Shotgun Start: Puzzling putters, cult of Goydos, blown set-ups
CBSSports.com staffers Ross Devonport and Steve Elling take a scattershot look at three compelling and timely topics in the game.
1. Sergio Garcia, one of the shakiest putters on the PGA Tour for the past several years, wards off his demons to win the Players Championship, the biggest title of his career. Do you guys believe it is it possible, by sheer will or improved mechanics, for a bad putter to improve markedly? Will his success stick with the short stick?
Steve Elling
Ross Devonport
I have always maintained that bad putters cannot be cured, and that only Band-Aids can be applied to marginally fix the symptoms. Among star players, only Vijay Singh was somehow transformed from being a poor putter to a reliable one, though lately he's not making much of anything when it matters. Garcia had two good putting rounds (Thursday and Sunday) and two awful ones. It's just that the rest of his game was so solid, he stayed in contention anyway. It's hard to grasp that the winners of the two biggest events of the year, the Masters and Players, ranked almost at the bottom of the putting stats for the year. Whether Trevor Immelman and Garcia can replicate that success consistently will be a huge storyline in 2008. I admit, I am skeptical.
I'm a decent putter, and I can tell you that feel on the greens is just something you either have or you don't. Sergio had an OK putting day last weekend, but it was his stellar ball striking that won him the tournament, not his performance on the greens. Garcia and Immelman are poor putters who will have good weeks on the greens now and again, and their overall game will get them in contention on occasion. Thing is, good putters always seem to be around the top of the leaderboard, even when their game isn't particularly on. That maximizes their chances for victory every week, while the bad putters must have everything going well to contend.
2. Was the real winner last weekend at TPC Sawgrass the runner-up, Paul Goydos, who stole the show with his wisecracks and self-effacing comments? Could he become another cult figure, like Woody Austin or Boo Weekley, among fans?
Steve Elling
Ross Devonport
For those of us on the course Sunday, it seems like Goydos has already assumed that role, since fans were behind him all the way. Frankly, NBC should have had a microphone on the guy for the entire round to pick up comments like the one Goydos made after earning the right to hit first in the sudden-death playoff. "Age before beauty, huh?" he said. Goydos has been a treasure trove of funny remarks and pithy insight over the years. Now that he has more fully legitimized his status as a superior player, you'll be hearing a lot more from him, to be sure. Some programming-starved network like the Golf Channel ought to put Austin, Goydos and Weekley in a fishing boat with a few beers and turn on the tape recorder.
Goydos isn't quite at the level of those other two yet, simply because he doesn't possess the kind of the game they do. His finish at the Players was his first top 10 since he won the Sony Open in January 2007, while Austin and Weekley have put together 14 during that span. Until Goydos pops up on television more often on weekends and gets interviewed on a frequent basis, he will remain in the background of the tour. Thing is, these kind of guys are what your country needs, Steve, if you want to stop getting your arses handed to you in the Ryder Cup. The European team is always full of self-deprecating underdogs you can't help but cheer for, while the U.S. squad is made up mostly of overpaid chokers or cry babies.
3. A serious question: Was the punishing TPC Sawgrass course over the line on Sunday, when balls were being blown across greens and scores ballooned north?
Steve Elling
Ross Devonport
It was very, very close to being unplayable in spots, a couple of players noted. You know it's windy when you see portly Kevin Stadler actually running after his hat as it blew down the fairway, or watch Phil Mickelson's visor blow off his head and into a pond near the practice green. The PGA Tour took steps to soften the course with extra water and by backing off on the mowing and rolling, but two players had balls move significant distances on the greens after they had first come to rest. A couple of years ago in Australia, play had to be canceled for the same reason when greens dried out so much, balls wouldn't stay put. The tour needs to take a hard look at its setup for next year and consider backing it down a notch. Besides, after the way the Masters and U.S. Open have been going, do we really need to watch another Sunday death march at a big event?
Stadler was running somewhere other than to the buffet? Weird ... I didn't feel my chair move. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Since when did wind become a legitimate reason for a tournament to be canceled/postponed? The real problem is these ridiculously fast greens the tour sets up. Wind has been part of the game since it was invented and actually makes things more fun for certain players who know how to shape their shots better than others. How about just lifting the blades on the lawnmowers a little and forcing these guys to actually have to improvise on the greens once in a while? They basically get to putt on what amounts to glass every week, while we peasants are forced to actually take some sort of a backswing on many of the layouts we hack around. Let the grass grow, dammit!
Are you guys serious? Do you actually believe good putters are born and not made? Stop the presses!! Tiger, you can stop working on your putting--take a little more time to rest the knee. Elling and Devonport have said it doesn't matter: you either have it or you don't. Now don't you feel silly for all that time you wasted PRACTICING??
I agree to some aspect that maybe the greens are a little too fast, but come on!!! This is not a friendly event with a couple of Miller Lite's, a cigar, and a cute cart girl who passes by every 3 holes for you and the fella's to point at and blame your duffed chipped on when she starts the beverage cart and drive off. These guys are getting paid dollar dollar bills yall to p
I have always maintained that bad putters cannot be cured, and that only Band-Aids can be applied to marginally fix the symptoms. Among star players, only Vijay Singh was somehow transformed from being a poor putter to a reliable one, though lately he's not making much of anything when it matters. Garcia had two good putting rounds (Thursday and Sunday) and two awful ones. It's just that the rest of his game was so solid, he stayed in contention anyway. It's hard to grasp that the winners of the two biggest events of the year, the Masters and Players, ranked almost at the bottom of the putting stats for the year. Whether Trevor Immelman and Garcia can replicate that success consistently will be a huge storyline in 2008. I admit, I am skeptical. 
I'm a decent putter, and I can tell you that feel on the greens is just something you either have or you don't. Sergio had an OK putting day last weekend, but it was his stellar ball striking that won him the tournament, not his performance on the greens. Garcia and Immelman are poor putters who will have good weeks on the greens now and again, and their overall game will get them in contention on occasion. Thing is, good putters always seem to be around the top of the leaderboard, even when their game isn't particularly on. That maximizes their chances for victory every week, while the bad putters must have everything going well to contend. 
