Because for a ball to hit the inside edge of that cup liner, a vertical surface basically, the ball has to be below the equator.
The holes at our indoor facility are actually a small bit over 4" in diameter because we can’t recess the plastic cup liners (almost 1/8" thick) down, so the ~1/8" plastic rim becomes the last little bit of the hole. Their outer diameter is 4.25", and they’re meant to be recessed an inch or more, but that’s not what these are: these at Pinehurst are likely the very, very thin rings that just serve to make the hole appear white, with no real thickness.
Not to get too “Decadey” but what you needed more than anything was a putt at it. Aiming directly at the pin brings in the possibility of being short sided but not necessarily make you more likely to get it close. Aiming a little closer to the center keeps the pin within your shot pattern but makes it more likely that you’ll have a look at a putt.
All that being said, it’s extremely difficult to keep that in mind and not aim directly at the pin. Especially in match play in a high adrenaline situation. I’ll raise my hand and say I’m the first to fire at everything in sight.
What we needed more than anything was a 2. If it was a stroke play tournament, I would have done everything in my power not to shortside myself. That was not the scenario. It’s binary. You need 2 or you fail.
Hitting it 30 feet left and having a tour pro hit the next one would give us the birdie 7% of the time. The best path to a birdie was to hit the ball very close to the hole.
Even on the “easy” holes, going out and pushing for a birdie can get you boned. I’d argue that the 9th is the easiest par 3 (not easy, just easiest) but if you aren’t careful you can really get sideways.
I’m not arguing with the decision to get aggressive - you had to in the match - it’s just one of those courses where being aggressive can be more risky than the average course.
To that end, I thought this episode really did a nice job of capturing the contours around the greens in several places.
You’re not all that more likely to get it closer to the hole by aiming directly at it. I understand what you’re saying, you don’t care if 4 or 5 comes into play because it’s match play, you’re just looking for the highest likelihood of a 2. I’m trying to say that the best percentage of making a 2 is by aiming a little left of that pin. A tour player’s make percentage might only be 7% from 30 ft but I’d bet anything that percentage is a lot higher than the hole out percentage from where Randy was. Also, you’d didn’t miss right by that much. You might’ve ended up stuffing it anyway had you aimed 2 or 3 paces left of the hole and then you’re more likely to at least have some sort of a look at it.
not to get to “anti-decadey” but Decade is designed to minimize mistakes, and keep from aberrations on the HIGH side. It’s not about pro-level golf. Not even remotely. Decade will tell you to try and 18 greens, regardless. 18 GIR will give you 18 birdie chances, but when you HAVE to have a birdie to survive, Decade is horseshit.
I entirely understand what you’re saying, and I definitely don’t believe in Decade as a hard and fast rule. More as a useful concept to help understand how to pick targets. It always needs context and tweaks to fit situations, every shot is different.
I hope I explained the specific situation above, but I know I’m not as good at explaining it without actually speaking in person.
The wind eviscerated it in a way I was not prepared for. It was not a good shot. You just said a very silly thing in calling it a choke. You’re saying more silly things by assuming you knew where I was aiming (or not paying attention to where I was actually aiming).
Boy have I learned that over the years! It’s the one thing (other than my complete inability to chip on bermuda grass) that frustrates me yet gets me to come back every year to try again. I don’t think I’ve ever had a “good” round on a Pinehurst course, yet I still can’t wait to get back because each time I leave thinking “I was soooo close.”
Also, where you line up your feet isn’t what I was talking about. It’s about where is your intended spot for the ball to finish. I’m assuming you wanted it to finish directly on the pin, I’m arguing that it should been about 10-15 feet left of the pin and then you allow the variance to play out how it does.
Honestly don’t even remember. Probably was just trying to mess with him. I think the wind was down and it seemed like a lot of club. It obviously worked.
