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Jeff Schley

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TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« on: March 11, 2022, 07:01:09 AM »
  • There is an army of volunteers it seems to prep for this event, with other videos on the PGA Tour channel. Great for once a year, but NOT something you want to be the epitome of golf course conditioning as very few can afford this type of maintenance.
  • The drone pilot is pretty damn good.
  • Watch the ending.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/tpc-sawgrass-players-championship-2022-golf-course-prep-drone-flyover
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gifts."
- Steve Prefontaine

jeffwarne

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Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2022, 08:16:11 AM »
Impressive piloting.


The video and the telecast made me dizzy.
Does an event need 7 heights of grass cut to determine a worthy champion?


I'll be honest, I'm not an automatic hater of overseeding as I've seen places it's really done well and sparingly(Palmetto) play super firm and fast and present the course quite well in a very busy time(late winter/spring) when bermuda's not growing and recovering, but volume of play is relentless.
I've seen many places where they did not overseed and the heavy winter season traffic made conditions pretty bare,rough, divoted and dicey come February and March.(Long Cove had this issue the years they did not overseed)
I used to love the clean overseed presentation of Augusta with one height of cut besides the greens, now the rumpled rye rough looks sloppy to me and detracts from the strategy, penalties and recovery shots.
I've also seen dormant grass presented beautifully and rewarded in the rankings (Ohoopee) and much of my winter golf is played on nonoverseeded turf, which I enjoy, and the benefits of not overseeding are definitely better fall playing conditions and no transition.
So I have no preconceived notions about overseeding and understand the want and even occasionally the "need" for it, especially for a place with heavy late winter/spring play.


But I think I draw the line at the sheer overseed volume of grass at TPC, especially in the rough, where a variable semi-dormant bermuda rough, or even the textured centipede that preceeded it, would present a wider variety of judgement and challenges.
The striping, rough, various cuts look ridiculously busy, and is simply a continuation of what they see every week, where most wedge shots have a predictable cushion and present minimal variability and need for creative use of the bounce and sole of the club by a highly skilled player.


Perhaps it looks better in person, as I was there 3 years ago and it did not seem to be as jarring.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2022, 08:21:05 AM by jeffwarne »
"Let's slow the damned greens down a bit, not take the character out of them." Tom Doak
"Take their focus off the grass and put it squarely on interesting golf." Don Mahaffey

Cal Carlisle

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2022, 09:04:46 AM »
Dang! I thought the ending was going to be underwater divers harvesting golf balls from around 17.

Kalen Braley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2022, 10:53:58 AM »
Jeff, Thanks for the posting this.

There's no doubt all the big tournaments have been doing this for years, especially The Masters and The US Open (not sure about The Open)  And I suspect this will become more and more common in the Tier 1 Tour events.

But is it any surprise the PGA Tour players have become so whiny/bitchy on setups and perfect conditions, when the organizers go overboard on every...last...thing?




John Foley

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Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2022, 11:57:01 AM »
Why is there a need to walk mow the rough??
Integrity in the moment of choice

Mike Hendren

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2022, 01:04:34 PM »
Yet many of you continue to use the term “Augusta Syndrome.”  This video is embarrassing.
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

Keith Williams

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2022, 01:26:26 PM »
All I could think about while watching was that this was not the course Pete Dye envisioned.  I miss the sandy scrub and "rough around the edges" look of the original.


Keith

Kalen Braley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2022, 03:54:13 PM »
So i'm watching the coverage today and 17 is playing brutal due the wind and gusts.

For those who have played it multiple times, at what wind speeds point does 17 become unplayable even for these guys?  Looking at current conditions and it says winds are 20-25 MPH.

Thomas Dai

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2022, 05:06:04 PM »
Over-conditioning.
Atb

Peter Pallotta

Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2022, 10:10:39 PM »
Alex Miceli has a neat little piece in SI on Bubba Watson shooting a wonderful 68 in today's tough conditions. He notes that, though Watson is famed as a premier shot maker who loves moving the ball around, he's never done particularly well at Sawgrass. And then he writes:

On a course where Watson has seen little success – T-37 is his best finish – Watson suggested that Pete Dye was crafty. The TPC Sawgrass designer created some blind shots, which are difficult for Watson because he likes to see shots in his mind.

"I'm the perfect person that fell into the trap on every hole, because for me, I like to look at certain shots or see certain shots,” Watson said. “There's a lot of holes that don't fit my eye. Even though there's a lot of fairways, I just can't see it because of the way the bunkers are lifted and different things.”

Which is to say a) Mr Dye clearly did know how to get in the pros' heads and set traps, and b) the best golfers in the world understand golf architecture much better than I do. Much better.

« Last Edit: March 12, 2022, 10:16:30 PM by PPallotta »

Jeff Schley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2022, 03:56:05 AM »
"It's brutal, man," Kisner said. "It's pure luck and somewhat loss of integrity of the tournament in my opinion. We've got 36 more holes to figure out who's playing the best."


So the most manicured course, outside of ANGC probably, is prepared for sanitized conditions to minimize any "luck" is now pure luck? Throw in wind and it is totally pure luck? No wonder they bitch about links golf being lucky. That is the game, variation from one shot to the next with elements playing a role. The Players is supposed to be a lab for golf without anything to interfere with the players or it is pure luck.
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gifts."
- Steve Prefontaine

Kyle Harris

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Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2022, 06:11:15 AM »
$3.2million to the winner.
Needs volunteer labor.

"Grow the game."
http://kylewharris.com

Constantly blamed by 8-handicaps for their 7 missed 12-footers each round.

Thank you for changing the font of your posts. It makes them easier to scroll past.

John Emerson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2022, 11:53:59 PM »
$3.2million to the winner.
Needs volunteer labor.

"Grow the game."


Kyle,
Having followed this topic on Twitter I completely agree with you. The on course folks have to freakin PAY to volunteer which is even more ridiculous. At least the agronomy team doesn’t have to pay outright, so to speak.  There should be some sort of stipend attached
“There’s links golf, then everything else.”

John Chilver-Stainer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #13 on: March 14, 2022, 01:02:08 AM »
Where "green nature" is oxymoronic :-\

Kalen Braley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: TPC Sawgrass drone video prepping for The Players
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2022, 10:35:40 AM »

Not surprised to see yet another incident like this pop up in a big tourney where huge money and a massive exemption on Tour is at stake.  What's gonna have to happen for Tour organizers to be convinced that an active 3rd party officiator is needed at this level?  Couple players swearing at each other and coming to blows?
https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/03/14/pga-tour-pros-dispute-daniel-berger-drop-players-championship/

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