"I am 180º opposed to Davis' philosophy to setting the course up 'balls to the walls' for stroke play and then ease way up for match play."

Ron Balicki notes the watering and shortening of Chambers Bay to make it more palatable for day one of U.S. Amateur match play.

Some 700 yards were shaved off for match play, probably making a few players feel they were once again playing “normal” golf.

Seven holes had the tee markers moved up, including the par-4 10th, which was 125 yards shorter. The hole played 308 yards and gave players the option of trying to drive the green with a front-right hole location. (Nevermind that the pin was tucked just behind a bunker.)

“It was shorter and the greens were softer, but don’t let anyone kid you,” said Mike McCoy, a 47-year-old standout amateur from West Des Moines, Iowa. “The course is still plenty tough and you still have to hit precise shots and have some bounces go your way.”

Ryan Herrington writes about the USGA notice describing the greens as "heavily watered last evening" in an attempt to "slightly soften them relative to the firmness of we had for stroke play." Herrington also notes this player observation:

By way of comparison, Scott Langley played at the Royal Portrush in Scotland for the Palmer Cup and at Pebble Beach for U.S. Open at Pebble Beach earlier this summer. When asked about the conditions of those courses compared to Chambers Bay, he noted that each was softer than what he found here at the three-year-old course along the Puget Sound.

The USGA's Mike Davis explains and defends the setup in this interview with Golfweek's Asher Wildman.

However, former USGA setup man and current Champions Tour player David Eger reacted this way to this site's request for comment on what he's seen at Chambers Bay after a 79.25 stroke play scoring average.

I am 180º opposed to Davis' philosophy to setting the course up "balls to the walls" for stroke play and then ease way up for match play.  Why the USGA considers itself the leader for things such as "faster play," when a course it purposely sets up at 7700 yards, hard as a brick and takes nearly six hours to play, is just downright fraud.

Now, neither Eger nor I am are at the event, but based on hearing from a lot of people today and watching on television, here are two reasons why the setup at Chambers Bay concerns me.

Reason No. 1: USGA President Jim Hyler is on a noble push to reduce water usage in the game and make brown the new green. His message is vital and the intentions pure. So any kind of perception that firm, fast and brown creates goofy golf could be damaging to the message and set the agenda back years.

Reason No. 2: The USGA and Shinnecock Hills are talking again and it seems likely the Open will go there when the next available date is announced. But you have to figure someone there is watching this week and could wonder if it'll be deja vu all over again in 2018. I think we'd all like to see it return to the Open rotation as soon as possible.