European Open 2016

[WautownRob]

As a pro DG Youtube watcher, I think most of the work Spin TV does is really good. Every once in while, they will drop the ball on the quality of a video here and there. But, graphics and video wise, pretty pretty pretty good. And for commentating i think its fine, that ones super subjective. I can see why people expect more though, with the whole DGWT this year. Plus this is a forum to freely express ones opinions. Anyways keep doing what your doing over there Jamie, I enjoy the content! And yes slow-mo drives of the pros is always sweet to watch

 

[Pbmercil]

Now that I've watched the round video In REALLY not a fan of Rick's shot selection on 18. I see no good reason to throw the forehand and bring all that OB into play. Throw the easy backhand hyzer line and go from there. I think Rick lost on shot selection, not shot execution.

 

[lyleoross]

Now that I've watched the round video In REALLY not a fan of Rick's shot selection on 18. I see no good reason to throw the forehand and bring all that OB into play. Throw the easy backhand hyzer line and go from there. I think Rick lost on shot selection, not shot execution.

It seems to me that he does this. He plays almost unconscious making great choices and shots, then he hits a hole, and picks the wrong shot and disc and it kills him. I wonder if he over thinks?

 

[Pbmercil]

It seems to me that he does this. He plays almost unconscious making great choices and shots, then he hits a hole, and picks the wrong shot and disc and it kills him. I wonder if he over thinks?

I'm curious if he threw that same sidearm shot the other 2 rounds and what his results were, I have no idea.

It seems like he really leans on his forehand in some questionable spots. This decision reminds me of his choice to go sidearm on hole 17 at the USDGC last year, which was a huge mistake IMO

 

[@iDiscGolf]

I thought Rick started as a forehand dominant player? I could be wrong, I didn't know him pre-prodigy. Also I did not see the hole in question. Did he play it sidearm in other rounds?

 

[Pbmercil]

I thought Rick started as a forehand dominant player? I could be wrong, I didn't know him pre-prodigy. Also I did not see the hole in question. Did he play it sidearm in other rounds?

Rick has always been forehand dominant for sure. But he's developed a world class backhand over the last couple of years, to the point where he *should* be willing to throw whichever way is better for the shot in front of him. It seems like sometimes he still leans on his forehand in questionable spots tho.

 

[DiscLoser1]

I'm curious if he threw that same sidearm shot the other 2 rounds and what his results were, I have no idea.

It seems like he really leans on his forehand in some questionable spots. This decision reminds me of his choice to go sidearm on hole 17 at the USDGC last year, which was a huge mistake IMO

His drive on 18 in the final round slipped. That is all. Unfortunate.

He threw a monster FH drive in the second round, (Avery said it was the longest drive on 18 that he had seen), there's no footage of his first round drive, that I've seen anyway.

The disc slipped; it's not like he was threading the needle with a FH, although the safer play is a BH. If it hadn't slipped, and he'd ended up where he was in Round 2, he would have had an easy approach for a tap-in birdie, as in Rnd 2.

 

[@iDiscGolf]

Rick has always been forehand dominant for sure. But he's developed a world class backhand over the last couple of years, to the point where he *should* be willing to throw whichever way is better for the shot in front of him. It seems like sometimes he still leans on his forehand in questionable spots tho.

This is what I had thought too. I'm assuming his backhand has surpassed his forehand distance as well. But can throw both with allot of confidence.

Did he throw that shot in other rounds with accurate results? Did anyone else throw rhfh?

 

[Pbmercil]

His drive on 18 in the final round slipped. That is all. Unfortunate.

He threw a monster FH drive in the second round, (Avery said it was the longest drive on 18 that he had seen), there's no footage of his first round drive, that I've seen anyway.

The disc slipped; it's not like he was threading the needle with a FH, although the safer play is a BH. If it hadn't slipped, and he'd ended up where he was in Round 2, he would have had an easy approach for a tap-in birdie, as in Rnd 2.

That's kind of my whole point. Its a big risk reward spot. The risk is going out short and being absolutely screwed, needing to basically hit a miracle just to save par, which is what happened in the final round. The reward is an easy up and down bird, which is what happened in the second round. Is it worth it? Hard to know for sure, but I'm inclined to say no.

 

[DiscLoser1]

That's kind of my whole point. Its a big risk reward spot. The risk is going out short and being absolutely screwed, needing to basically hit a miracle just to save par, which is what happened in the final round. The reward is an easy up and down bird, which is what happened in the second round. Is it worth it? Hard to know for sure, but I'm inclined to say no.

Lol. Best reach out to Ricky and let him know what you would have done...

It SLIPPED. It wasn't a shot that could've/maybe/might've been good. It slipped. If he had thrown BH in Rnd 2, then FH in Rnd 3, I might see your point.

If he threw it BH and it went OB or came up short behind that pine in the layup spot, you'd be questioning why he changed it up.

 

[Pbmercil]

It SLIPPED. It wasn't a shot that could've/maybe/might've been good. It slipped. If he had thrown BH in Rnd 2, then FH in Rnd 3, I might see your point.

If he threw it BH and it went OB or came up short behind that pine in the layup spot, you'd be questioning why he changed it up.

I'm not sure why your so intent on arguing this with me. Your responses do tick me of a bit, because you seem to think I'm talking about the result of one shot, when I'm talking about the dicision to thow that shot regardless of how it worked out. I'm advocating for a different decision. It's about process, not result.

 

[JTacoma03]

That camera is sweet! I'd just like to be able to see the whole body in the frame/slightly zoomed out and not moving, next time around. I love watching the PGA events when they playback the Konica Minolta Swing Vision camera.

I'm with you, I love the Swing Vision!

I'll keep this in my back pocket as the season keeps going.

Just watched the final round back 9. I really enjoyed the coverage, but I will say the commentary seemed a little intrusive for me. I thought all the comments were spot on but the constant play by play was a little too much. I think it would be better if you didn't speak to every shot especially some of the simple placement drives and up shots. Just my 2 cents, like I said the coverage was still enjoyable and I can't imagine how hard it must be to provide commentary on the fly. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the honest feedback. I definitely appreciate it, cheers.

There's definitely room for improvement there, and I'm trying to figure out how it works best. I think it's tough to stay completely silent, but it's also tough to avoid over-talking.

My thought is (and this is more of me waxing philosophically, not trying to argue) that it's a direct result of the style of video. In Golf broadcasts, which that minimalist technique comes from, they're not showing every shot back-to-back-to-back. You will only see the entire round of 1 or 2 people usually, and it's broken up...so the audience is constantly getting fresh context, info, and visuals from other pairings, and when they go back to the featured pair it doesn't feel as repetitive.

I almost wish the final groups could play as 3-somes, and we could do a cut of 6 total people across 2 groups, going back and forth and elminating the boring shots...that would take some TD cooperation though.

 

[lyleoross]

I'm curious if he threw that same sidearm shot the other 2 rounds and what his results were, I have no idea.

It seems like he really leans on his forehand in some questionable spots. This decision reminds me of his choice to go sidearm on hole 17 at the USDGC last year, which was a huge mistake IMO

Sometimes he does the opposite. The hole sets up for a perfect forehand and he goes back. It's really odd.

 

[RistoS]

Ricky birdied the hole twice in the tournament with presumably the same shot selection. His 2nd round sidearm tee shot was excellent and he had a relatively easy birdie there, so I can't really blame him. He simply shanked it.

 

[Flick Maniac]

Day2 recap has Rickys massive FH shot on 18, IIRC. Judge for yourself if you would have gone for it again, especially just after you have parked one on 17 where birdies are few and far between.

 

[lyleoross]

Day2 recap has Rickys massive FH shot on 18, IIRC. Judge for yourself if you would have gone for it again, especially just after you have parked one on 17 where birdies are few and far between.

I thought he bogied 17 day 2? I didn't watch it, but I thought that was what the commentator said.

I think the point being made is that given the layout of hole 18, a forehand is a riskier shot than a back hand. To make it with the fore you are working with the width of the fairway after the dogleg. A back hand gives the corner and that little landing area if you fade out. Clearly, Ricky can make the shot, he did in two rounds, a testament to his skill, but if something goes wrong, there is less forgiveness for an error on the forehand. Should you always play the safe shot? In Ricky's selection, if you make the shot, your second is 100 feet shorter, massive given the size of the green. It is definitely an interesting hole.

Given the wind on day three, I would have gone for the less risky shot, but I'm not Ricky.

 

[lyleoross]

Day2 recap has Rickys massive FH shot on 18, IIRC. Judge for yourself if you would have gone for it again, especially just after you have parked one on 17 where birdies are few and far between.

Just realized, you meant on day three.

 

[DiscLoser1]

I thought he bogied 17 day 2? I didn't watch it, but I thought that was what the commentator said.

I think the point being made is that given the layout of hole 18, a forehand is a riskier shot than a back hand. To make it with the fore you are working with the width of the fairway after the dogleg. A back hand gives the corner and that little landing area if you fade out. Clearly, Ricky can make the shot, he did in two rounds, a testament to his skill, but if something goes wrong, there is less forgiveness for an error on the forehand. Should you always play the safe shot? In Ricky's selection, if you make the shot, your second is 100 feet shorter, massive given the size of the green. It is definitely an interesting hole.

Given the wind on day three, I would have gone for the less risky shot, but I'm not Ricky.

Ding ding ding.

And you and Petey B can question shot selection all you want, but: it was windy on day 2 also (maybe try watching the vids before commenting on them?), and the wind had nothing to do with the drive. He shanked it. It slipped. He crushed it the day before, in only slightly less wind, and he didn't go OB in the final round because he threw a risky FH shot, he went OB because he shanked a drive. It SLIPPED. Tough break.

 

[Pbmercil]

I think the point being made is that given the layout of hole 18, a forehand is a riskier shot than a back hand. To make it with the fore you are working with the width of the fairway after the dogleg. A back hand gives the corner and that little landing area if you fade out. Clearly, Ricky can make the shot, he did in two rounds, a testament to his skill, but if something goes wrong, there is less forgiveness for an error on the forehand.

That's exactly my point. I'm not saying 100% that it was a bad line to take, but I think it was def boarderline.

He shanked it. It slipped. He crushed it the day before, in only slightly less wind, and he didn't go OB in the final round because he threw a risky FH shot, he went OB because he shanked a drive. It SLIPPED. Tough break.

You keep saying this, and while it is true you are missing my point. The point is that when something goes wrong on the forehand line it's much worse. He could have thrown a 95% great shot and still been in the same spot. Its just riskier is all.