snuffy
06-21-2009, 10:23 PM
Let’s putt to the 2009 chase
Oklahoma State Cowboys must stay on course, pay attention to details
http://newsok.com/lets-putt-to-the-2009-chase/article/3379612?custom_click=lead_story_title
By Scott Wright
Published: June 22, 2009
STILLWATER — There’s a running joke around the sports department of The Oklahoman — initially a product of the sometimes overdramatic but always entertaining antics of my predecessor on this beat, Mike Baldwin — in which the degree of difficulty for a team to win a particular game is evaluated by comparing it to the length of a putt on a golf course.
It’s a simple analogy: The tougher the game, the longer and more difficult the putt that symbolizes it.
So in honor of golf’s U.S. Open being held over the weekend, I offer you this breakdown measuring the difficulty of Oklahoma State’s 2009 football schedule by putt length.
Sept. 5 vs. Georgia, 2:30 p.m., ABC
→Length of putt: 12 feet, but it’s downhill, so it could get away from you fast if you’re not careful.
Sept. 12 vs. Houston, 2:30 p.m., FSN
→Length of putt: Uphill seven-footer. Make sure you go hard enough to get it there.
Sept. 19 vs. Rice
→Length of putt: Five feet, straight in. Stay focused, and you’ll be fine.
Sept. 26 vs. Grambling State
→Length of putt: Not a two-inch tap-in like many opponents from the FCS level (formerly I-AA), but it’s not really a tester, either.
Oct. 10 at Texas A&M
→Length of putt: Have you ever been putting next to a pond full of ducks that won’t stop quacking? It doesn’t make the shot any tougher, but it drives you crazy. Welcome to Kyle Field. This one’s a flat five-footer, but the green is surrounded by 90,000 ducks quacking in unison. And some of them have swords.
Oct. 17 vs. Missouri
→Length of putt: A pretty straight 10-footer, but you sank a much tougher putt on this hole last time you played. Don’t let that make you overconfident.
Oct. 24 at Baylor
→Length of putt: 12 feet, and it’s hard to read the break. Pay attention to details, or you could unexpectedly leave this one hanging on the lip.
Oct. 31 vs. Texas
→Length of putt: A fairly flat 22-footer. Long enough to make it a challenge, but straight enough to make you feel like you can knock it in the heart of the cup.
Nov. 7 at Iowa State
→Length of putt: A four-footer with just enough break to make you a little nervous.
Nov. 14 vs. Texas Tech
→Length of putt: A 10-footer through the windmill. Because I doubt Mike Leach plays at golf courses that don’t have windmills.
Nov. 19 vs. Colorado, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
→Length of putt: Eight feet and it won’t turn much. Of course, you’re typically a Saturday golfer, yet you’re sneaking this round in on a Thursday evening, so you didn’t get as much time on the practice green as usual.
Nov. 28 at Oklahoma
→Length of putt: A 25-foot double-breaker. You’ve got the talent to sink it. Just make sure your hands, shoulders and mind are all working together, performing at their peak. It’s a high-pressure putt — maybe with a championship on the line — so there’s not much room for error.
I am chalking this story up to the boredom and crazies of waiting for football that a lot of us are feeling.
Oklahoma State Cowboys must stay on course, pay attention to details
http://newsok.com/lets-putt-to-the-2009-chase/article/3379612?custom_click=lead_story_title
By Scott Wright
Published: June 22, 2009
STILLWATER — There’s a running joke around the sports department of The Oklahoman — initially a product of the sometimes overdramatic but always entertaining antics of my predecessor on this beat, Mike Baldwin — in which the degree of difficulty for a team to win a particular game is evaluated by comparing it to the length of a putt on a golf course.
It’s a simple analogy: The tougher the game, the longer and more difficult the putt that symbolizes it.
So in honor of golf’s U.S. Open being held over the weekend, I offer you this breakdown measuring the difficulty of Oklahoma State’s 2009 football schedule by putt length.
Sept. 5 vs. Georgia, 2:30 p.m., ABC
→Length of putt: 12 feet, but it’s downhill, so it could get away from you fast if you’re not careful.
Sept. 12 vs. Houston, 2:30 p.m., FSN
→Length of putt: Uphill seven-footer. Make sure you go hard enough to get it there.
Sept. 19 vs. Rice
→Length of putt: Five feet, straight in. Stay focused, and you’ll be fine.
Sept. 26 vs. Grambling State
→Length of putt: Not a two-inch tap-in like many opponents from the FCS level (formerly I-AA), but it’s not really a tester, either.
Oct. 10 at Texas A&M
→Length of putt: Have you ever been putting next to a pond full of ducks that won’t stop quacking? It doesn’t make the shot any tougher, but it drives you crazy. Welcome to Kyle Field. This one’s a flat five-footer, but the green is surrounded by 90,000 ducks quacking in unison. And some of them have swords.
Oct. 17 vs. Missouri
→Length of putt: A pretty straight 10-footer, but you sank a much tougher putt on this hole last time you played. Don’t let that make you overconfident.
Oct. 24 at Baylor
→Length of putt: 12 feet, and it’s hard to read the break. Pay attention to details, or you could unexpectedly leave this one hanging on the lip.
Oct. 31 vs. Texas
→Length of putt: A fairly flat 22-footer. Long enough to make it a challenge, but straight enough to make you feel like you can knock it in the heart of the cup.
Nov. 7 at Iowa State
→Length of putt: A four-footer with just enough break to make you a little nervous.
Nov. 14 vs. Texas Tech
→Length of putt: A 10-footer through the windmill. Because I doubt Mike Leach plays at golf courses that don’t have windmills.
Nov. 19 vs. Colorado, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
→Length of putt: Eight feet and it won’t turn much. Of course, you’re typically a Saturday golfer, yet you’re sneaking this round in on a Thursday evening, so you didn’t get as much time on the practice green as usual.
Nov. 28 at Oklahoma
→Length of putt: A 25-foot double-breaker. You’ve got the talent to sink it. Just make sure your hands, shoulders and mind are all working together, performing at their peak. It’s a high-pressure putt — maybe with a championship on the line — so there’s not much room for error.
I am chalking this story up to the boredom and crazies of waiting for football that a lot of us are feeling.