# US Open 2015 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 18, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880 "2015-06-18T19:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/21 "2015-06-21T07:01:58Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Y > > What I’m not liking is Fox’s coverage. How about the “tracker” that follows the trajectory of the ball after its driven? Reminds me of when Fox put the blue glow around the puck when they carried NHL. I want to watch golf, not a video game.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/22 "2015-06-21T14:38:18Z")
Now, camera angles, a 3D flight path rendered on a 2D screen can be a bit misleading…but what is striking to me about this shot tracker is that modern-day pros apparently don’t shape their shots like the older pros (apparently) did. No working it from either L-R or R-L, they seem to go for straight shots most of the time (or at least, like I intimated, that is what they seem to be). Jack Nicklaus played his fade by aiming 10 feet to the left of the pin, figuring it will either be 10 feet left (if the fade doesn’t go off at all), stiff, or 10 feet right if he overdoes the spin a bit. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/23 "2015-06-21T16:53:52Z")
Its more difficult to curve the modern golf ball. Nicklaus, Trevino, etc. played with a thin skin Balata Ball which was relatively easy to put side spin. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/24 "2015-06-21T18:12:34Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Its more difficult to curve the modern golf ball. I can do it without trying, and therein lies the problem… I like the tracker. It really helps see where the pros are hitting their drives, e.g. the way they cut the corner at the 7th. DJ especially. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/25 "2015-06-21T19:31:20Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Its more difficult to curve the modern golf ball. So, why does mine slice all the time!?!? 🙂 Cory Pavin sounds remarkably like the guy on NPR on Sunday mornings who does the riddles. Dead ringer! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/26 "2015-06-21T19:38:27Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > How about the “tracker” that follows the trajectory of the ball after its driven? Reminds me of when Fox put the blue glow around the puck when they carried NHL. I want to watch golf, not a video game.:dubious: Yeah, doing that on pretty much every drive is a bit much. I also don’t like it when they do whatever it is they do to the greens to make them more “readable”. It has the opposite effect for me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/27 "2015-06-21T21:31:08Z")
I love the tracker because the ball isn’t easy to see on screen sometimes, and it’s interesting to see how they shape their shots. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/28 "2015-06-21T22:22:01Z")
Spieth needs to pull it together. Maybe too much adrenalin?? Johnson is in the groove. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/29 "2015-06-21T22:29:38Z")
RM sinks a 70 ft putt to go 6 under for the day, 2 off the lead. Holy Shit!! Jason Day looks like death warmed over. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/30 "2015-06-22T01:30:24Z")
Grace hits his tee shot OB on 16. I hate to see someone win it this way, but that’s golf!! ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/31 "2015-06-22T01:31:55Z")
Ian Poulter [Instagram photo](https://instagram.com/p/4Nmq2zpg2V/) of one of the greens, along with an apology from him to the fans, about how bad the greens are. He’s right: this is shit, provided the rest of the greens on the course look like that one. I worked at a links course that had teething pains, and eventually they ripped up the fescue and seeded it with poa annua (greens) and rye (fairways). But up until that point, it was all happy BS about it being, “a true links experience” and “challenging”, implying that anyone with beef was nothing but a crybaby. Look, I get that the USGA gets off on making the US Open a torture test. The greens need not look like a mushroom farm in order to do that though. Beautiful setting, even with the trains. Looks like it’ll be an exciting finish with Speith and Grace. EDIT: And right as I’m typing, Grace decides to go OB. Speith’s pretty good, isn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/32 "2015-06-22T01:58:52Z")
Oosthuizen shoots 29 on the back 9, and now is tied for the lead after Spieth double bogies 17. Yikes!!! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/33 "2015-06-22T02:01:05Z")
Wow. What a shot onto the green on 18 by Spieth. MAKE. THAT. PUTT!!! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/34 "2015-06-22T02:15:15Z")
Ugh. US Open playoff is 18 holes on Monday (assuming DJ misses his eagle putt). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/35 "2015-06-22T02:18:58Z")
DJ 3-Putts. Holy shit!!! Go Jordan!!! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/36 "2015-06-22T02:20:01Z")
2 down, 2 to go? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/37 "2015-06-22T02:23:01Z")
Can’t believe that he 3-putted that. Is that the same Johnson who grounded his ball in a bunker 7 or so years ago to keep himself out of another US Open playoff? Spieth is pretty obviously the real deal. And this is the closest that a US Open course has ever mimicked a British Open one…see you in St. Andrews in a month. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/38 "2015-06-22T02:29:32Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Can’t believe that he 3-putted that. > > Is that the same Johnson who grounded his ball in a bunker 7 or so years ago to keep himself out of another US Open playoff? Yes. > [@](#): > > Spieth is pretty obviously the real deal. And this is the closest that a US Open course has ever mimicked a British Open one…see you in St. Andrews in a month. He’s unbelievably good, but he needs to tighten his drives up. If he can do that, there’s no stopping him. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/39 "2015-06-22T03:36:48Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Is that the same Johnson who grounded his ball in a bunker 7 or so years ago to keep himself out of another US Open playoff? Nitpick, he grounded his club (not his ball) in a bunker in the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Incidentally, the 2015 PGA Championship is being held at Whistling Straits. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880/40 "2015-06-22T12:10:18Z")
Good lord, what an exciting finish. Can’t believe folk think golf is less exciting to watch than other sports… But I’ve long been a DJ fan, and I’m not sure how much longer I can continue if he keeps failing to seal the deal. Mortals only get so many opportunities in a career. I don’t mind the shot tracker - especially on this course where I had a really tough time even telling where the fairways or greens were when they were teeing off. Heck, I’d even appreciate some help on the greens. Sometimes couldn’t even see where the cup was. Of course, the classic tension is to not overly rely on such tools. Will be interesting to see what kind of career Spiueth can put together. With the likes of him and Rory, I could imagine anyone over 30 feeling a tad long in the tooth! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-open-2015/722880.md?page=3)