Before I took up golf as a 50-year-old empty nester I couldn't imagine why anyone would watch golf on television. The very idea of a "Golf Channel" was simply bizarre to me.
But that was 22 years ago, and now I enjoy watching my golfing betters making shots on TV that I aspire to make every time I'm on the course. The cool thing about golf is that with the exception of the 300 yard drives, most decent golfers have made those wonderful shots, albeit only rarely.
Watching the U.S. Open is a little bit different. The course is a difficult course to start with, and it is set up to be as difficult as possible for the best golfers in the world. You can't just go out and hit your normal shots on that course. The fairways are narrow and twisting, with bunkers in spots where the pro's would normally hit the ball. The rough is 6" deep in the GOOD PARTS, and foot-high fescue in the other places. The greens are hard and fast, and sloped to punish "normal" approach shots. Each day the course is set up a little bit tougher than the day before.
The top pro's on the PGA Tour were struggling just to make par today. They were making the kinds of mistakes that every duffer makes all the time, chipping onto the green and watching it roll off the other side into a bunker. There were tons of drives that were hooking and slicing into the trees or the gallery - just like normal golfers do.
Anyway, it's fun to watch if you are a golfer.
But that was 22 years ago, and now I enjoy watching my golfing betters making shots on TV that I aspire to make every time I'm on the course. The cool thing about golf is that with the exception of the 300 yard drives, most decent golfers have made those wonderful shots, albeit only rarely.
Watching the U.S. Open is a little bit different. The course is a difficult course to start with, and it is set up to be as difficult as possible for the best golfers in the world. You can't just go out and hit your normal shots on that course. The fairways are narrow and twisting, with bunkers in spots where the pro's would normally hit the ball. The rough is 6" deep in the GOOD PARTS, and foot-high fescue in the other places. The greens are hard and fast, and sloped to punish "normal" approach shots. Each day the course is set up a little bit tougher than the day before.
The top pro's on the PGA Tour were struggling just to make par today. They were making the kinds of mistakes that every duffer makes all the time, chipping onto the green and watching it roll off the other side into a bunker. There were tons of drives that were hooking and slicing into the trees or the gallery - just like normal golfers do.
Anyway, it's fun to watch if you are a golfer.
