Those were somewhat the dog days for golf. Pre Tiger, Phil was still finding his way, just no real superstars.

Also Golf Channel was in its infancy. Don't recall exactly but don't think they were throwing around much money at the time.

Certainly Tig had a large effect on purse sizes, TV contracts, etc.

Couples should have his lifetime supply of Anattabloc confiscated if he doesn't pick Spieth

If we compare PGA Tour to other sports were the salary jumps about the same?

What was Dan Marino making in '96 versus what Peyton is making today.

Or what was Sampras making versus what Djokovic is making for winning a tournament?

Sure Tiger has a big effect as can be seen on this board when he is in contention, but it's not like golf has really outpaced any other sports and he wasn't solely responsible either. There's also the Internet boom\bust and the real estate bubble, and major changes in the quality of equipment all making the game more accessible and enjoyable to more people.

I compared tennis to golf in a post somewhere in this forum when this topic came up before. Golf purses went way up compared to tennis.

Why do you assume that all sports should grow at the same rate?

Well I saw someone say that "I don't think the cost of most things increased almost 4x over that time." when it seems to me that it would make more sense to compare the inflation to similar products rather than things like oil and corn.

I'm watching this "Golf's Greatest Rounds" the 2009 Tour Championship, and the first thought to come to mind is, wtf happened to Sean O'Hair? I realize players have slumps but he's gone completely off the grid the last year or two. Hopefully he'll pull a Stenson or Stricker (or many other pros) and revive his career.

Also, I like the production - the still photos coming back from each commercial break are a particularly nice touch - but wish they would show more events that had close / interesting finishes. They tend to match a past tournament with wherever they are playing this week, but often the tournament isn't very compelling and "Golf's Greatest Rounds" is a misnomer.

He quit working with Foley 2 years ago and its pretty tough to look at where Foley's other students are today vs Sean and not really question that decision.

Also I wish they would cut out a lot more of the fluff in the "Greatest Rounds" shows. Just show us lots of golf shots. Lots of them.

Agreed. I love the idea of the show, have a season pass on my DVR, and have seen most of the ones shown thus far. That said, do they really need to be 3 hours long?

A lot of times I'll flipping through my DVR list and think, "cool, let's watch GGR", then I see the 3 hour run time and it's often just too daunting to even want to start.

Its perfext to fall asleep to though.

The last ggr I saw was Rory roflstomping the US Open at Congressional.

Like someone mentioned, not a very thrilling finish, but entertaining either way.

Picks will be announced today!

Here's the post I did: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=743

I'm guessing Furyk and Spieth.

Yeah I have no idea what to expect. There was an article that said no chance Spieth is a pick but I don't think Freddy can possibly be that dumb. Would hate to see Furyk picked though. Id like Spieth and Stricker just because they are my 2 favorite players out of the players with a chance

I don't see how he doesn't pick Webb and I think either Spieth or Furyk

He qualified I thought

Edit: Yeah 7th

Ah yeah you are right, I like the Simpson pick then along with Spieth

What time?

2 PM ET

Willing to wager $100 he doesn't pick Stricker, I DGAS who escrows.

Don't tell me I'm not willing to bet.

BO

smh bo

Ah, thanks. Want him to succeed because he seems like a nice enough kid (although maybe not a "kid" anymore, he's probably 30 or older by now) and that nonsense with his father was totally ridiculous.

I'm the opposite, I like that they don't completely mangle the broadcast to get it down to an hour or so, or even 30 minutes as they have done in some instances. Would rather see it as close to its original production as possible, even if that means lulls in action. I'm usually doing something else anyway and have it on in the background, or if I've recorded it I can just power through as needed. It's better for seeing everything unfolding to the final outcome rather than just focus on the eventual winner and one or two challengers.

So Spieth should be a no-brainer. He's playing the best, but more importantly than that, he's part of the future of US golf and getting him some experience here should count for something.

The second pick is interesting. As long as it's not Furyk basically. I kinda like DJ over Webb for the sole reason of how far he hits it being fun in match play.

I don't want him to pick Furyk but I'll still guess it's Spieth and Furyk.

There's just too much media pressure for him to pass over Spieth. And once he chooses the youthful Spieth, it will be easy for him to get an old guy in there in Furyk. They said Furyk went 5-0 in 2011 for Freddie so I think he throws him a vine. And all the media will talk about is Spieth so he won't really take any heat for selecting Furyk after his poor Ryder Cup.

Webb is 11th, but ZJ squeeked in so he's already got the Bible belt viewers covered.

BOOOOM SPIETH.