19th Hole

The most annoying thing in golf

Published

8 months ago

Sep 23, 2025

Slow play? Unrepaired divots and ball marks? Endless expeditions into the woods to search for lost balls? Unsolicited swing advice? No beverage cart sightings on the front nine? For GolfWRXer @larrybud, none of these things rise to the level of “the most annoying thing in golf.”

Instead, the veteran forum member with more than 12,000 posts under his belt was compelled to fire up a forum thread to vent about another golf-related subject: “Dumb/poor pin positions.”

Interesting. Tell us more, @larrybud:

“I will die on this hill: Dumb/poor pin positions.

“5th hole at my club yesterday, pin is so close to the false front and green speeds so high, that balls cannot stay on the green. One playing partner had a putt, BARELY missed it on the HIGH side (if the green were flat he would have ended a foot from the hole), and it rolled off the front of the green. Balls impossible to stop when going down hill.

“Every pin setter should get the bubble level app on their phone, and measure 3′ around the hole in 4 spots and make sure it doesn’t go over a certain percent grade (that value depending on their green speeds). At our club, anything > 2% and the ball will not stop going downhill.

“Putting the pin there does NOTHING for the quality of play, and in fact only slows things down.”

I mean, annoying, yes. Certainly. But the most annoying thing? Interestingly, there’s a great deal of agreement in the thread.

@NewtoGolf19: “Totally agree. We sometimes have a pin placement on #9 that is a joke (not in a funny way). You could putt uphill, and if you don’t make the putt, it rolls right back to you. I would play mini golf if I wanted to.”
@joeconn agrees: “Larrybud, I’m with you 100%. The only 2 times I tossed a club this season were due to pin placements. Not proud of that, just being honest. I enjoy hard, fair, pin locations. Close to a ridge is fine for me.”

With a word from the pin-cutting side, @Liquidfire says:

“I’ve been a superintendent and currently cut cups at my local course part time. I’ll echo what others have said here: it comes down to training. Ultimately it falls to the superintendent to follow behind the crew before play goes out and QC the setup.

“At a minimum a guy will be given a cup cutter and an explanation of a grid system (front, middle, back or a numbered grid) and turned loose. I wouldn’t let anyone cut cups without working with them for at least a week or two. Discussing green slopes, pin difficulty, pace of play, etc…”

@James the Hogan Fan with perhaps the strongest words of all on the matter

“I’m actually leaving my club over this. Not just the hole locations (though I have wondered aloud if the staff knows a flag can be more than 8 feet from the edge of a green) but that a number of the greens only have 2-3 possible locations due to the slopes, and those locations are borderline.

“…Point is, every green, most hole locations if you’re outside 10′ you’re putting extremely defensively. I’m not really a fan of a ball that missed three yards left and on the green being punished as severely as a shot that missed 30 yards right (automatic 3 putt down a tier)

“It’s just made the game unfun to play.”

For more replies, and to see other nominees for the most annoying thing in golf, check out the thread.

And if you’re not a member of the GolfWRX forums, join today!

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”