in your “average” group. Everyone has ‘em, apparently you just get to share yours.

    • JThunder

      Sep 9, 2019 at 5:43 am

      The key point is “average” is meaningless. If you compile “average” in anything, those specs will only fit 1% of the people involved (see: height, weight, etc).

      I know PLENTY of golfers who drive 200 and can hit a high soft shot from 162. I know low handicappers who hit mid-trajectory irons with low spin who would have more trouble (eg, to elevated greens).

      I think the article misses it’s own point; it’s about bad golf course architecture and management. In my experience, those kind of courses alienate golfers, and have to drop prices to compete with better designs. Or they get turned into townhouse sites. I suppose there are areas with fewer choices, so golfers are stuck. Ultimately, courses should be designed around some variety; not all tee shots should require a fade, not all par 3s should be long, not all greens should be elevated. (Just ask the pros about Dubsdread!)

    • Barney Adams

      Sep 9, 2019 at 12:48 pm

      That’s just the point. It’s NOT about easy it’s about a reasonable challenge for the 192s. Courses throw out front tees with no thought so you get 400 yd par 5 holes ( which I call dumb) instead of 390 yd par 4 s
      Look up Moe’s poem by Paul Bertholy. I almost included it in the story.

  7. No Thanks

    Sep 8, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    I’m sorry, but this isn’t “backed up with data”. You have an AVERAGE distance. That average is not the MEDIAN. Those are two different things. But let’s say “192” is the median. We’ll imagine that for a moment, and then say you found one hole, on one course, unnamed, and site that as why things are failing?

    A 5900y Par-70 was mislabeled, and should have been a 5900y Par-71.

    Barney, I don’t even disagree with your premise that it isn’t easy, and maybe should avoid the term “fun”. But you’re way off here calling this “data-centric”. This is literally the opposite of “data-centric” — it’s cherry-picking.

    • Barney Adams

      Sep 8, 2019 at 9:22 pm

      Sorry but I disagree completely and it’s really my fault for not describing the situation better. It isn’t a case of all the holes having to fit the premise though that would be great. Given that we’re working with existing facilities I’m saying “ fix” as many errant holes as you can. Don’t throw out Forward tees that create unrewarding holes by being too easy , dumb holes. Recognize the power of rewarding and react in kind
      As for median vs average. Of course some will catch one and roll out others will pop up short. All you can do is use 192 as a reference point and know what that means in terms of second shot requirements.
      Last; I’ve written about this in various forms for 8 years now. I’m not smart enough to give it up , I believe it will add enjoyment to the game

      • No Thanks

        Sep 9, 2019 at 11:59 pm

        You can disagree completely, but it doesn’t change the point.

        If your example was labeled a Par-5, you wouldn’t have a complaint, would you?

        If that’s the case, then it goes back to the “what is par” question. Are you basically saying that you want shorter approach shots for high handicappers? Because if that’s the “challenge” you’re looking for, that risks the integrity of the course… those hitting from 50-100 further back are still aiming for that approach landing area, and they’ll be looking to put up a second shot the same as the HH.

        This seems like tilting at windmills.

  8. Bob Jones

    Sep 8, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    Sorry, but if you don’t enjoy your leisure time pursuit, if you don’t have fun doing it, then why bother?

    • Barney Adams

      Sep 8, 2019 at 11:10 pm

      Lost my bowling ball

      • Acemandrake

        Sep 9, 2019 at 10:49 am

        Bob Hope: “I’d quit the game but I have too many sweaters.”

  9. cc-rider

    Sep 8, 2019 at 9:45 am

    I did something that I had meaning to do for years over the holiday weekend. I played a nine hole round with wood woods and 1980 hogan apex 2 irons at a classic shorter course. It was a refreshing change of pace hitting the small headed woods and blade irons. I went on eBay afterwards and could not believe how little these real woods sell for second hand. They were literally pennies on the dollar compared to modern equipment. I am not saying that going back to old equipment is the answer, but it provided a very affordable and alternative take on golf in 2019.

  10. steve

    Sep 8, 2019 at 12:41 am

    For the past 10 + years, my handicap has fluctuated between three and six. Obviously, that is better than some and worse and others. That being said, the better I play, the less fun I seem to have as i tend to expect more from myself than i should. It’s a tough explanation to my wife when I am in a bad mood coming home from golf.

  11. Walt Pendleton

    Sep 7, 2019 at 11:58 pm

    Mr. Adams…enjoyed your angle on courses matching age to holes, new tee boxes and relative to the majority of the game’s largest supporters. As you know, most public clubs don’t have the money to build all new boxes but building 3 to 5 new tees on the hardest holes per year would surely help. I have but one question: Why doesn’t the game ask The PGA Tour to help financially or ask the Euro public tracks what they have done to reduce course closings?

  12. Larry Brown

    Sep 7, 2019 at 4:16 pm

    Golf only becomes “fun” when you have put in enough work to have a reasonably consistent swing. Until then, it’s just work. Unless you just play as an excuse to get out with the buddies and drink.

  13. s

    Sep 7, 2019 at 2:20 pm

    A lot of you readers are missing the point. My wife is a decent player but having a birdie opportunity is a rare event.. Most of the course we play, the women’s red tee is only about 30-50 yards closer than the men’s white, where I feel “rewarding”. The GIR rate for her is almost 0% in theory. I give her one shot every single hole just to make her feel fun, rewarding, or whatever you call it. Some even say those courses do it because they don’t want women to come because of the slow play… If not, let me ask you a question. Is it a lot more expensive to maintain the teeing grounds farther apart?

  14. rex 235

    Sep 7, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    Barney-

    Wasn’t it Roger Cleveland who in the Cleveland ad- “wanted to make golf more fun?”

    And aren’t you the guy who wrote the Golf World article saying “The wood wood is dead?”

    And now the company you sold out to- TaylorMade- makes a different Driver model every 3 months?

    Especially when the NEW models featured by every company each year are exclusively RH Only?.

    And having a subscription to Golfwrx featuring “New” equipment models you can’t ever get?

    No..that isn’t fun.

    • Geoffrey Holland

      Sep 7, 2019 at 4:00 pm

      The new models are not exclusively right-handed. And I’m a lefty so I pay attention to these things. You never get the full range that righties get for obvious reasons so stop whining.

    • Jake

      Sep 7, 2019 at 5:09 pm

      The “TM releases a new driver every three months” is going on 5 years since they actually did stuff like that.

    • Gerald Teigrob

      Sep 7, 2019 at 6:28 pm

      Take a chill pill or two and call your doctor in the morning! Get your facts straight before you comment next time! Did you know that Acushnet bought out TM since your dinosaur comment?

      • Bill

        Sep 7, 2019 at 11:23 pm

        Might want to check that. Adidas bought then sold TM. Achusnet once owned Titlest but it’s now owned by Fila. Acushnet never owned TM.

  15. The dude

    Sep 7, 2019 at 11:03 am

    Fun…rewarding …= semantics

  16. Doug McManus

    Sep 7, 2019 at 10:54 am

    Completely useless article, Golf is great fun with some highs and lows.
    I can think of a better game. It is what you make of it!

  17. Sebastien

    Sep 7, 2019 at 7:07 am

    Me and my dad have much more fun since I let him play front tee instead of giving him ‘shots’ in our family competition….

  18. NoTalentLefty

    Sep 6, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    The peripherals of golf are fun. Fellowship, equipment wh0r1ng, etc. Barney has a point on the game itself. The challenges of well played shot is not about fun.

  19. Jeff

    Sep 6, 2019 at 8:44 pm

    Golf is what you make of it. If you suck and still have fun, then that’s great. I’m usually mad when I play bad, but its a fun game. IMHO of course.

    • Rick

      Sep 6, 2019 at 11:18 pm

      Yes it is what you make it…after I hit 70 instead of moving up another tee box I just added a stroke to every par 4 and 5 and played them as 5 and 6 keeping even the longest par 3 still a 3. I took about a year for my mind to settle in but it did and I now an happy as heck hitting those numbers not maybe as a par but as what I can still do and have a fair chance to do on every hole.

  20. Ben Black

    Sep 6, 2019 at 5:59 pm

    This a lot of what I’ve seen in golf course set up for Amateur players.

    Every week I play with two friends who are 30 years older than I. We play from forward mens tees. The Par 5s play like long par 4s for me and I’ll hit 4 iron and wedge to the par 4s. Why don’t I hit driver on the par 4s? Because the course will EAT YOU UP if you miss the fairway.

    The two older guys hit it 160-180 yards (I GPS’d them on their asking – they were very disappointed it was not 220 yards.) The approach shots, if they hit the fairway,make it almost impossible for them to hit shots that are rewarding. On a 350 yard hole they hit a driver 180 then will have to hit another wood to an elevated green that has a deep bunker at front, bushes behind and scraggly rough all around.

    Even hitting a wedge in from 60 yards can be hazardous with where they put the pins. Some are three paces off the edge of a bunker…

    And the Par 3s for these guys are brutal. Three of them can measure 160-190 yards. Yes, that’s not long if you can hit your mid irons that far, but when can these guys play a fun par 3 that doesn’t involve their driver?

    Sometimes I think the greenskeeper has watched golf on Sunday TV then decided to emulate it.
    I’d rather have a short course with excellent greens than extra tee boxes and longer fairways to maintain. I can play from the back tees, but what’s it worth when your putts wibble wobble on bad greens?

    • Simms

      Sep 6, 2019 at 11:25 pm

      The over 50 women have the same problem all the time once a course hits 5,200 or more they just cannot reach the greens in 2 on 4’s or 3 on 5’s…I have a very smart wife (over 65) she found a great Callaway wedge she hits 50 yards almost without fail and now has learned to play as close to that number then trying to run a 3 or 5 wood to roll a ball onto the green with the front bunker a real factor on those shots. It alone cut her handicap form 21 to 16 in less then 6 months…because women can one putt 100% more of the time then they can get out of a green side bunker.

      • Barney Adams

        Sep 8, 2019 at 11:15 pm

        I wrote from a male perspective because they are the majority and I have relevant data. There is actually a very interesting story on women’s tees and their location.

      • ChipNRun

        Sep 9, 2019 at 4:56 pm

        My wife is 4-foot-9. Barney, she got a boxed set of Adams Ideas about four years ago. Custom fit by the woman in local GG shop, aided by two on-phone sessions with Fort Worth factory to ensure right flavor of petite. (Adams Golf – gone but not forgotten!)

        Anyway, she likes the clubs – especially those things call hybrids which were not available for her last fitting in 1989. (Nancy Lopez Square 2 Petites, FYI).

        So, when we prepare for vacation I purposely look for courses which are less than 5,000 yards from the women’s tees. This gives her some sub-300 yard par 4 holes and hopefully a couple of 95-yard par 3s. Something that gives her a chance to make bogies or an occasional par.

        As a caddie in the previous century and a player up until today, I was take aback by how little a distance break the women got on many of the courses. And of the courses built in the early 2000s, the 5400-yard women’s tees got augmented with shorter boxes about 5000 yards. But, these shorter boxes were merely a semi-flat place in the short rough with a couple of markers spiked into the ground. Not usually a true golf tee that others got to use.

        At our home course, a new greenskeeper came in two years ago. The original layout featured lots of exotic “splash” bunkers which were hard to play AND hard to maintain. Senior golfers and those below average height could injure themselves trying to climb down into these sand pits. I used to have to lower my wife into some of the bunkers, and then hand her a club to hit. The rebuilt bunkers for the most part are flat-bottom. The bank and lip may be several feet high, but at least you can walk in without spraining an ankle.

        Before the redo, rainy season made for tough bunker play, as soil pollution was a problem. In past seasons, the safest play was to pick the ball off the “sand” with a PW rather than blast out. Now, we have true bunkers to play from.

        So, golf goes from being challenging to grating when…
        * Course developers think the local public links can be the next Bethpage Black, and design it for US Open rather Wednesday morning seniors league.
        * So that golfers don’t exploit the lob wedge too easily, new layouts tend to have outlandish bunkers that the average person can’t handle.
        * Too aggressive a layout leads to… that scourge we dare not speak of out loud… SLOW PLAY!
        * The greens crew accidentally sets up the Thursday pins for a scramble, forgetting that it’s a medal play tournament for the local amateur circuit. The #13 hole gets thrown out of scoring because most golfers have a 3- or a 4-putt going after the funhouse cup. (Replay hole #1 and use it as a replacement)

    • Geoffrey Holland

      Sep 7, 2019 at 4:03 pm

      Obviously these guys should be playing from the forward tees. Don’t call them ladies tees. But they’re obviously not long enough to play where they are playing from.

  21. Tim

    Sep 6, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    People who hit it 200 are not hitting the ball with the middle of the face. Well struck, an 85mph swing can result in 212+ yard drive. 90mph can result in 225+.

    Golf is more fun when you hit the ball further. Learn to hit the ball further.

    • Barney Adams

      Sep 8, 2019 at 11:18 pm

      Dear Tim
      I have one word for you; age ! Ps your numbers are off!

  22. Bruce

    Sep 6, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    I play at an RTG facility in Mobile,Al., where the courses host many tour level events and Barney is very right about the design aspect as a big detriment to the 192’ers of the world. This is a quality layout but the local muni, Azalea City, is on older design and is booked solid with 192’ers and not because of cost. The 2 courses are virtually the same money when riding a cart. The reason is at RTG one is required on virtually every approach to hit a high shot with spin to an elevated green. On not one occasion will there be an opportunity to run a shot on the green. Not one. This is a choice in design and as a result the course is under subscribed while the muni is over run with play and conditioning suffers as a result. This parallel is endemic in golf. We are building courses for the most skilled players while ignoring those that are the majority.

  23. JP

    Sep 6, 2019 at 4:22 pm

    Playing good or bad, it’s fun for me. It’s not a frustrating game unless that’s what you make it. For me, it’s a social game and I play with close friends that are awesome to hang out with. I can shoot 150 and I’d still have fun. Again, for me, it’s more about the company I keep than the score I shoot.

  24. darrell

    Sep 6, 2019 at 4:04 pm

    Absolutely agree. Most players never break 90, some never break 100. Is that fun? Most play the wrong tees, ( if you’re not breaking 80), so how much fun is it, to never have a putt for a birdie? Of all the course designers, I prefer Arnold Palmer courses. In most cases, he leaves a “run up” option on most holes…..even the par 3’s. This helps players of all abilities……even pro’s might want to play a low running shot on a windy day.

  25. BobbyG

    Sep 6, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    Adams golf products made the game fun for me.

  26. Ryan

    Sep 6, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    The “fun” aspect of “playing” golf comes from shooting low scores and hitting solid shots. However, that isn’t the only aspect of the game. The true “fun” aspect comes from being outside on beautiful days playing a round with your buddies where you are constantly ribbing each other over the smallest things. Seeing a buddy duff a putt and everyone cracks up laughing. Winning a few skins on them and then treating them to a round at the 19th. Its the friendships that make the game fun for us averages. We aren’t trying to play on tour.

    • Shallowface

      Sep 6, 2019 at 3:20 pm

      When I started as a youngster in the 1970s no one laughed at another player’s poor shots and there was no such thing as ribbing. It simply wasn’t tolerated. Fact is, it’s cruel and disrespectful, and just like when you point a finger at something and you have three pointing back at you, when it’s your turn to be ribbed it hurts three times worse than the amount of “fun” you got from whatever it was you inflicted on someone who alredy feels bad enough. I’ve had a number of young men tell me that the reason they stopped playing the game was that they could no longer tolerate the so-called good natured kidding from “buddies.” It’s unseemly, immature and it needs to disappear from the game. Grow up, kids.

      • Herman

        Sep 7, 2019 at 4:52 pm

        This made me laugh … hope I dint hurt your feelings

      • JThunder

        Sep 9, 2019 at 5:33 am

        If you can’t take “good natured kidding” from your buddies during a leisure activity in which you are not a professional, and this forces you to quit the game, then you need psychiatric help. You’re taking a leisure activity WAY too seriously, and you’re heading for high blood pressure and other stress-induced illnesses.

        • JThunder

          Sep 9, 2019 at 5:35 am

          I grew up in the 70s too, and kids could be brutal to each other. Teasing each other on the golf course would have been the least of anyone’s worries. Maybe you’re thinking of the 1950s, when kids weren’t allowed to speak without adult permission?

  27. StatGrad

    Sep 6, 2019 at 1:53 pm

    Just because one person sees it as rewarding doesn’t mean it’s not fun to others. Or some may even see it as both. No need to “Stop Calling It Fun.”

  28. Fergie

    Sep 6, 2019 at 1:47 pm

    You bait people to play golf by saying it’s fun. The rewarding aspect doesn’t kick in until you’re hitting reasonable shots. It’s then that the rewarding aspect kicks in.

    • JThunder

      Sep 9, 2019 at 5:24 am

      I hit the golf ball almost 100% of the time that I swing at it, and it usually stays in-bounds. The same cannot be said for the majority of people in a batter’s box, or playing tennis. The success rate of shooting a basketball or completing a pass are likewise much lower. Are we questioning whether all sports are “fun” or not?

      “Rewarding” being all about the score is akin to “success” being defined entirely by money.

  29. JThunder

    Sep 6, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    The real problem is not defining golf, but defining “fun”. “Fun” – like most everything else – has been relegated to lowest-common-denominator pursuits. A large demographic would define “fun” as attending Nascar and getting hammered; I would not.

    Webster’s defines fun as “what provides amusement or enjoyment”… A lot of people find challenges “enjoyable” – bearing in mind, golf is 100% voluntary for most people who play it. But, yes, if you don’t enjoy this particular challenge, you’ll likely not play the game. (Most video games are challenging and mostly you die before you win; that doesn’t seem to hurt sales…)

    Raise the next generation to view “enjoyment” differently. And to define words correctly (eg, “literally”).

    Declines in golf participation have the most to do with money and time – in that order. The middle class has pathetically little of the first and a decreasing amount of the second because of it. A challenge is one thing; an expensive 4-6 hour challenge is another.

  30. Acemandrake

    Sep 6, 2019 at 11:56 am

    A lot of older courses were designed with wide openings in front of the greens.

    This allowed the option of playing a low, running approach shot; an option appreciated by us slower swingers.

    • DB

      Sep 6, 2019 at 2:49 pm

      The old parks-style courses are great. Not only are they designed for an easy walk, but as you say most greens are wide open from the front. The only time you find a front bunker is maybe on a Par 5 or a short Par 3. There are no forced carries off the tee, it just wasn’t a thing. Slower swingers are free to play their 180-yard worm burner down the fairway on every hole.

  31. Tom Duckworth

    Sep 6, 2019 at 10:37 am

    When I come home from a round my wife asks if I had fun. I am never sure how to answer.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open betting preview

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As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.

This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.

The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.

Past Winners at Memorial Park

  • 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
  • 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
  • 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Memorial Park

Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:

Strokes Gained: Approach

Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.

Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Tom Hoge (+1.30)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
  3. Keith Mitchell (+0.97) 
  4. Tony Finau (+0.92)
  5. Jake Knapp (+0.84)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.

Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
  2. Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
  3. Cameron Champ (+0.86)
  4. Rafael Campos (+0.84)
  5. Si Woo Kim (+0.70)

Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast

The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.

Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):

  1. Adam Svensson (+1.27)
  2. Harry Hall (+1.01)
  3. Martin Trainer (+0.94)
  4. Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
  5. S.H. Kim (+0.86)

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.

Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
  2. S.H. Kim (+0.68)
  3. Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
  4. Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
  5. Jason Day (+0.60)

Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult

Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past. 

Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
  2. Ben Griffin (+1.75)
  3. Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
  4. Ben Taylor (+1.53)
  5. Tony Finau (+1.42)

Course History

Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park. 

Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:

  1. Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
  2. Ben Taylor (+3.40)
  3. Tony Finau (+2.37)
  4. Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
  5. Patton Kizzire (+2.16)

Statistical Model

Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.

These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. Wyndham Clark
  3. Tony Finau
  4. Joel Dahmen
  5. Stephan Jaeger 
  6. Aaron Rai
  7. Sahith Theegala
  8. Keith Mitchell 
  9. Jhonnatan Vegas
  10. Jason Day
  11. Kurt Kitayama
  12. Alex Noren
  13. Will Zalatoris
  14. Si Woo Kim
  15. Adam Long

2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks

Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)

Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.

Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.

Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions.  The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.

Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)

Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.

In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.

In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.

Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.

Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.

Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.

In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.

Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)

Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.

Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.

Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.

Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.

Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.

Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.

Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)

The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.

In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.

MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.

Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)

Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.

It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.

Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.

 

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Why the race to get better at golf might be doing more harm than good

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B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.

To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).

Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).

Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing

In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.

Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.

The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!

The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.

Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.

The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Valspar Championship betting preview: Elite ballstrikers to thrive at Copperhead

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The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.

The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time. 

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

  • 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
  • 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
  • 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
  • 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
  • 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
  • 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)

  1. Tony Finau (+.90)
  2. Nick Taylor (+.81)
  3. Justin Thomas (+.77)
  4. Greyson Sigg (+.69)
  5. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)

2. Good Drive %

The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.

Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+91.3%) 
  2. Zach Johnson (+91.1%)
  3. Sam Ryder (+90.5%)
  4. Ryan Moore (+90.4%)
  5. Aaron Rai (+89.7%)

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1.32)
  2. Keith Mitchell (+1.29)
  3. Tony Finau (+1.24)
  4. Cameron Young (+1.17) 
  5. Doug Ghim (+.95)

4. Bogey Avoidance

With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.

Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+9.0)
  2. Xander Schauffele (+9.3)
  3. Austin Cook (+9.7) 
  4. Chesson Hadley (+10.0)
  5. Greyson Sigg (+10.2)

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1,71) 
  2. Min Woo Lee (+1.39)
  3. Cameron Young (+1.27)
  4. Jordan Spieth (+1.08)
  5. Justin Suh (+.94)

6. Course History

That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+3.75) 
  2. Sam Burns (+2.49)
  3. Davis Riley (+2.33)
  4. Matt NeSmith (+2.22)
  5. Jordan Spieth (+2.04)

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).

  1. Xander Schauffele
  2. Doug Ghim
  3. Victor Perez
  4. Greyson Sigg
  5. Ryan Moore
  6. Tony Finau
  7. Justin Thomas
  8. Sam Ryder
  9. Sam Burns
  10. Lucas Glover

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)

Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.

Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.

Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.

In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.

Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.

Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)

Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.

In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.

Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.

Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)

Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.

It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.

It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.

Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)

Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.

Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.

In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.

Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.

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