Hi All,
Been reading with interest the discussions about the pro's and cons of handicaps, tiers and ratings. Some really good debate there.
Personally I think RyanS has a great idea that I think could be worked up - one maybe WGT should look at getting involved with to set the whole game up. The WGA Tour Card. I think it has huge potential - Qualifying school - Gain your WGA Tour card and play on the Tour. Similar PGA, Nationwide etc etc etc instead of tiers you play the different tours based on your level of competance.
Oh yeh - and the dreaded deviation issue. For me I think its a good thing, humans are not perfect. In the real world (sorry for the reference) we cant hit a perfect score, no matter how good we are. In the virtual world you can - work out the course, do your calcs, hit the line on every shot and birdie every hole. It can be done. The top players would be 18 under on every round - thats not realistic is it ?
So I'm all for keeping the deviation, its the same for all players so what does it matter. Yeh its annoying, but... How many times have we seen Pro's turn to their caddies in utter disbelief at a bad shot. It wasnt me, I hit it perfectly - it must have been something else. Maybe the club, maybe the ground, the lie - or just maybe it was the dreaded deviation LOL.
I'm Pro tier and play pretty consistent (if somewhat unexciting) golf, irrespective of the dreaded deviation. Its swings (pardon the pun) and roundabouts for me. I mishit many shots in a round, some actually turn out really much better than I could possibly hope for, others dont, yet I still score within a couple of shots every round. Its not the deviation thats stopping me improving - its just me.
Anyway - just my 2bobs worth on the issue.
Cheers Doug