Official Luthiers Forum!

No one here seems to have mentioned the Ryder Cup, so I guess I'd better not raise the subject.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Ok Colin, rub our nose in it...go ahead...I for one think the Ryder Cup should go back to being exclusively betweeen Great Britain and the US. Good showing by the Europeans.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

OHHHH, Colin! That hurts...You really know how to twist the dagger.

My congratulations to the European Team. They were awesome and "beat us like a red-headed step-child with freckles!"

The Euros played some incredible golf...I've never seen so many long putts drop like I saw especially in the singles matches.

The Euros certainly have a mastery in match play. On paper, the US team members are better golfers, but the intangibles have been in the Euros favor for many years now. I believe they also have a closer bond within their team and always seem to play with more conviction. They obviously wanted it more than the US team. The US needs to really examine their approach to this tounament and change what they are doing...one always needs to change a losing game.

The Ryder Cup is one of my favorite events to watch and even though we had a poor showing, I was very impressed with the golf I saw from the Euros.

Wait till 2008!!!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

JJ I think you have it right, the difference seems to be that the European team seem to WANT to win it, and for many of them they consider it the pinnacle of their careers. Whereas the US players (with exceptions of course, Furyk for instance)seem to want it over so they can get back onto the next tournament. One of the US journalists over here was very scathing of the US players attitudes and said that the only way they would play to their game was if $10m prize was put on the table. Kind of sad.

5 out of 6 wins for Europe now (with similar populations) show that something is wrong with selection or attitude among the US team. There is a suggestion over here that maybe the US team should become the Americas team and include the Canadians, Brazilians, Argentines, Mexicans etc.

Something has to be done or US television will lose interest and the match will be in danger. Even I as a Brit think we need a US win soon, only not too soon.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

There's no question that the individual pressures on players' time influences the pros. I remember a few years back when the Presidents' Cup (US vs. the rest of the world minus Europe) was played in South Africa. On the final day, both teams were all square and it was getting dark. Captains, Jack Nicklaus & Gary Player decided to leave it tied rather than play the following morning. The players had committments that required them to leave that day. It sure left me with a hollow feeling and I was disappointed that the prospect of winning such an event was given a lower priority.

I don't believe that the Ryder Cup will lose enthusiasm in the US with the golf public. It's one of the very few match play events that we compete in and we love the drama of the play. It's far different and a welcome change from the weekly stroke play which are the key money tournaments that the PGA Tour sponsors. The Majors will always be the most important events but I believe the Ryder and President Cup events will remain extremely popular. The pressure to win will increase exponentially unless we stop the bleeding. Our lop-sided record of match play competition will continue to provide fodder for the journalists to beat up on the US team until we get it together...and that criticism is fully justified! I kind of like the idea of including the other Americans (south & north). It sure could shake things up a bit...as long as they are able to qualify under the current point requirements.

It's interesting to see how US golfers perform in individual stroke vs.team match play. Tiger and the rest of the US team were trained on golf as an individual sport and their record shows how dominant they are. When they play in team events, it totally changes the pace of play as well as the psychology of the moment. Perhaps if the PGA Tour adopted a few team tournments, they might be more acclimated to match play once the Ryder Cup event came along. I don't believe it's purely money related...golfers have more integrity and respect for the game of golf than any other professionals do about their respective sport. The historical perspective is important as is the need to win.

Anyway, I'm going to get back to the individual passion of guitar-building. Always great to discuss either of my passions!

Thanks for bringing this up, Colin...I was beginning to slip into denial and repress my disappointment Thanks for the psycho-couch time...I'm feeling better already

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I think we (our American culture) spend way too much money promoting and watching sports, and on entertainment as a whole. If we would put that money into education for our children, and into things that have a greater benefit to our society, we would be a lot more balanced. We need entertainment, but our degree of emphasis on it is shows a serious lack of good priorities as a culture.

I'm sickened by the $1M+ price tags for low-level payed athletes, who claim they need to get better contracts because they have to be able to feed their families. Feed them? they have a hard time buying a house and food for $1 milliona year? Poor fellows. So they refuse to play until they get more money. More money in one year than most of us will ever earn in a lifetime. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I refuse to pay to attend a professional sporting event of any kind, unless it's a local minor-league baseball game. $7 for decent seats is a reasonable amount, otherwise, if it's on tv for free, I'll watch.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Don...You're talking about sports other than golf, of course.

PGA professionals have no guaranteed income.
...They pay their own way to tournaments and cover their own expenses.
...If they don't make the cut on Friday they're out of the money.
...If they do make the cut, then they have to finish high enough to cover their expenses for the weekend.
...Their caddy gets a minimum of 10% of their earnings.
...They pay their own instructors, sports psychologists, promoters, etc. out of their own pocket.
...No pension, health insurance, etc. It all comes out of their pocket.
...If they get injured, they can't compete and don't make money.

Of course, some get endorsement money and Tiger and a few others make more in endorsements than they do from playing. But that's the free market and who cares.

So, be careful when you lump all athletes together. Pro golfers have a totally different situation.

For the most part, I agree with you about team athletes who often have owners over a barrel and usually don't have to perform in order to be paid. But pro golfers are different. I greatly respect that difference.

One more thing...The PGA Tour has donated over $1 BILLION to charities from their events. Compare that to other sports and you'll agree that golf is on a totally different plain.JJ Donohue38986.5605555556

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I blame jet lag!

Don, my friend, it's just show business. No athlete (or other entertainer) will get paid more than the market can bear, so I can't fault them for maximizing their income. Their jobs are hard, and their earning years are short.

On the other hand, I agree with you completely that our nation's priorities are misguided. Some people will spend a couple hundred dollars to see a single sporting event, but complain loudly if their school district asks for a funding increase that would cost them much less than that per year.

Something is definitely wrong, but athletes aren't the reason.