Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: Paul Jones on January 08, 2023, 07:57:07 PM
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Tournament of Champions is my favorite PGA Tour event to watch. I love the course (Kapalua-Plantation), the views, the smaller field and ending is always exciting to watch.
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My favorites in no particular order, aside from majors:
Kapalua - stunning views and interesting solutions to an extreme site
Palm Springs - the visual contrast of desert golf and how much Mr. Dye got out of that site
Riviera - not sure they play a better golf course than this one
The Memorial - ok maybe this one is even better
Renaissance Club - links golf for a month on TV now
Harbour Town - so different than what they usually play
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The Masters. I love everything about it.
Any course on which they play the Open.
Wyndham, because I was a member at Sedgefield. I love watching them. I just wish they would have tougher pins.
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The Masters. I love everything about it.
Any course on which they play the Open.
Wyndham, because I was a member at Sedgefield. I love watching them. I just wish they would have tougher pins.
Tommy,
The Masters is my favorite also, usually followed by The Open…
That is why I specified PGA Tour in title.
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The Players Championship is the only non-major I pencil onto my viewing calendar. Offense, defense and strategery.
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The Players Championship is the only non-major I pencil onto my calendar. Offense, defense and strategery.
That is a good one, especially with the 3 finishing holes usually producing drama.
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I’ll take a different tact and say the PGA tournament that I miss the most is The Westchester Classic contested on the Walter Travis designed Westchester CC West course. It’s also one of me favorite courses to play.
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T of C @ Kapalua.
Why: because this means the new golf season has begun and I love to enjoy the views of the course, its surroundings and beautiful weather as we're hunkered down in the northeast in the midst of winter.
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Perhaps its because there is no golf here with no snow on the ground, or perhaps its because I'm a Western US guy...but I really really love watching the West coast swing to start the year, with the exception of the Hawaii events (not sure why, just can't get into them)
And yes that includes my biggest guilty pleasure on Tour, the Phoenix Open. Despite the hijinks last year, love the size and energy of the crowd, and that finish is just terrific, (when the patrons can resist chucking stuff on the course)
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For me, it is Riviera, and it is not really close. Among current tour events, this is the only one that I get really excited about.
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It's the courses really not the events.
Like Kapalua, Sawgrass, Riv.
In terms of events I have a soft spot for the old Western Open on 4th of July weekend every year in Chicago at Cog Hill, until the tour majorly screwed that up with the Fedex Cup circus.
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These days, none. Kind of a shame but that’s how it is.
Atb
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For me, it is Riviera, and it is not really close. Among current tour events, this is the only one that I get really excited about.
Ditto.
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The Masters, despite the lamentable changes, remains my favorite.
The Open is second, and some combo of the US Open/Pebble/Riviera is next.
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While I agree with Riviera for the architecture I love Phoenix and Travelers for the finishes with those short par fours.
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I stopped watching PGA events a while ago, due to the amount of time spent in commercials, announcer discussions and sponsor interviews. They also showed so few actual golf shots and largely putting. A lot of time wasted on players pacing around lining up putts or standing in the fairway planning shots.
I do watch every major and perhaps 1 or two events, such as Phoenix. using a DRV to skip and make it watchable.
I frequently watch LIV, as they show 4 or 5 times the number of actual golf shots, both good and bad. Being able to watch all past events on demand is also nice with LIV.
I like to watch golf shots.
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Gut says, "Sawgrass...Riviera...Hartford..."
Still, it's hard to isolate a favorite for watching, but its likely to come from this West Coast swing...whether it was the 70s/80s as a northern youth stuck in winter clearing off snow to hit balls during commercials, or the Tiger era of great competition and compelling tournaments, or now with 18 hole 4-day coverage of an unbelievably skilled and accomplished field...this West Coast beginning has always had something good, from Hawaii to California.
And just like with American football, there was/is/can be something so sanguine about seeing the final holes of these West Coast tournaments in their bright western afternoon, while I watched in the 5:30 mid-winter dark.
Now it's more about the courses and what they compel from the elite, in an overgrown competition, but in a once-younger time, there was an "elan" to the Tour's traditional western beginning that was replete with the notions of wealth and age in the Palm Desert... there was a genuine exotic texture to watching live action from Hawaii... there was an inchoate cache to the "star" associations of Hope, Crosby, Glen Campbell, Andy Williams. Those nostalgic sentiments seem to have no place in the contemporary conversation, but they register just the same with me when I consider the op question
Forced to pick, I think I have to give it to the Farmers at Torrey; that field is usually on par with Kapalua and Riviera and that competition usually produces a fine week and a fine finish on Sunday. I know the course and the hole have doubting critics, but for my money, its a fun routing to watch and has one of the top 3 exciting finishing holes ever... from bowling alley tee shot, regarding obstacle of artificial pond, to segmented Escher print mammoth green; if that's contrivance, then contrivance can prosper as a matter of watching elite golf on television.[size=78%] [/size]
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Wasn't exactly sure where to put this...
But I've really enjoyed watching The Valero this week. Been interesting to see the young guns go up against the old vets without the top cut PGA Alpha dogs spoiling the show. Even Padraig is playing well...all of them I presume extra motivated in chasing that last spot at Augusta.
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The Players Championship is the only non-major I pencil onto my viewing calendar. Offense, defense and strategery.
Same for me, the finishing holes
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I’ll take a different tact and say the PGA tournament that I miss the most is The Westchester Classic contested on the Walter Travis designed Westchester CC West course. It’s also one of me favorite courses to play.
Me too. Used to love seeing this on television every year especially when it was around the US Open.
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8)
Masters
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The Dell match play event in Austin has been my favorite. Match play makes great TV. Sad that it won’t be played in the future.
The 4 majors are obviously great to watch, but you asked about PGA Tour events, which they are not.
I find the TV coverage of all PGA Tour events unwatchable without recording and skipping commercials and non golf shot pieces. This reduces a 3 hour broadcast to 2 hours.
LIV coverage is more watchable, as they show 4 times the number of golf shots, both good and bad. They could do without the silly pieces. Seeing bad shots reminds me that golf is hard, even for professionals. Watching network PGAT coverage, one is led to believe that pros never hit bad shots unless ‘a gust of wind’ comes up. When they cut to a 60 foot putt by a guy in 20th place are you surprised when it goes in?
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I may be indicative of the downside of trying to make so many tournaments "special." Or, maybe I have just been lucky to have been to a few US Opens, Masters, and most of all....Ryder Cups. There is really little reason for me to go to "standard" PGA Tour events anymore, because they are less exciting. I did go to Colonial with my daughter because she wanted to....using my free passes, of course.
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I may be indicative of the downside of trying to make so many tournaments "special." Or, maybe I have just been lucky to have been to a few US Opens, Masters, and most of all....Ryder Cups. There is really little reason for me to go to "standard" PGA Tour events anymore, because they are less exciting. I did go to Colonial with my daughter because she wanted to....using my free passes, of course.
The responses to this thread are exactly why I've felt all the warring over LIV is somewhat misplaced.
The PGA Tour benefits from the confusion of some fans that the majors are "PGA Tour events". Meanwhile, the actual PGA Tour is a calendar of other events that a lot of us don't really care about anymore. So why should I care which players compete in those, and which do not?
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I’ll take a different tact and say the PGA tournament that I miss the most is The Westchester Classic contested on the Walter Travis designed Westchester CC West course. It’s also one of me favorite courses to play.
Tim,
Growing up in Westchester I always liked the Westchester Classic and it was the only Tour event I attended as a young kid. Then, too, it was special because when I was in college I worked at Manero’s Restaurant in Greenwich where players would often come for dinner. The restaurant was owned by Nick Manero, who like his brother Tony, won a USGA championship.
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For me, there is a big difference between watching golf on TV and in-person. I have loved going to the events at TPC Boston, TPC River Highlands, and Westchester. Doesn't matter who is playing.
On TV, if Tiger isn't playing, I honestly don't care. I might tune in for match play simply because it's different. But the only non-major golf I consistently watch on TV is European Tour events when they are at cool courses.
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I’ll take a different tact and say the PGA tournament that I miss the most is The Westchester Classic contested on the Walter Travis designed Westchester CC West course. It’s also one of me favorite courses to play.
Tim,
Growing up in Westchester I always liked the Westchester Classic and it was the only Tour event I attended as a young kid. Then, too, it was special because when I was in college I worked at Manero’s Restaurant in Greenwich where players would often come for dinner. The restaurant was owned by Nick Manero, who like his brother Tony, won a USGA championship.
Tim-Manero’s was an all-timer. As much as I liked the steaks I think I remember the gorgonzola salad and garlic bread the best. The first time I went was in the early 70’s before a Ranger game and was lucky enough to keep going occasionally until they closed. The butcher shop was also terrific and I believe it’s the only vestige of the original place left albeit operating under a different name and not in the original location. Finally the Bruce Museum followed by Manero’s was tough to beat.
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Tim,
The only thing you didn’t mention was the Maneros steak sandwich. Very hard to resist.
Then, too, the old timers were classic. Peter Bracio was my favorite. He was always invited down to Doral and came back with a dozen shirts for the boys. Peter was just incredibly gifted when it came to the customers.
I still remember the service for Mr. Manero when he passed. After the service we all went to his home on Glenville Road and hit golf balls in the backyard.
Too bad the property on Steamboat Road was just too valuable for Nicky Jr to avoid selling it.
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I’ll take a different tact and say the PGA tournament that I miss the most is The Westchester Classic contested on the Walter Travis designed Westchester CC West course. It’s also one of me favorite courses to play.
Tim,
Growing up in Westchester I always liked the Westchester Classic and it was the only Tour event I attended as a young kid. Then, too, it was special because when I was in college I worked at Manero’s Restaurant in Greenwich where players would often come for dinner. The restaurant was owned by Nick Manero, who like his brother Tony, won a USGA championship.
I worked across the street from there for years. Ate there countless times. Had no idea they had won USGA championships!