Tour's and variety of shots

[MikeF]

Thought it may be a good idea to get a thread going to discuss the various tours and the variety of shots that are required to play on them due to the way that the respective courses may be set up.

Take the Euro Tour for example, especially Links golf. This I feel requires the players to be able to play a wider variety of shots due to the conditions that are usually encountered. Low running shots, bump and runs to name a few are commonly used.

The US Tour using Augusta as an example requires a different style of play. You don't generally find players hit bump and runs or running shots but you will find them hitting high flighted shots the vast majority of the times.

These are just 2 examples and I know that both Tours have courses that are set out in very similar ways requiring the same sort of shots to be played

Opinions?

 

[douggolf4]

I agree with what you said. It seems as if there is not really any "true" links courses in America. Maybe that's why Euros. tend to play better in the Open than Americans.

 

[MikeF]

Would you not class Pebble Beach as true links golf?

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

I agree with what you said. It seems as if there is not really any "true" links courses in America. Maybe that's why Euros. tend to play better in the Open than Americans.

I would disagree. There are many great links course's in the US. One is a half hour from my home (Purgatory). Links at its best. The back nine at my home course is also links style, but has no sand bunkers, so I would not call it a traditional links course.

 

[arydolphin]

Thought it may be a good idea to get a thread going to discuss the various tours and the variety of shots that are required to play on them due to the way that the respective courses may be set up.

Take the Euro Tour for example, especially Links golf. This I feel requires the players to be able to play a wider variety of shots due to the conditions that are usually encountered. Low running shots, bump and runs to name a few are commonly used.

The US Tour using Augusta as an example requires a different style of play. You don't generally find players hit bump and runs or running shots but you will find them hitting high flighted shots the vast majority of the times.

These are just 2 examples and I know that both Tours have courses that are set out in very similar ways requiring the same sort of shots to be played

Opinions?

The PGA Tour and the European Tour have pretty similar setups in my opinion. Look at the European Tour schedule: http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/index.html

They have around 50 tournaments on that schedule, and only 3 are on links setups: Scottish Open, Open Championship, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. It's not a big difference at all. At least they're actually playing the Scottish Open this year on a links setup, it was silly to think that the Scottish Open was preparation for the Open Championship when they played it at Loch Lomond, which is about as much of a parkland course as you can get.

 

[Tadashi70]

Would you not class Pebble Beach as true links golf?

Not really, PB is a traditional American course. Bandon Dunes, whistling Straights are links style courses in the US


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[the_paulo]

I think we've seen quite a variety of shots needed on both tours. Harbor Town springs to mind when I think of a recent tourney on the PGA requiring a full range of shots and shotmaking.

The one factor I can think of as coming into play with regard to shot selection is weather. Generally, there's more chance of having unpredictable conditions on the Euro tour (not that it doesn't happen in the US too).

 

[MikeF]

Not really, PB is a traditional American course. Bandon Dunes, whistling Straights are links style courses in the US


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I always had PB down as a links course, thanks for letting me know it is not the case.

I agree that the weather conditions in Europe are usually different than the US but the wind sure was blowing in Texas on Sunday

 

[cj3ap2]

I wouldn't say Whistling Straits is a links course. I've always heard that they say that course looks like a links but isn't actually a links.

 

[jnug]

Someone may know the answer to this question. I don't. It just looks that way sometimes to me but from afar. Are there more tight courses on the Euro tour than on the American Tour (narrower fairways, sharper dogs legs, that sort of thing). If that is in fact true that would have guys taking driver less for one thing and maybe doing more to move the ball left to right or right to left.

 

[JB]

Someone may know the answer to this question. I don't. It just looks that way sometimes to me but from afar. Are there more tight courses on the Euro tour than on the American Tour (narrower fairways, sharper dogs legs, that sort of thing). If that is in fact true that would have guys taking driver less for one thing and maybe doing more to move the ball left to right or right to left.

According to most in the media, it is about the same based on width of fairway....However trouble off the tee...That is a different story. That comes down to terrain and climates and what grows where.

 

[MikeF]

Does anyone know if the grasses used in Europe and the US are the same? May be a stupid question but I honestly don't know. I suspect that they are different but don't know for sure

 

[JB]

Does anyone know if the grasses used in Europe and the US are the same? May be a stupid question but I honestly don't know. I suspect that they are different but don't know for sure

Depends on the region. Heck the grass used in FL is not the same as CA and other places. Geography plays a large role in what type of grass is used and what will flourish.

 

[MikeF]

So grass isn't shipped in to be used then in most cases. It's just I have heard Bermuda and Rye grass mentioned that many times when watching US coverage on TV whereas I hardly ever here it mention when watching Euro coverage