Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: Has the game gotten too hard?

Published

4 years ago

Feb 4, 2020

Shortly after I started writing my blog as “The Wedge Guy” back in 2004, I created my “alter ego” so that I could occasionally pontificate on things that were outside my regular discussions that were focused on helping my readers hit better golf shots more often. Those “other” columns were penned under the pseudonym, “The Texas Wedge Hog: Rootin’ Out The Truth,” and I had fun sharing some opinions and observations and hearing from my readers.

So, in the spirit of The Texas Wedge Hog, I offer this observation for our discussion: I think the game has gotten too darn hard to be enjoyed as it should.

Let me begin by agreeing that golf is a hard enough game as it is. If you’ve ever seen Robin Williams routine on golf, it is side-splitting…but amazingly true. Think about it. We have this small white ball and a 4-1/4” hole somewhere a quarter mile or so away. We have these implements to strike the ball with, after we wrap that implement around behind us and attempt to deliver it back to the ball with accuracy and power, so that we can propel that ball toward the target. And we have this concept of “par” that allows us 3, 4, or 5 strokes to get from tee to hole at various ranges that average out to about a stroke for each 100 yards. But this concept of par allows that half of our strokes will be taken on the greens, after the long shots have gotten us there.

Please understand that my perspective on golf begins with an introduction to the game nearly as soon as I could walk (68 years ago next month). I began playing nine holes by myself or with my friends at the age of 6 or 7 years. I distinctly remember how the par-4 holes evolved from three 2-wood shots and a chip and putt (or two) and 54 was a good score. Then, I began to be able to reach some holes with two shots, and the goal became 45—then 40 as I gained enough strength to be able to achieve greens-in-regulation.

I grew up on a little 9-hole municipal course, and we were taught the game from the hole backwards. We were taught that way because of the relative difficulty of the game back then. Putting was the easiest skill to master, so we were taught that first. Greens rolled about 5-7 back then I suppose, but the Stimpmeter hadn’t been invented yet. Greens were relatively flat and simple.

Once we kind of had putting down, we progressed to learning chipping and pitching the ball, then short irons. Those skills evolved into middle iron play, and the long part of the game. In general, the closer you were to the hole, the easier the game got. Chipping was harder than putting, but easier than full iron shots. Mastering long irons and fairway woods was very difficult and driving not far behind with the old persimmon drivers.

My observation is that we (whoever “we” are) have flipped this upside down, and now the closer you get to the hole, the harder mastery becomes. With equipment and teaching technology, we can get a beginning golfer to efficient execution of the full shots pretty quickly. But there are simply no shortcuts to learning how to putt on and chip/pitch to today’s greens, which are firmer, faster and more undulating than those of the past.

As I understand it, the USGA adopted the Stimpmeter as a “standard” measurement of green speed back in the 1980s. So, they benchmarked green speeds on several hundred courses across the country and found those at Oakmont Country Club to be the fastest in the U.S— at something under 9! Augusta National wasn’t far behind, and those two have long earned the reputations for speed. But today you would be hard pressed to find any quality golf course with green speeds under 10 or 11, and many surpass 12 or 13. They get there by rolling the greens firmer, so they can cut them closer. Hybrid grass development is constant, so golfers can have as smooth a putting surface as possible. And this makes putting and greenside play more difficult than ever.

I personally do not believe this is good for golf. I love this game and all it has given me over this lifetime of playing and being fortunate enough to earn a living within it. But I don’t see juniors and beginners having much fun. And I don’t either when our course greens go dormant through the winter and greens that were designed in the 1980s for Stimp speeds of 8-9 now run off the chart. Many pin positions leave you looking for the windmill or clown’s mouth.

I do agree that the difficulty of golf is one of the appealing aspects of this game. But that difficulty should be mostly about making an airborne ball do what you want—not figuring out whether this 12 foot putt is going to break two feet or more—and wondering how the hell you are going to stop it close if you miss.

Next week: A radical idea for making the game inviting to beginners and juniors again.

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs, sets of irons and drivers, and in 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry. Since the early 2000s, Terry has been a prolific writer, sharing his knowledge as “The Wedge Guy”. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

21 Comments

84425

Feb 12, 2020 at 6:56 am

Reading the title of the story I thought “is this guy nuts: harder? It’s become easier!” But upon reading it I think you might be right for the general masses. Those that have a good short game will not be affected too much, or might be even better of with faster greens. But if your short game is not great, you will strugle.

Where it has become easier (too easy imho) to cross the first 300 yards of a hole, the last 50 yards have become harder (if you play where conditions are like you state). While both long and short game require practice, short game requires continuous practice. Hours and hours on the putting green, which is something not everyone has the time for.

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Jim Berry

Feb 6, 2020 at 8:49 am

Golf has always been hard. One thing that I have noticed about the better players have in common is a short game. When I score well, the putting and chipping are working. Many of the people that I see struggling with chipping and pitching have only one shot with their wedges. I never see them around the chipping practice area trying different shots and lies. The touch part of the game, chipping and putting, takes practice and attention to get better. I am 71 now, and am scoring better than I ever have. I love a course that is in great condition, and am willing and eager to deal with the challenges.

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Pelling

Feb 5, 2020 at 10:23 pm

Golf is much easier now than it has ever been. The ball goes straight and doesn’t cut on mishit shots. The clubs are huge with sweet spots the size of diner plates. Wedges are versatile and putters are almost automatic, especially from five feet and closer. Lasers yield exact distances. Shoes are lightweight and fabrics conform to the elements. When I started the game, at age 10 in 1963, I inherited my dad’s Spaulding Top Flight irons and his Kenneth Smith 4 wood with a tear drop shaft. I caddied and got to play the local country club on Mondays at 7:00 AM. My hand me down leather Footjoys were immediately soaking wet from the heavy dew and weighed about 10 lbs. I had a heavy leather bag with a thin terrible strap. Modern technology at the time was a Hogan Sure Out sand wedge with a flange the size of a quartered orange.
My brass headed Billy Casper Wilson putter had a sweet spot the size of a pea. There was no club fitting, golf ball covers cut violently on mishits, and I had a nine iron that I learned to open up and play all sorts of lobs, cuts, and pitches with in my back yard. It was my scoring club. Oh, and left handlers were out of luck as there were very few clubs, let alone good ones, available.

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Bob Jones

Feb 5, 2020 at 9:26 pm

I play on a course occasionally that has very good greens most of the time. It is a tournament course, and the rest of the time they are in tournament condition. Then they are fast, but true, and I can’t believe how much better of a putter that makes me.

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Red Nelson

Feb 5, 2020 at 6:53 pm

Hi Terry,
I’m going off-topic in order to reprimand you. Get off the fence, man. Only Jack Nicklaus, the ultimate White Bread, says “darn.” Man-up Texas-style and let your inner animal cut loose! Say “Damn, this game is hard.” I’m pretty sure no one will be offended. If they are, well, they can darn well fornicate themselves. Verdad, amigo?

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Chuck Urwin

Feb 5, 2020 at 6:38 pm

My old boss kept his 36 greens under 10! I realized as I got older he was trying to help the public golfer enjoy golf more! Low hdcp players did not like them that slow but they were in the minority of players, so it was slow as you go! I believe public greens are too fast now & should be slowed down! Private clubs who have always had fairly fast greens should continue to do as they like!

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Rob

Feb 5, 2020 at 12:57 pm

I’ll take super fast and smooth greens over slower but bumpy greens all the time. I can adjust to speed, there’s no way to adjust to bumpy. I play 90% of my golf on public courses and whenever I get the opportunity to play a private course with fast greens I find myself making more putts.

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Mark M

Feb 5, 2020 at 11:00 am

You’re right, that Robin Williams bit on golf is hilarious!
I can see where Terry is coming from, golf can be especially hard for the beginner, the once a month player or the average weekend golfer. But there ARE courses with slower, flatter greens, wide open fairways and a lack of penalty areas. There are par 3 courses for those who need shorter courses, with less difficulty. Are those people playing these courses? Do they move up to a teebox suitable for their games?

I see this whole idea of growing the game by making things easier as antithetical to the game of golf. I don’t think that golf is a game for the masses. Golf is inherently difficult. Golf is not bowling. You can’t just go out and play this game without any training, practice or work and expect to do anything but struggle.

I think Jimmy Dugan said it best: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

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Tim

Feb 5, 2020 at 10:04 am

I agree. Green speeds are getting nuts. Ridiculously fast greens are creeping into the local course, not just the high end ones. It seems to me that the the traffic jams around the course are being caused by groups spending too much time on the greens- plumb bobbing and walking around and around like they do on TV. Slowing down the greens will make wedges stop faster and putts roll straighter. The short game will be far easier and less touchy – as a result – faster.

The other truth of the matter is that people are imitating what they see on tv. People need to realize that what the guys on TV are doing is very different from what we are doing on a saturday morning. Golf is really akin to bowling. Its a silly little pass-time game, nothing more. So lighten up, hit the ball and move on.

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Mat

Feb 5, 2020 at 4:02 am

I would invite Americans to putt on “British” greens that are 8-9 on the Stimp. It is much more enjoyable.

Every time I come back to the States and play, it’s just idiotic. The misses are so punishing, it’s clear that the game slows down from the putting. No wonder everyone takes a lot of time! It’s like putting on linoleum.

No course should ever be over 10 unless the heat were to dry it out. No greenskeeper should ever want something higher than 10.0.

Again, USGA is out of touch here. Just because you can make a 13 doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

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JThunder

Feb 4, 2020 at 8:51 pm

This article seems to posit that putting is ruining golf. Is Terry Koehler a pseudonym for Johnny Miller?

yip yip yip

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Alex

Feb 4, 2020 at 6:40 pm

Stop playing boxes that overmatch you and equipment that doesn’t fit you. The ball goes so much straighter and longer than ever and is so much easier to control than years before. It’s also not a game you can just pick up and be scratch overnight no matter how much of an athlete you think you are. The attention span and ability to work towards a goal being next to nothing nowadays and wanting instant gratification is why people perceive golf as hard.

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Rick

Feb 4, 2020 at 3:32 pm

I’ve been playing for 40 years, the game was harder playing with blades, persimmon woods and no 60 degree wedge! The ball goes farther the club’s are easier to hit and I’m hitting it just as far as I did in my 20s. Golf is and always will be for the few who have perseverance! The desire to compete and enjoy what it gives you. You can’t keep trying to force people to adopt the idea that everybody is a right to be good! Stop the insanity!

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Shallowface

Feb 4, 2020 at 2:59 pm

“Many pin positions leave you looking for the windmill or clown’s mouth.”
The USGA suggests that pins only be set in positions that are as flat as possible three feet around the cup. Most superintendents that I speak to about this are completely unaware of that suggestion.
Augusta National has its reputation for fast undulating greens, but truth is when you watch The Masters putts of that length are rarely played outside the hole. They follow the USGA’s practice.
I’ve been playing nearly 50 years, and I think the game is the easiest its ever been. 460cc Drivers. Balls that don’t spin and therefore fly straight. Hybrids. Wedges available in a myriad of grinds. Putters that are impossible to mishit.
And that’s why people drop out. They know the above is true. And they can’t help but think that if a person can’t play with this equipment, there must be something wrong with them. Just the opposite effect one would think modern equipment would have.

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Rich Douglas

Feb 4, 2020 at 1:40 pm

I’m with Hogan: putting is boring and a completely different game. I’m tired of seeing the groups ahead of me slowing the pace while they 4-putt all day. (The fourth putt just scraped away from 6 feet after the first three.)

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Juststeve

Feb 4, 2020 at 11:49 am

I think the game is a lot easier than it was when I first started playing in the 1960’s. The modern ball goes further and straighter. Modern clubs are much easier to hit and vastly more forgiving of minor mistakes. Today’s greens are so smooth and true that you can actually expect the ball to go in if you get the line and speed correct. When I started playing even at elite clubs putts over 15 feet were basically crap shoots.

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DB

Feb 4, 2020 at 10:44 am

I agree that the greens make the game VERY difficult for beginners. I see them getting frustrated when they 3-4 putt every single green. And I’m not talking about fancy courses either, these are public courses that were designed decades ago and now the greens run 10-11 like you mentioned. Some of the slopes and tiers that might have been challenging decades ago are now brutally punishing if you misjudge.

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dat

Feb 4, 2020 at 9:46 am

Bomb & gouge is boring. Creative golf is basically dead.

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- Moosejaw McWilligher
  
  Feb 4, 2020 at 8:48 pm
  
  The vast majority of golfers cannot “bomb”, and cannot “gouge” anywhere near the green. The vast majority of golfers don’t have the skill to be *deliberately* “creative”, which is even harder than the first two things.
  
  For the 0.1% of golfers who compete for big money at the elite level, “boring” will earn them more money in the long run than “creative”.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Rascal
    
    Feb 11, 2020 at 7:27 pm
    
    Very astute.
    
    Reply Report comment
Ryan

Feb 4, 2020 at 9:36 am

I think the Wedge guy hit the nail on the head with this one. I coach HS golf at a very inner city school. Golf has gotton to hard. We now make courses for those who are really good and there just are not that many of those golfers out there. We need to get back to shorter golf courses with less challenges. This will speed up play as well as get more people out there.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Wells Fargo Championship betting preview: Tommy Fleetwood ready to finally land maiden PGA Tour title

Published

3 days ago

May 6, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA Tour season ramps back up this week for another “signature event,” as golf fans look forward to the year’s second major championship next week.

After two weaker-field events in the Zurich Classic and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, most of the best players in the world will head to historic Quail Hollow for one of the best non-major tournaments of the year.

Last season, Wyndham Clark won the event by four shots.

Quail Hollow is a par-71 measuring 7,521 yards that features Bermudagrass greens. The tree-lined, parkland style course can play quite difficult and features one of the most difficult three-hole stretches in golf known as “The Green Mile,” which makes up holes 16-18: two mammoth par 4s and a 221-yard par 3. All three holes have an average score over par, and water is in play in each of the last five holes on the course.

The field is excellent this week with 68 golfers teeing it up without a cut. All of the golfers who’ve qualified are set to tee it up, with the exception of Scottie Scheffler, who is expecting the birth of his first child.

Past Winners at Quail Hollow

2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022: Max Homa (-8)
2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
2017: Justin Thomas (-8) (PGA Championship)
2016: James Hahn (-9)
2015: Rory McIlroy (-21)

Key Stats For Quail Hollow

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes gained: Approach will be extremely important this week as second shots at Quail Hollow can be very difficult.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Akshay Bhatia (+1.16)
Tom Hoge (+1.12)
Corey Conners (+1.01)
Shane Lowry (+0.93)
Austin Eckroat (+0.82)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Quail Hollow is a long course on which it is important to play from the fairway. Both distance and accuracy are important, as shorter tee shots will result in approach shots from 200 or more yards. With most of the holes heavily tree lined, errant drives will create some real trouble for the players.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Past 24 Rounds:

Ludvig Aberg (+0.73)
Rory McIlroy (+0.69)
Xander Schauffele (+0.62)
Viktor Hovland (+0.58)
Chris Kirk (+0.52)

Proximity: 175-200

The 175-200 range is key at Quail Hollow. Players who can hit their long irons well will rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Proximity: 175-200+ over past 24 rounds:

Cameron Young (28’2″)
Akshay Bhatia (29’6″)
Ludvig Aberg (+30’6″)
Sam Burns (+30’6″)
Collin Morikawa (+30’9″)

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs

Players who thrive on Tom Fazio designs get a bump for me at Quail Hollow this week.

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs over past 36 rounds:

Patrick Cantlay (+2.10)
Rory McIlroy (+1.95)
Tommy Fleetwood (+1.68)
Austin Eckroat (+1.60)
Will Zalatoris (+1.57)

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass)

Strokes Gained: Putting has historically graded out as the most important statistic at Quail Hollow. While it isn’t always predictable, I do want to have it in the model to bump up golfers who prefer to putt on Bermudagrass.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Taylor Moore (+0.82)
Nick Dunlap (+.76)
Wyndham Clark (+.69)
Emiliano Grillo (+.64)
Cam Davis (+.61)

Course History

This stat will incorporate players that have played well in the past at Quail Hollow.

Course History over past 36 rounds (per round):

Rory McIlroy (+2.50)
Justin Thomas (+1.96)
Jason Day (+1.92)
Rickie Fowler (+1.83)
Viktor Hovland (+1.78)

Wells Fargo Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: Off the Tee (23%), SG: Total on Fazio designs (12%), Proximity: 175-200 (12%), SG: Putting Bermuda grass (12%), and Course History (14%).

Wyndham Clark
Rory McIlroy
Xander Schauffele
Shane Lowry
Hideki Matsuyama
Viktor Hovland
Cameron Young
Austin Eckroat
Byeong Hun An
Justin Thomas

2024 Wells Fargo Championship Picks

Tommy Fleetwood +2500 (DraftKings)

I know many out there have Tommy fatigue when it comes to betting, which is completely understandable given his lack of ability to win on the PGA Tour thus far in his career. However, history has shown us that players with Fleetwood’s talent eventually break though, and I believe for Tommy, it’s just a matter of time.

Fleetwood has been excellent on Tom Fazio designs. Over his past 36 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Fazio tracks. He’s also been incredibly reliable off the tee this season. He’s gained strokes in the category in eight of his past nine starts, including at The Masters, the PLAYERS and the three “signature events” of the season. Tommy is a golfer built for tougher courses and can grind it out in difficult conditions.

Last year, Fleetwood was the first-round leader at this event, firing a Thursday 65. He finished the event in a tie for 5th place.

For those worried about Fleetwood’s disappointing start his last time out at Harbour Town, he’s bounced back nicely after plenty of poor outings this season. His T7 at the Valero Texas Open was after a MC and T35 in his prior two starts and his win at the Dubai Invitational came after a T47 at the Sentry.

I expect Tommy to bounce back this week and contend at Quail Hollow.

Justin Thomas +3000 (DraftKings)

It’s been a rough couple of years for Justin Thomas, but I don’t believe things are quite as bad as they seem for JT. He got caught in the bad side of the draw at Augusta for last month’s Masters and has gained strokes on approach in seven of his nine starts in 2024.

Thomas may have found something in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage. He finished T5 at a course that he isn’t the best fit for on paper. He also finally got the putter working and ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.

The two-time PGA champion captured the first of his two major championships at Quail Hollow back in 2017, and some good vibes from the course may be enough to get JT out of his slump.

Thomas hasn’t won an event in just about two years. However, I still believe that will change soon as he’s been one of the most prolific winners throughout his PGA Tour career. Since 2015, he has 15 PGA Tour wins.

Course history is pretty sticky at Quail Hollow, with players who like the course playing well there on a regular basis. In addition to JT’s PGA Championship win in 2017, he went 4-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup and finished T14 at the event last year despite being in poor form. Thomas can return as one of the top players on the PGA Tour with a win at a “signature event” this week.

Cameron Young +3500 (DraftKings)

For many golf bettors, it’s been frustrating backing Cam Young this season. His talent is undeniable, and one of the best and most consistent performers on the PGA Tour. He just hasn’t broken through with a victory yet. Quail Hollow has been a great place for elite players to get their first victory. Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark all notched their first PGA Tour win at Quail.

Throughout Cam Young’s career, he has thrived at tougher courses with strong fields. This season, he finished T16 at Riviera and T9 at Augusta National, demonstrating his preference of a tough test. His ability to hit the ball long and straight off the tee make him an ideal fit for Quail Hollow, despite playing pretty poorly his first time out in 2023 (T59). Young should be comfortable playing in the region as he played his college golf at Wake Forest, which is about an hour’s drive from Quail Hollow.

The 26-year-old has played well at Tom Fazio designs in the past and ranks 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on those courses in his last 36 rounds. Perhaps most importantly, this season, Young is the best player on the PGA Tour in terms of proximity from 175-200 in the fairway, which is where a plurality and many crucial shots will come from this week.

Young is an elite talent and Quail Hollow has been kind to players of his ilk who’ve yet to win on Tour.

Byeong Hun An +5000 (FanDuel)

Byeong Hun An missed some opportunities last weekend at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He finished T4 and played some outstanding golf, but a couple of missed short putts prevented him from getting to the winning score of -23. Despite not getting the win, it’s hard to view An’s performance as anything other than an overwhelming success. It was An’s fourth top-ten finish of the season.

Last week, An gained 6.5 strokes ball striking, which was 7th in the field. He also ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The South Korean has been hitting the ball so well from tee to green all season long and he now heads to a golf course that should reward his precision.

An’s driver and long irons are absolute weapons. At Quail Hollow, players will see plenty of approach shots from the 175-200 range as well as some from 200+. In his past 24 rounds, Ben ranks 3rd in the field in proximity from 175-200 and 12th in proximity from 200+. Playing in an event that will not end up being a “birdie” fest should help An, who can separate from the field with his strong tee to green play. The putter may not always cooperate but getting to -15 is much easier than getting to -23 for elite ball strikers who tend to struggle on the greens.

Winning a “signature event” feels like a tall task for An this week with so many elite players in the field. However, he’s finished T16 at the Genesis Invitational, T16 at The Masters and T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 32-year-old’s game has improved drastically this season and I believe he’s ready to get the biggest win of his career.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

1 week ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

1 week ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

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