Tom Watson

[lecoeurdevie]

T8 in Dubai, 68 today in the wind ties for low round of the day. The real TW is moving up my list of the best players ever big time. I hope he plays Colonial and a few other classic reg tour stops this year because he can obviously still win if the putts drop. Every time he tees it up he's doing things that maybe even Snead didn't do. This is history and one of the greatest athletes of all time in any sport and I'm in awe.

[bentshaft]

Alec
glad you posted this---agreed 100%---If they played classic courses with classic equipment, he might be doing even better than he is now! just awesome stuff---if overseas points counted, TomW might have a shot at the Ryder Cup LOL how cool would that be?
thanks
bent
bob

[lagpressure]

I agree, and certainly what he did at The Open is one of the all time great athletic accomplishments at basically 60. The fact remains that NO ONE beat him for 72 holes. It's a tie for first in my book. Whether he wins in the playoff or loses, makes no difference in my mind..

I agree, it would be wonderful to see the tour play more of the real quality golf courses, and if things were set up correctly, you really wouldn't need a senior tour.

[lecoeurdevie]

From what I saw I like the setup of that course in Dubai. It was posted at 7301 yds but it was playing fast so you can pretty much throw the total yardage out the window. I'd have liked to have seen the rough up maybe an inch more but the greens were awesome. That Eagle Bermuda only holds a well struck shot and the greens were rolling beautifully at almost 12. That's the way a golf course should be set up for a tour event. A good test for the players in a breeze and it looks pretty for the sponsors. -11 wins in a playoff, that's good golf there.

[BomGolf222]

Pretty decent interview with Watson if you can manage to tune out the interviewer... one way or another, I always love hearing his thoughts...
I love how he easily he disregards stack&tilt as a waste of time- great stuff...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/2 ... 42239.html

[bentshaft]

thanks Bom---good stuff...
I was fascinated by the fact that he was only worried about ONE hole in the upcoming Open...

bent
bob

[TeddyIrons]

Probably nothing new here but I thought I'd post something Tom Watson said on another golf website.

Link: http://www.golfmagic.com/news/tom-watson-chats-to-golfmagic/7197-3.html

Which significant changes to the game have been for the worse and what would you change?

Very interesting questions there. I would like everyone to play using the same equipment, so you can really compare who is the best. But that’s just me.

If I were commissioner for a day, the long broomstick handle from the chin down wouldn’t be allowed – that’s not a real golf stroke in my mind. Also, the big-headed drivers would be reduced. I would take the maximum size from 460 to 240.

Then I would do something about the golf ball. The big, big change in the golf ball itself is that, within the frameworks of the rules, has been allowed to go farther. From 1993 to 2001 the golf ball increased its distance 26-yards with a 109mph swing speed.

That’s almost 10% of what it was allowed to do before. That’s too much, in my opinion. When I hit a good drive, I can carry the ball 260-yards in the air now. It used to be about 270. – I lost a bit with age – but before that with the persimmon driver and balata golf balls I was carrying around 250 in the air. So I’ve actually gained distance despite a slower swing.

Do course designers have to adjust because of this?

Of course. When I first started to course design in the mid-to-late eighties, the carry points were around 250-yards. And back then that was a big, big drive. Now I’m placing carry points at around the 290 mark. If I want to put a bunker to cut a dog-leg off, I have to put it at 300, whereas it was 260 before. That’s a big difference.

Rory McIlroy had barely finished breastfeeding before he made it into the top ten. Is there a different approach for young players these days, compared to when you were in your twenties?

Well James, the “kids”, as I call them, have more clutter in their lives these days. A perfect example would be the practice range before a championship. In my stall, it’s just me, my caddy and my bag. In the other stalls, you’ll see the player, his caddy, his swing coach, his physical trainer, his mental coach, his wife or girlfriend and maybe a couple of other people.

I think it makes it too complicated for the player because, essentially, you still have to do it yourself out there. You have to be confident in making your decision. Your caddy can help you out there, but ultimately it’s your decision. Sometimes when things are going badly, it leads to less confidence.

[lagpressure]

Tom is one of the few guys from the persimmon age who has successfully been able to transfer over to the modern gear. It can be done. I remember reading a while back about how Tom had an epiphany about working into a flatter more level shoulder turn, and I think this is really good to take a lot of timing out of the swing..

Oddly enough, most of the stock modern drivers are sitting extremely upright.. which is not the best way to go.
I can see that Watson's more sweep release, or early release would work better with the super lightweight gear. With a later release, you need fast hands, which then need even faster pivot action. With a 45 inch driver or longer, this gets increasingly difficult to do properly, so most don't and just use a "flicking hand release" full of timing and difficulty.

The modern tour players in general, would be better focusing on acceleration through impact rather than just velocity so they could better keep the ball in play. We are not seeing many great golf swings, because what is being given to them in equipment, they are leaving on the table inefficiencies within the body.