tom Watson's golf tournament although fantastic, how much was it down to better equipment?
Posted on
February 13th, 2010
by admin
Tom Watson was fantastic but i thought the commentaters made to much of his age(59 must have been mentioned 30 times on the last 22 holes) and that it would have been the greatest sporting achievement ever, although it would have been a great personal achievement. Today,s equipment i.e better clubs and balls helped him keep up with the young guns
The British Open is a links course that particularly awards accuracy and where a small man around 5′ 8" close to 60 years of age can compete. This would not be so in Augusta at The Masters where driving distance is premium and the domain of power hitters like Tiger Woods. Modern equipment is only a modicum of help.
Tom Watson was not doomed by an aging, tired body. When his tentative putt on 18 fell short, it set into motion an avalanche of emotion that was impossible for him to overcome in the 4 hole playoff.
Tom Watson is def. one of the greatest of all times, equipment is definitley a factor too. I don’t think that it was a huge factor, after all it did come down to a single putt. So he must have something good in his bag.
It was age. Tom was and still isachievementne of the greats! History was to be made. KARMA, Cink should have bowed down and been a part of it. Tom will be remembered for this more so than Cink.
It was fatigue.
Age 59 and playoffs right after you finish 18 holes… damn
It’s hard to say how much modern equipment can help at the very top level. For the average golfer I am sure it makes a huge difference, but for the pros who have such refined swings, I don’t know. It would be interesting to see how well someone like Bobby Jones would play with today’s clubs, or vice-versa, see Tiger try to hit a set from Jones’ era.
How? It’s not like his equipment is superior to the equipment the younger players use. It came down to being on a course that did not require power as much as it did solid ball striking and knowledge of the course.
You mustn’t play golf to say that. The equipment helps everybody, the ball goes further and flys straighter, the grooves help to put more spin on the ball. To play golf at that level at nearly 60 years old is an incredible feat. Ignoring the physical exertion of being on your feet for 6 hours the level of concentration you have to have as well is tiring. If it is so easy why do they have Seniors competitions that start at 50, and why don’t more Senior Pro’s do well.
Give the guy the credit he is due, I have and I’m no Watson fan.
If modern equipment is helping Tom, it’s helping everybody as well. Your argument doesn’t hold much water. If anything, it’s the other way around. Watson may have a better chance if everybody was forced to play equipment from the 70′s.
Certainly equipment has helped tremendously.
To compare, Greg Norman was quoted in a piece saying that he hits the ball further now than he did at his prime in the 80′s. Mull that over.
What would be interesting would be to have a tournament with guys using persimmon woods, and the balls used from the 70′s (along with the heavy steel shafts). Even on shorter courses, I’m not sure you’d see the skill that Nicklaus, Palmer, Hogan, Watson, etc. had.
Everybody has the same level of equipment.
What he did was remarkable. He deserves, and should get, full credit for what he did accomplish.
Tom said on tv yesterday that it was soley poor decision making (8 iron instead of 9 iron ect.)
it’s the swordsman that counts, not the sword
So are you suggesting that Tom had something ‘special’ in his bag, as compared to what the other players were using?
Personally although I agree they did belabour the 59 thing somewhat I think he had some ‘magic’ going through the first 3 rounds for sure, but either the last round was one round too many for him (and yes, the age thing) or the moment got to him despite him looking as loose as a goose. He wasn’t putting anywhere near as well in the final round as he’d been doing, short putting a lot of those he was putting away previously. Had he been 3 or 4 strokes ahead going into the 18th, it wouldn’t have been critical that he missed his final putt would it. And I think he made a huge mistake not chipping in from the edge of the green instead of putting. He made life sooooo difficult for himself at the end.
I thought he just collapsed after that – he looked like a little old man after the first hole of the play-offs, and clearly he’d emptied. He never missed the fairway with his tee shots/second shot, until the play off. But the one thing about golf as opposed to most other sports is you only have yourself (and the weather) to blame. Which is what makes golf such a great sport.
To the person who suggested Cink should have entered into the moment – do you mean he should have ‘let’ Tom win? Now that wasn’t likely to happen was it. I do agree he didn’t appear to acknowledge Tom’s achievements in his speech at the end did he.