Ernie Else missed 5 putts from 3 feet on hole 1...for a 9 at The Masters today.

[Theowl32]

It is funny and very very sad at the same time.

 

[DGS49]

It was great because many golfers have experienced the same thing. It happens when you play a country club where the greenskeeper prides himself on having "lightning fast" greens.

 

[Theowl32]

It was great because many golfers have experienced the same thing. It happens when you play a country club where the greenskeeper prides himself on having "lightning fast" greens.

Yeah. True, except those misses really did not have anything to do with the speed. Anyone that golfs understands what he did.

He called it the heebee jeebees. It is the yips. Like the shanks in golf, it is a mental break down. Brain cramp.

It is weird too. The other day I was on the range. Hit the first 20 balls or so pretty well. All of a sudden I hit a ball off of the hozzle and went dead right. All of a sudden I could not stop it. Like 5 balls or so in a row. I took a break. Walked away, went to the bathroom. Still had like a half of a bucket left. It got better after that, but I was all of a sudden hitting the ball thin.

Anyway, you get the point. In golf brain cramps are really exposed and it is an awfully lonely feeling.

 

[MarathonMike]

Poor Ernie I felt bad for him. But if anyone can take it in stride, it's him.

 

[my2¢]

Anybody who's played miniature golf knows the feeling. Especially that hole where the cup is on top of a cone.

 

[DGS49]

The putts have EVERYTHING to do with speed. From that range you want to hit the ball hard enough to take out the break, which he failed to do on the first miss. He hit it too soft and it broke past the hole Then you have the same issue coming back: Allow for the break that you see, or hit it harder so it won't break, and risk the ball rolling 6 feet past the hole? In each case he chose wrongly.

Several years ago a person who goes by the nickname "Tiger" made three hundred-some consecutive putts within three feet. A non-golfer might say, "So what?" But on a professional-level course that accomplishment is almost super-human, because you always have the issue of speed vs break on the short putts where the greens are fast.

This tournament is suffering this year because of the wind and the fast greens. It is almost unfair to the golfers, except that they are all dealing with the same factors.

 

[MarathonMike]

It's a fine line between challenging the best in the world and being unfair. You get above the hole and a gust of wind comes up you can knock a 6 foot putt off the green easily. But you look at the top of the leade rboard and you see the best including the top amateur in the world.

 

[Alex.]

That happened to me the other day, I just did jumping jacks to work off the disappointment

 

[longknife]

It was great because many golfers have experienced the same thing. It happens when you play a country club where the greenskeeper prides himself on having "lightning fast" greens.

Yeah. True, except those misses really did not have anything to do with the speed. Anyone that golfs understands what he did.

He called it the heebee jeebees. It is the yips. Like the shanks in golf, it is a mental break down. Brain cramp.

It is weird too. The other day I was on the range. Hit the first 20 balls or so pretty well. All of a sudden I hit a ball off of the hozzle and went dead right. All of a sudden I could not stop it. Like 5 balls or so in a row. I took a break. Walked away, went to the bathroom. Still had like a half of a bucket left. It got better after that, but I was all of a sudden hitting the ball thin.

Anyway, you get the point. In golf brain cramps are really exposed and it is an awfully lonely feeling.

At one time, I had a 5 or 6 handicap. To make a long story short, I took a trip and played at least 27 holes a day, my worst score a 79. Came back home and came down with the brain freezes. Could no longer break 80. 1983 put the clubs in the trunk of my car and haven't played since.

When it comes to these pros, their physical condition has little to do with their scores. It's what's between their ears.

 

[Theowl32]

It was great because many golfers have experienced the same thing. It happens when you play a country club where the greenskeeper prides himself on having "lightning fast" greens.

Yeah. True, except those misses really did not have anything to do with the speed. Anyone that golfs understands what he did.

He called it the heebee jeebees. It is the yips. Like the shanks in golf, it is a mental break down. Brain cramp.

It is weird too. The other day I was on the range. Hit the first 20 balls or so pretty well. All of a sudden I hit a ball off of the hozzle and went dead right. All of a sudden I could not stop it. Like 5 balls or so in a row. I took a break. Walked away, went to the bathroom. Still had like a half of a bucket left. It got better after that, but I was all of a sudden hitting the ball thin.

Anyway, you get the point. In golf brain cramps are really exposed and it is an awfully lonely feeling.

At one time, I had a 5 or 6 handicap. To make a long story short, I took a trip and played at least 27 holes a day, my worst score a 79. Came back home and came down with the brain freezes. Could no longer break 80. 1983 put the clubs in the trunk of my car and haven't played since.

When it comes to these pros, their physical condition has little to do with their scores. It's what's between their ears.

This kid plays where I play. Been watching him since he was 5. Absolute prodigy. Scratch golfer.

He is 11 now. He just made the trip to Augusta for the drive, chip and putt. He finished 3rd in his age group.

He really is unreal and I have golfed with him a dozen times.

Golf is an art and like any art there is an unteachable quality to it. You had to see him when he was just 5.

Anyway, I have broke 80 twice in my life. I have no idea how I did it. Right now if I break 85 I am happy. If I don't break 90 I am ticked.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

No excuse for that.
You could have picked anyone out of the gallery, and it's likely they'd never miss that many easy putts on the same hole.