6th Hole Winged Foot Then And Now: 2020 U.S. Open (So Far) vs. 1929 Playoff

/

The short par-4 sixth features such a simple design and yet remains one of the world’s best short par-4’s, even with the fairway shrunken down to counter advancements by today’s physics majors.

Through two rounds of the 2020 U.S. Open, notice how No. 6 played depending on the hole location. The more players tried to drive it, the worse they played it. (3.806 v. 4.028 scoring avg difference).

Screen Shot 2020-09-19 at 10.09.01 AM.png

Yet only a few who laid up in round 2 made birdie, perhaps due to the tricky angle from the fairway center. (The fairway has been moved in on the right.) Those who got their tee shot just in front of the green fared best:

Screen Shot 2020-09-19 at 10.08.49 AM.png

A close up view from round 2 where the best lay-up spot is now rough:

Screen Shot 2020-09-19 at 10.31.29 AM.png

Jump back in time to one of the 1929 U.S. Open’s 36-hole playoff rounds documented by The American Golfer. You can see how much wider the course was and see the role rough plays today for those laying up in what was once fairway. You can also see that Bobby Jones hit a 300-yard drive, to which O.B. Keeler told spectators that it was all in the agronomy. Al Espinosa bogeyed the hole after a tee shot into the fairway bunker.

Screen Shot 2020-09-19 at 10.27.05 AM.png