Maybe the 17th at Sawgrass should be extended 20 yards or so.... hold on.... they cant play it well even as it is.... maybe there are other ways of making holes difficult than extending them.... hmmmmm
Medinah was probably my favorite major championship layout, aesthetically-speaking, when they played the PGA there in 1999. Something about the tree-lined layouts does it for me, I guess. The winning score wasn't all that low that year (-11 or something I believe), and I'd expect a similar score will prevail again this year. Length isn't really an issue for the guys anymore...they'll still hit plenty of short irons into the greens. It'll be interesting to see how the guys handle that course.
I read somewhere that Rees Jones is most proud of the changes at Medinah. Please note that they only added 100 or 200 yards since the 1999 PGA. I think they changed 7 greens and made the bunkers deeper, so those changes will be far more significant. Unfortunately, they removed close to 300 trees, probably for turf and green reasons.
The key will be the rough and the wind at Medinah. When it is windy, the scores will be high.
Unfortunately, they removed close to 300 trees, probably for turf and green reasons.
Removing trees has become the norm at high-profile golf courses lately, for the exact reason you mention. Augusta National is perhaps the only prominent major course that has made a habit of adding trees lately...Medinah and Oakmont, site of next year's US Open, are great examples of those who've taken trees out.
Let's put water around 95% of every green like #17 at Sawgrass!
The pros are proving that shorter courses won't meet the demands of a major without tricking the courses up. Not that they don't do that anyway but short courses don't have much defense against today's pros.
Did I say that!?
If these guys can miss the 17th at sawgrass, they can miss it anywhere, so the trick is to punish them when they do. The perfectly groomed bunkers and well manicured green surroundings are bound to make for good scores. If you have long heavy grass just off the greens and you have deep bunkers with lips or the likes.... well i guarantee scores would go up.
The pros are showing that as we make courses longers, they can simply hit it further. It doesnt make them hit better shots, just longer ones. What is wrong with trying to force them to hit better and not necessarily longer shots?
If these guys can miss the 17th at sawgrass, they can miss it anywhere, so the trick is to punish them when they do. The perfectly groomed bunkers and well manicured green surroundings are bound to make for good scores. If you have long heavy grass just off the greens and you have deep bunkers with lips or the likes.... well i guarantee scores would go up.
The pros are showing that as we make courses longers, they can simply hit it further. It doesnt make them hit better shots, just longer ones. What is wrong with trying to force them to hit better and not necessarily longer shots?
That's one thing I like about Augusta (and it was definitely a factor this year). On several of the greens, if you missed it by even a yard or a couple of yards, you'd roll off the green, down a steep decline and into a hazard (or it may as well have been one).
The last 5 years or so have given us a new breed of professional player. Bombers that have honed the other parts of their game. Those types are always going to have an advantage, no matter what the course set-up.
Shouldn't that be the point though? To be a great golfer, you should be able to adapt to every situation the course throws at you. Why is it such a problem that great golfers are coming out of the woodwork and conquering the courses?
...maybe there are other ways of making holes difficult than extending them.... hmmmmm
Although it is nice to ramp up the difficulty factor and scoring, I think these changes are designed more to make courses like Medinah, Augusta, Riviera, etc. a tad more well-rounded in that every club in the bag is called on.
With equipment technology exploding in the 90's, and players becoming stronger and more fit, we were beginning to see nothing but 9-irons and wedges into par 4's. That's not championship golf. I think the recent trend to lengthen championship courses has been a very good thing for golf.
The pros are showing that as we make courses longer, they can simply hit it further. It doesnt make them hit better shots, just longer ones. What is wrong with trying to force them to hit better and not necessarily longer shots?
I think the legendary Donald Ross (my favorite course architect) had the right idea. When Ross pondered the question as to which one trait or singular skill most revealed golfing prowess, he decided it is the ability to hit long irons accurately.
No matter what other architectural characteristics Donald Ross built into his famed and fabled courses (and his green complexes are the greatest) he always put a premium on long-iron approaches.
That's one thing I like about Augusta (and it was definitely a factor this year). On several of the greens, if you missed it by even a yard or a couple of yards, you'd roll off the green, down a steep decline and into a hazard (or it may as well have been one).
Well, this is the beauty and genius of Augusta, and courses like the No. 2 course at Pinehurst. And it contrasts so starkly with lesser courses like the TPC Sawgrass (fifth major, indeed )
An errant or misplayed shot should lead to an attempted recovery which demands an even greater display of skill and shotmaking prowess. The heroic recovery, as it is called.
At Sawgrass there are far too many instances where mishit shots are instantly dead, and play is stopped for a drop. This kills the continuity of play and makes for less intriguing golf.
Long, heavy grass just off the greens only serves to make every player hit the same shot when they miss a green. A hack & hope. We've seen that for years in the US Opens. Even the USGA is beginning to understand that giving players options when they miss a green is so much more challenging and exciting to watch than the old hack & hope.
Shorter courses with bowling alley width fairways and rock hard greens that run 15+ on the stimpmeter aren't the answer either. The last 5 years or so have given us a new breed of professional player. Bombers that have honed the other parts of their game. Those types are always going to have an advantage, no matter what the course set-up.
In the dim and distant past, what I have suggested would not have been foreign. Even today, if you look at British and Irish Links, the penalties for missing in the wrong places are severe. Yes, in some instances it does turn into a hack and hope, sometimes you cant even do that much, but the trick is to not go into those places. There are plenty of other areas you can go which would be considered hacking spots by those who dont know them, but (speaking as someone used to playing courses where this can happen) very often there is a reasonably controlled way to play the shot. Reasonable control is all that is deserved, after all you played a bad shot to be there, so you should be punished.
I dont know you could design courses like that in the US, but you can be darned sure that, on any normal spring day, a course like Royal County Down in Ireland will not leave itself open to mid 60's rounds from anyone, even if you are playing off 6800 yard tees!
Well, this is the beauty and genius of Augusta, and courses like the No. 2 course at Pinehurst. And it contrasts so starkly with lesser courses like the TPC Sawgrass (fifth major, indeed )
An errant or misplayed shot should lead to an attempted recovery which demands an even greater display of skill and shotmaking prowess. The heroic recovery, as it is called.
At Sawgrass there are far too many instances where mishit shots are instantly dead, and play is stopped for a drop. This kills the continuity of play and makes for less intriguing golf.
I agree completely about Augusta. Every green had a receptive and in many cases generous landing area/quadrant. If they hit a decent shot they'd hold the green. There were also placements that were more risk/reward.... take the 40 footer or aim for the flag and risk rolling 20 yards off the green for a tough up & down.
Give a major championship field 2 days to practice at Royal County Down and turn them loose. At 6800 yards you'd have to reduce the size of the hole by half to keep that caliber of player from shooting mid 60's
Give the course a 30mph + wind instead, then you would see scores rise. Remember Royal Aberdeen and the Senior Btirish Open last year?
Length can be decieving. Shinnecock was one of the shortest U.S. Open courses we've had in the modern era, and it hasn't exactly been giving up red numbers. St. Andrews was one of the longest major courses they've played on in recent memory, and players ate it up. Four par-5s on Medinah will add a lot of length to the number. Back in '99, it was pretty **** long, too, and -12 won. I look for something around -9 or -10 to win it, depending on the weather it could be lower or higher.
Last edited by stlcard_25 : April 14th, 2006 at 12:52 AM.
Reason: inappropriate language
April 12th, 2006, 12:28 PM
PGA-Medinah: Longest Major Course Yet
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Even the USGA is beginning to understand that giving players options when they miss a green is so much more challenging and exciting to watch than the old hack & hope.
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