Ever notice how at the US Open it always seems to be as much or more about the course than the golfers?
Whether it’s Winged Foot, the Olympic Club, Brookline or Southern Hills, the USGA is bound and determined to bring the best golfers in the world to their collective knees. As Frank Beard once said, “The Open has boiled down to a contest between the pros and the USGA.”
Historically the pros have been very critical of the USGA in the way the courses have been set up.
By utilizing narrow fairways, brutally penal rough and incredibly fast greens, the USGA has transformed difficult courses into “monsters”.
As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t bother me a bit. It’s a level playing field (OK, not so level) but it’s a great equalizer that demands the most out of every aspect of the games of the top players in the world.
Pros hate unfair tests. There is a thin line between testing a pro and making it look silly. When the putt comes back to your feet because the sun and wind have made the fast green unplayable, everyone fires bullets at the course set up, but it is not an exact science.
My problem with too long rough is that it takes the skill out of recovery.
It is a matter of risk and reward. The golfers who stay out of trouble will do better. Most tour courses look so groomed and manicured that the drive, chip and putt game is king.
I mentioned this before...Winged Foot is set up a lot different than the past few Opens. Before this year, the Open trend was shorter rough, shaved around the greens and lightning fast greens. This year it's completely opposite. The rough is pretty high with very narrow fairways, there's rough around the greens, and the greens aren't as fast as they traditionally are. I think that's why guys like Goosen missed the cut here b/c this really isn't the USOpen we've seen the last couple years. It's more like Pebble Beach or a modern PGAChamp. setup, only much harder.
I agree that I'd like to see skillful recoveries from the rough, but the pros have shown that anything less than US Open rough won't stop them from bombing it and wedging to the green. Finally, we see a course where players pay a price for hitting it into the rough.
June 17th, 2006, 01:44 AM
Bout time.
Finally, we see a course where players pay a price for hitting it into the rough.
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