Bubba Watson - Can He Carry the Torch?

TC

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I'm not sure how I feel about Bubba winning and being a force. Don't get me wrong, he's fun to watch, and anyone who creams the ball like he does is always entertaining. However, when I think of the young up and coming Americans, he's certainly making a case for himself with his play so far this year as one who now has to be in the conversation as perhaps, the best American in that category. How do you guys feel about Bubba? Is he the right guy for the gig? I know he's had issues in his past about being respectful and friendly to patrons and volunteers at events.

I'm still really on the fence. It's nothing personal, I'm more or less sharing my thoughts on the subject. Is he the ideal candidate to carry this torch?
 
i dont know much about the respectfulness you speak of; i love to watch him play - he really looks like hes having fun out there.

he certainly is playing well this year: 2 wins, and seems to break into the top 10 often.
 
Flash in the pan, will have a great year this year and maybe next year, but after that I doubt it.
 
I love Bubba and hope he keeps seeing success personally. I love that good or bad he is who he is and never tries to hide that. He truly does let his emotions ride, just like after the win when he hugged his momma crying. I love it.

While there might be trendier guys for the job, Bubba is just fun.
 
When he is on, he is as good as anybody in the world. The problem he seems to have is when he is not quite on, the misses are significantly worse and more frequent based on his moving the ball as much as he does. Somewhere in there, there is a lesson for amateur golfers, but I have a feeling they dont see it that way...hehe
 
i dont know much about the respectfulness you speak of; i love to watch him play - he really looks like hes having fun out there.

he certainly is playing well this year: 2 wins, and seems to break into the top 10 often.

When he was on the Nationwide Tour he was notorious for not being able to keep his cool when it came to patron chit chat. I actually think he has an OCD problem or something.
 
I did not know he has a history of being rude.
I thought he came across as such a class act, but then again I've only been watching golf for the last 3 months.
 
I"m a fan of bubba. I definitly put him with the rest of the "up and comers". I did think he was going to have trouble being consistent with that home made swing. (and his short game after watching today) But he makes up for that with catastrophic distance of the tee. His chatting with Webb today got me thinking around the same lines TC. On one hand it's refreshing to see someone relaxed and chatty out there. But on the other hand it makes me think he doesn't respect the seriousness of competition. Atleast he's not making a fool of himself here in Vegas. **cough AK cough**
 
I did not know he has a history of being rude.
I thought he came across as such a class act, but then again I've only been watching golf for the last 3 months.

If going by the commentators and how they talk about him apparently after his dad died, he changed.
 
Here is a question I have for people that follow him. Right now his wearing his heart on his sleeve is looked at as something special (I do too), however when he becomes a star, do people immediately believe or start to think it becomes fake? I know that quite a few of the guys that some feel as genuine for this, others feel as though they are a little fake. Will that happen to Bubba?
 
There is just something awkward about Bubba that doesn't resonate with me. Or maybe it does resonate with me. Anyway, there's something.

Kevin
 
I don't know if he is the right guy or not. But he does have 3 wins in the last 10 months or so and he sure is fun to watch. My favorite of the "young guns" would be Mahan, but now that Bubba has the wins and is moving up in to the top 10 in the World Rankings I think he has to be at the head of the class ATM.
 
I think Bubba will be a force, but I don't think he is the new standard bearer for American golf. Several here have mentioned a few things that will hold him back from that.
 
Here is a question I have for people that follow him. Right now his wearing his heart on his sleeve is looked at as something special (I do too), however when he becomes a star, do people immediately believe or start to think it becomes fake? I know that quite a few of the guys that some feel as genuine for this, others feel as though they are a little fake. Will that happen to Bubba?

Unfortunately it probably will because it does always seem to happen that way, for better or worse. I think thats the nature of the beast when you've had "stars" we've thought were, in fact, genuine turn out to be anything but. People find it hard to trust people being "genuine".
 
I personally like the guy. I was not aware of his issues for being rude previously. I think he is refreshing in that he states he enjoys playing the game and wants it to be fun. It seems I recall hearing him state he doesn't really have a swing coach because that would make it to technical and then it would not have the fun factor. I am not saying he is the guy to carry the torch but I put him in that group of guys that are making the PGA tour what it is week to week. There are so many guys and so many good finishes that we have seen this year. I think the tour is in a good place from a competition point and Bubba has to be right up there at the present moment.
 
I love watching Bubba play golf and I really enjoy his twitter videos and his interviews and such. He seems like he's really loving life and playing golf appears to be something very fun for him and he happens to be very good at it. I don't know about the rest, I just think he's cool to watch play golf. I'd like to hang out with him.
 
I don't know if he is the right guy or not. But he does have 3 wins in the last 10 months or so and he sure is fun to watch. My favorite of the "young guns" would be Mahan, but now that Bubba has the wins and is moving up in to the top 10 in the World Rankings I think he has to be at the head of the class ATM.

Mahan had the most momentum until his flubbed chip in Wales. I think half of his heart is still over there.

As far as Bubba goes, I honestly don't think he has the nerve to win a Major. He will win tour events like this one, but I don't believe he'll do much more. Hell, Overton carried him in the Ryder Cup and he got smoked in his singles to a fat, cigar puffing, wine drinking Spaniard.
 
He's won some, but how many majors does he have? No majors, no real force yet. I like him though.

He's not exactly young though, he is 33. (Not saying he's old, by any stretch). He's mopre of a veteran at this point.
 
He's won some, but how many majors does he have? No majors, no real force yet. I like him though.

He's not exactly young though, he is 33. (Not saying he's old, by any stretch). He's mopre of a veteran at this point.

Smalls
I think in the past, one could say that, but in recent years, the world of golf has been dominated by Tiger Woods (lots of majors), Phil Mickelson (some majors) and a bunch of other guys.

Westwood - No majors
Luke Donald - No majors
Martin Kaymer - 1 major
G-Mac - 1 major
Rory - No majors
Paul Casey - No majors
Steve Stricker - No majors
Matt Kuchar - No majors
Dustin Johnson - No majors
Jim Furyk - 1 major
 
Smalls
I think in the past, one could say that, but in recent years, the world of golf has been dominated by Tiger Woods (lots of majors), Phil Mickelson (some majors) and a bunch of other guys.

Westwood - No majors
Luke Donald - No majors
Martin Kaymer - 1 major
G-Mac - 1 major
Rory - No majors
Paul Casey - No majors
Steve Stricker - No majors
Matt Kuchar - No majors
Dustin Johnson - No majors
Jim Furyk - 1 major

Are the days of Dominate players in Golf over? 20 years from now I wouldn't be suprised if then current superstars might be judged on a slightly lower level compared to before. There's just a lot of talent out there.
 
Are the days of Dominate players in Golf over? 20 years from now I wouldn't be suprised if then current superstars might be judged on a slightly lower level compared to before. There's just a lot of talent out there.

Is it talent or lack of talent to dominate?
 
I think we are comparing the new crop to the previous dominant golfer and there may not have been a more dominant player than Tiger. Bubba is definitely capable, but not like Tiger did. I don't think another will dominate the sport like that for a long time if ever.
 
I don't consider him a young up and comer. He sure is in the game though. I hope he can keep it up with everything he has going on in his swing. In my opinion he is the only guy who took last years momentum and carried it into this year.
 
Are the days of Dominate players in Golf over? 20 years from now I wouldn't be suprised if then current superstars might be judged on a slightly lower level compared to before. There's just a lot of talent out there.

I agree with this 100%. There are so many more players that have the talent to win on tour than there were 20-30 years ago. It makes it even more impressive when guys like Tiger and Phil win 5-6 times in one season, or when Vijay won 9 times a few years ago (2004, I think). To be a truly great player in the past, I think you needed 5-6 majors; nowadays, if you have more than 2, I think that puts you into a very elite class.
 
I certainly feel as if I have no trouble rooting for Bubba. Found myself pulling for him again today.
 
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