Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press writes today that FedEx playoffs were great, but that the "Super Bowl" was a yawner. Tim Rosaforte in the new Golf World reports on some of the player suggestions.

Based on your letters, you think the whole deal needs fixing. The suggestions are varied, some more serious than others. A sampling:

Play-off? Without a Championship game! Who are Tim and staff kidding? If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Golf has its four majors; enough! Jim Bradshaw Manlius, NY

The final should be match play. Use the FedEx rankings to qualify for the Tour Championship and to seed the players. Bring the top 32 players. Players seeded #1 and #2 -et first round byes. Fourteen play to move on and are joined by the top two seeds. Four rounds of matches later you have your champion on Sunday afternoon, with a lot more excitment, since any of 32 players has a chance at the start of the week. Jim Peplow Chico, CA

Understanding the FedEx Cup is beyond anyone’s comprehension, be that the average golf fan, the PGA Tour professional, and in all probability the coats at the PGA Tour, so let’s change the process:

--All participants keep their earned FedEx points throughout the year.
--Points earned in the last four events would be distributed in the same manner as points are for the four majors and The Players.
--All events would be 72 holes.
--To be eligible for participation a player must be in the top 126 on the FedEx points list before the start of the final four events.
--The second event would include 66 participants. Again, threesomes are a consideration, however twosomes would work well.
--The third event would include 32 participants who would play in twosomes.
--The final event would include sixteen (16) participants again playing in twosomes.

I do believe this would afford Joe Interested Golfer/Spectator an opportunity to keep better track of the year-long process. The top players would be more than likely to stay in the race until the end, or at least have the opportunity to do so, and those are the participants the public wants to see, and the PGA Tour wants to have in the final event. I also believe this would do away with some the mediocrity the event is presently breeding.

We all agree something must be done, as this final event at East Lake is now just another PGA Tour Stop which is too bad considering the venue and the history and the history it brings to the game.
Jon E. Jacobson
Blue Springs, Missouri

The FedEx Cup will not be a true playoff until it is structured so that the winner must win the Tour Championship. Season-long point accrual could be used to determine seedings or other advantages leading to the final tournament. The Final Field would consist of a limited number of qualifiers (The FedEx Finalists) who would start on equal footing. The current system does not need to be tweaked, it needs to be scrapped. The guy who took 44th place in the semi-final and who only had to show up for the final is the champion? You just can’t sell that.
Steve Kartchner
New York, NY

Here's my two cents: Look at the LPGA's ADT Championship for a final format that works. (It's not too far from reader Peplow's suggestion above). To apply to the FedEx Cup, three events qualify and seed 16 players into a match-play final for the bulk of the dough. The biggest names would make sure they made it, so the issue of a "no-name" would be, one hopes, remote. No guarantees, of course, but it beats what happened this year and discourages players from taking a week off from the playoffs, as some did a year ago.

--Bob Carney

There has been a great deal of discussion around the office and among friends about Jaime Diaz's Golf World column earlier this month about golf's sabbatical from Tiger and the lessons it's taught us. One of Diaz's takeaway was that the players of the PGA Tour could do better for their fans:

...the PGA Tour has gotten so black-out drunk with money it has largely forgotten the achievements of Arnold Palmer. Palmer's warmth and accessibility single-handedly thawed the Ice Age of Hogan and set golf on a treasure trail. Jack Nicklaus did his best to follow the example to further enrich the rewards, and soon the financial urgency was gone. During the last 25 years, it has been my observation that the world's best players generally have grown less attuned to the fans, sponsors and media.Bravo to Jaime Diaz (Opinion Sept 5th). Someone has finally put it all in its proper perspective. No, you are not going to get us off of the golf course to watch a bunch of stuck up tour players who think they're doing us a favor allowing us to watch them play.

Among players Jaime named were Tour Championship winner Camillo Villegas, who said in Boston this month: "If you guys would let me go, I could get another workout in," a sentence, Diaz wrote, that the tour doesn't need. He also attributed to Tiger much of the distance that exists between the media and the players today:

Much is asked of Woods, a lot of it unfair. But it would be good if during his break he resolved in the second half of his career to be more like Palmer.

Jaime's views struck a chord with readers, pro and con. Rob Carpenter of Roselle Park, NJ, loved what Diaz had to say.

Bravo to Jaime Diaz. Someone has finally put it all in its proper perspective. No, you are not going to get us off of the golf course to watch a bunch of stuck-up tour players who think they're doing us a favor allowing us to watch them play. And yes, the game desperately needs more Palmers, Mediates and Mickelsons. I attended my first LPGA event (along with my 9 year old daughter) this year--the Sybase Classic--and the women were great. They made us feel like they wanted us to be there. The PGA Tour could use a lesson in public relations from the LPGA and Champions tours.

But Denver reader Ozzie Carlson was having none of it--especially those comments about Tiger:

Possibly you should consider the fact that too many of you sport writers are jerks. Fifty years ago, my brother, Joe Carlson, and I were allegedly the first brothers to start against each other in the Big Ten in basketball. He played for Ohio State and I played for the University of Minnesota. An article appeared in the Minneapolis Star newspaper (then the St. Paul Star). It was a Socratic dialogue between the writer and me, four columns long. However, the dialogue never took place. It was all made up by the writer.

It seems that Golf World writers continue to look for ways to criticize Tiger. Forget his golf accomplishments. Here you have a young man, far beyond his years in maturity, who is contributing to our society and presenting a model image that any parent would want their child to emulate. And yet, other than Bob Verdi, you Golf World writers try to find some way to denigrate Tiger. Pathetic.

Jaime has probably done more than anyone on the staff to bring Tiger, his swing, his work ethic, his point of view, and his career, to life for Golf World and Golf Digest readers. Coming from him, the challenge to Tiger to be more like Arnold is significant, whether you agree with it or not.

--Bob Carney

Gid Pool of North Port, Florida, was so taken with the way Anthony Kim grips down on his clubs that he went out and tried it, to good effect:

After watching Anthony Kim choke down on this clubs and just crush the ball, I decided to play my next round choking down on all my clubs, even the driver. Boy was that a fun round of golf. More solid contact, better distance, straighter shots. I'm hooked. After about 4 holes my playing partners started trying it.

What once looked like a crutch, now looks like "the way to go."

Don't know if you caught it today, but Johnny Miller addressed Kim's gripping down and made this point:

"If you grip down, you don't get the club stuck behind you. Your body can move much faster. It's probably something that could help Tiger", who tends to have that problem," Miller said. "But if you don't have that kind of arm and body speed, you're not going to hit it so far gripping down like that."

Kim apparently began gripping the club this way when he was a kid because his father gave him a hand-me-down set with shafts that were too long for him. He's never been able to make the transition to gripping up.

Lord knows we don't have the swing speed that Kim does, but after watching Kim play as he has at Valhalla and now East Lake, it's easy to see why you'd give it a try. It may be the earliest instruction we ever got in baseball or golf: choke up for more control.

--Bob Carney

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Golf Digest's Golf & Money package in the October issue has received a lot of attention from readers and media alike. Perhaps the most popular section was "The Best Deals in Golf". One Pennsylvania reader writes with a terrific addition:

Your magazine did I nice job listing the 30 best deals in golf, but failed to mention the actual best deal....a free golf course! The Buhl Farm Golf Course , a 9-hole course in Sharon, PA is still free after all of these years. The course is in much better shape then many courses in the area and has a short, fun layout for all ages. PGA Tour legend Arnold Palmer and current PGA Champions Tour player John Cook have both played rounds here.
Bob Greenburg
Hermitage, PA

The Buhl Farm Park, which contains a man-made lake, a performing arts center, baseball and kite fields and tennis courts in addition to the nine-hole golf course and driving range. It's also the home of the First Tee of Sharon.

Buhl Farm Park is a legacy of the Frank H. Buhl family, which established the Buhl Steel Company in the 1896. When Buhl Steel was absorbed by the National Steel Company, Frank Buhl built the Sharon Steel Castings and the Sharon Steel companies, also later merged with National Steel. Frank and his wife Julia never had children, and poured their compassion into philanthropy. Following his death in 1918, his estate gave two million dollars each to the people of France and Belgium to help them recover from the devastation of World War I. Visitors to Buhl Farm Park are asked to keep the Buhl's dream alive: "If Buhl Park has made a contribution to your life, would you consider returning the favor? Your generosity will help perpetuate the park for future generations." A great tradition, and a perfect addition to our "best deals" story. Thanks, Bob.

--Bob Carney

The further we get from this Ryder Cup, the better it looks. I was bothered by the overzealous stoking of the Kentucky crowd by Boo Weekley and captain Azinger, but what lingers is a great competition taken over the by younger generation on both sides, a development that bodes well for the future. Jaime Diaz's piece on Anthony Kim and the other young guns captures that beautifully.

What's more, most of you don't agree that the Americans overdid the cheerleading. (To get a slightly different view, check out the London Times web site. Nice blog throughout the Cup by Justin Rose and great coverage bu John Hopkins and colleagues. Much talk on that site about who should or should not be the next captain of the Euro team).

Here's a typical comment from a New York Golf World reader:

One can clearly see on TV the "disdainful" look that Lee Westwood gave Boo Weekley . There is nothing wrong with Boo trying to get cheers from the people. If I remember it right, Sergio Garcia has always been "the only child" among 11 gentlemen in the past Ryder Cup matches. However, even he did not show much reaction about Boo the same way Westwood did. Although, since both were not in the Saturday morning matches, I can presume he has the same opinion as Westwood. Only, Sergio is more mature and gentlemanly to make it evident on TV.

Let us not take away the sportsmanship in the Ryder Cup. Both captains are professional in their actions specially Azinger when asked about their reactions to the omission of the two in the matches. Westwood used to be one of my favorites, but not anymore. Thanks Sergio for keeping it "cool."

Luzviminda G. Veloso
Ridgewood, N.Y.

We got only one letter on the following subject, but it's a subject that came up more than once among writers in Valhalla, and that's the passing over of Larry Nelson for a captaincy.

Paul Azinger "broke the Ryder curse." Now maybe the PGA will apologize for their major mistake and serious break with PGA tradition for not selecting Larry Nelson (a two-time PGA Champion) as a Ryder Cup captain. When it was "his turn" we were initiating a long losing effort in the Ryder Cup.

Jeff Thomsen, PGA
Boise, Idaho

Nelson not only won two PGA Championships, he had a stellar Ryder Cup record. In three Matches, he went 9-3-1 and was undefeated in singles (2-0-1). In the 1979 Ryder Cup, he had perfect 5-0 record, winning four team matches with Lanny Wadkins and defeating Seve Ballesteros, who would become a European captain, in singles.

--Bob Carney

Based on your letters, you loved the Ryder Cup, thrilled to the phenomenal shotmaking, were happy that the U.S. won, but admired the Euros, too. Unlike the British press, you're not very hard on Faldo at all. Here's a sampling.

Congratulations to Paul and the terrific American side for their Ryder Cup victory! All the pre-event speculation and punditry aside, it is now evidently clear that it’s all about the captaincy. Some past captains of losing sides, although terrific players and honorable committed men, seldom displayed an innovative or revolutionary battle plan. Azinger's strategy was brilliant and proved effective. Faldo's analysis that the outcome was decided by "fractions" has merit, but if the matches were played again tomorrow, the American side would prevail! Enormous credit is due the players who fired the missiles, but it was the "Pilot" who aimed them! Well done, Captain Azinger!

Rod Yeager, PGA
Colonel, USAF (ret)

The post-Ryder Cup press conference at Valhalla by the European team was a class act by the entire team and its captains, especially after a difficult and discouraging day on the golf course.
Congratulation to both teams for the best and most exciting golf I have ever seen on TV. Long live the Ryder Cup!

Dave Hamilton
Shannon, Mississippi

The Americans certainly didn't miss or need Woods. However, I feel that the Euros needed Clarke and Montgomerie, even though they haven't done all that well this year. Congrats to the 'rookies' on both teams. Well done! (Oh, too bad the TV coverage couldn't have been better. There were only 24 players on the course but too much time showing advertising and promos and then to boot adverts on the bottom of the screen).

Ron Field
Morton. Wa.

USA absolutely won the Ryder Cup ......... but not the "Best Dressed Contest". What down right ugly choice of clothing. Particularly on Saturday. The outfits looked like something you would purchase at Wal-Mart or some discount store.

Ed Young
Lakeland, Fl.

RED, WHITE, BOO!

Gene Martineau
Roseville.Ca.

My two cents: You have to admire Zinger, the rookies and those country boys--Boo and Kenny and J.B.--but you don't have to like players leading cheers or the captain saying it's fine to cheer for the other team's misses. Having attended a Ryder Cup at the Belfy, I don't buy that the European fans are so rowdy we ought to consider all this jingoism in bounds. First, they weren't. Second, even if they were, why would we want to repeat that behavior?

As the great football star Jim Brown used say: "Act like you've been there before."

Perhaps now that the "streak" is over, both sides can act like we've been there before.

--Bob Carney

There are two people who were dead right about the Ryder Cup. One was Colin Montgomerie. He said that the rookie contribution to the European team (and the U.S. side for that matter) would be critical. He pointed out that the last time the European side had four rookies, in 2002, those rookies did not lose on the final day and were critical to the home side win. In 2009 the rookies also mattered a lot. Consider:

On the U.S. side, its six rookies had a hand in 12.5 points. Hunter Mahan led with 3.5, followed by Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes with 2.5. The American rookies averaged more than 2 points each.

On the European side, its four rookies accounted for 7 points, for an average of 1.75 each. They were led by Justin Rose, who went 3-1-0.

On Sunday, the European rookies did not duplicate the undefeated performance of the class of 2002. Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell won, but Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson were beaten. On the American side, however, only Steve Stricker lost. Curtis, Holmes, Kim and Weekley won and Mahan halved his match with Paul Casey.

But the responsibility for the European defeat lay not with the rookies. Veterans Sergio Garcia (0-2-2), Padraig Harrington (0-3-1), Miguel Angel Jimenez (0-2-1) and Lee Westwood (0-2-2) bear that responsibility. Together, they accounted for only 3 points.

Faldo's young captain's picks look sound pretty good (especially 4-1-0 Poulter) though he'll get fried nonetheless.

Besides Monty, the other guy who was right this week was Big John Marvel, our new web editor, who said, on the eve of the first day, "I'm telling you: Hunter Mahan will lead the U.S. to victory." Two of us laughed, bet a meal each and taunted John with the quality of the wine we were going to buy with our meals.

Turns out Big John will be picking the grapes, and they won't be sour.

--Bob Carney

Nick Faldo's benching of Sergio Garcia--"he just needed his rest"--and Lee Westwood this morning, which now looks prescient, nonetheless drew some are-you-kiddings from the European press. My favorite is John Hopkins commentary on TimesOnline.

Nick Faldo is off his rocker. He has either gone in the head or his brain has been fried by his rampaging emotions. Or he is inspired.

His foursomes pairings for the second morning of the Ryder Cup do not contain Sergio Garcia who has won eight and halved one of the nine foursomes in which he has played in his Ryder Cup career dating back to 1999. Europe's pairing also do not include Lee Westwood who equalled the record set by Arnold Palmer for the most consecutive matches without a loss - 12.

There might be some justification for omitting Westwood who was suffering from tonsillitis two weeks ago and will have his tonsils out in November and who is said to have been feeling a little under the weather. But Garcia? The heartbeat of past teams, one half of the partnership that salvaged a half point in the morning, the one player who really rubs the Americans up the wrong way in this event? It is the most extraordinary decision of the 16 Ryder Cups that I have covered.

Here is Mike Aitken, blogging for the Scotsman.com.

While it's far too early to burden Nick Faldo with the soubriquet of Captain Calamity, the Englishman's blend of muddled and emotional leadership has yet to do Europe too many favours here in Kentucky.
Trailing 5 1/2-2 1/2 going into today's foursomes, which start at 1pm GMT, the Europeans were flat outplayed on Friday by an American side which established a handsome lead thanks to a mixture of shrewd captaincy and stalwart golf.

Europe's troubles began, of course, with Faldo's wild card selections...

The second topic of conversation for Euro writers was Paul Azinger's comments that it was okay for American fans to cheer European team mistakes. Here is Mike Aitken of the Scotsman:

When asked about the comment, Azinger admitted he'd made the remark but claimed all he was trying to do was establish a level playing field. According to the American captain, the nasty Euros always cheer when the US miss putts while good-natured Americans prefer to clap politely.

Azinger, who has obviously never watched a DVD of Brookline, said: "Essentially, you know, when we go over there, they cheer when we miss. I don't think that the American fans are really into what the Ryder Cup is all about in the fact that, you know, there is that other element. And it wasn't meant to be malicious and I'm really proud that the fans have been absolutely perfectly behaved this morning."

Starting to feel more like a Ryder Cup all the time.

--Bob Carney

Continuing the discussion prompted by Colin Montgomerie's comments about the importance of rookies in the 37th Ryder Cup--there are ten in all--here's the scoring record so far:

After Day One, the American rookies maintain a slight edge over their European counterparts.

After the Saturday morning round, the rookie competition is: U.S. 3-3-4, Europe 3-2-2 or 5 points to 4, with Justin Rose and Owen Wilson helping them narrow the gap.

Paul Azinger, interestingly, will send out two all-rookie teams this afternoon: Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes, along with Steve Stricker and Ben Curtis.

Montgomerie made the point that in 2002, when Europe also played four rookies, those players came up strong on Sunday, not losing a point and leading Europe to victory. It could well come down the rookie factor again tomorrow.

--Bob Carney

Let's follow the argument made by Colin Montgomerie Thursday that rookies could well be the key to this Ryder Cup: There are ten of them in total, six on the U.S. Side, four on the European Side. Montgomerie pointed out that in 2002 the Euros also had four first-timers and that during those Matches, at the Belfry, the European rookies came up big in the Sunday singles, not losing a single match. Nicolas Fasth, who was 0-2-1 for the weekend, tied his match with Paul Azinger. Pierre Fulke halved his match with Davis Love. Paul McGinley halved his match with Jim Furyk and Phillip Price upset Phil Mickelson.

Overall, the rookies were 1-5-4 for the Matches, but won 2 1/2 points on Sunday, with McGinley holing the clinching put on 18 against Furyk.

(It helped that Monty went 4-0-1 in 2002.

After Friday morning's Foursomes, U.S. rookies (Anthony Kim and Mahan were 1 1/2-0). European rookie Justin Rose was 0-1, having lost with Poulter to Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell. Note that only three rookies made the morning Foursomes, with Kim and Mahan joined by Boo Weekley, Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker on the American side; and Rose joined by Graeme McDowell and Soren Hansen on the European side.

--Bob Carney