Ok, I didn’t mind the “not so perfect-looking” conditions that the USGA delivered as promised for the Open. Remember, Prez Hyler is touting a more sustainable direction in golf course maintenance, and I’m all for that. What I don’t understand is why the US Open courses play at times like miniature golf, with balls landing on the green and then rolling 30 yards backwards into the rough when it wasn’t back-spinning to begin with. A little brown grass for sustainability is one thing…goofy golf where players can’t even aim at the flag with a wedge borders on ridiculous.
I, for one, do not enjoy watching the best players in the world playing safeties all day as they try to avoid making a 9. There’s trying to “identify” the best player (the USGA’s purported goal) and then there’s taking the skill out of it and having blind luck being the most important component in grabbing the big trophy on Sunday.
My challenge to the USGA (like they care) is to continue to promote sustainability and more realistic expectations from the golfing public while maintaining the reasonable playability of a particular layout. Meaning, give a player a chance to actually make a birdie on purpose, not by accident when a 50-footer happens to find the hole.
Congrats to Graeme McDowell for surviving the USGA’s version of waterboarding.
June 21, 2010 at 11:28 pm
I agree completely. The best players in the world should be able to have a reasonable birdie chance when they hit a good shot. Risk/reward on tee shots or pin seeking approaches is one thing, but shots that roll 40 yards down the fairway when they were barely moving when within 15 feet of the hole are not fair nor fun to watch.
June 22, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Disagree sorry. Did you not watch the open? Players missed fairways, hit into bunkers and missed makeable putts. There is no excuse for things like Tiger bogeying the very easy Par 5, 6th hole. Stop blaming the course, players didn’t step up.
June 23, 2010 at 12:38 am
Chris, I’m not talking about players hitting bad shots. Those should be penalized. I’m talking about Ernie and Phil hitting balls onto greens with no backspin that nonetheless rolled back thirty yards off the green. I’m talking about Tiger hitting a drive right down the middle of the fairway only to see it roll and bounce 50 yards until it falls off of a cliff. I’m talking about the best players in the world having a wedge in their hands and not being able to even think about going at the flag because of the pin placement and the rock hard greens. I’m saying that the USGA is penalizing good shots as well as bad. And yes, I did watch the Open.
July 14, 2010 at 5:33 pm
On the greens I can agree to a degree. I only saw the Sunday final round, when digital TV was available, and didn’t see that many awkward bounces, but you have to remember what it is that you do not see. People were taking a lot of club to try and reach the greens. This was proven by the last few groups. It isn’t easy to stop a mid -long iron, it has never been easy to do so either. If you are going for the green, you have to consider landing spot and slope of the green. Sometimes safe is the best option available.