Mickelson's "Exhaustive" Medinah Search

Ed Sherman reports on Phil Mickelson's quest to find some semblance of design character at Medinah. Accompanying Phil were his caddy, dad and of course, senior advisor to The People's Champion, Dave Pelz.

"They broke down every green complex," [Medinah Head Pro Mike] Scully said. "They looked at every possible putt, and every possible chip or bunker shot. Then he practiced those shots. He studies it hard. It was very impressive."

 

Tiger Wishes They Played Courses Like Medinah All The Time

Ed Sherman shares the nitty gritty on Tiger's test drive around Medinah. His caddie:

 "He said about six or seven times, `I wish we played courses like this all the time,'" Conklin said.

How far into his PGA press conference before we get the dreaded "it's all right in front of you" line? 

Unprecedented Multi-Platform Simulcast!

From the folks at TNT:

In a first for a U.S. golf event, Turner Network Television (TNT) and PGA.com, one of golf’s leading interactive Web sites, will partner to bring golf fans inside the ropes with 11 hours of live coverage featuring TNT and CBS’ on-air announcers, camera coverage and editorial content as they call the 2006 PGA Championship from Medinah (Ill) Country Club. The coverage tees off on Thursday and Friday, August 17 - 18, with PGA.com simulcasting six hours of TNT’s on-air content with coverage from 2 – 5 p.m. ET for both the first and second rounds. Also, PGA.com will webcast five additional hours of bonus coverage from the first two rounds of the championship. The exclusive bonus coverage will stream on Thursday and Friday from 12:30 – 2 p.m. ET, and then again on Saturday and Sunday from 10 – 11 a.m.  TNT broadcast partner CBS will follow late-round coverage on Saturday and Sunday to the championship’s conclusion.
Oh yeah, I'm up at 7 a.m. on PGA Sunday to watch that!
 

Here's the money quote:

“One of the benefits of providing six hours of simulcast coverage on Thursday and Friday is to build interest and viewership of the PGA Championship on TNT,” said David Levy, president, Turner Sports. “This landmark multi-platform experience is the perfect example of how, with the help and tremendous access provided by our friends at The PGA of America, we can leverage our expertise and technology to enhance our network coverage giving the fan the most complete two-screen experience. We wanted to debut this big idea at a big event, and what could be better than to do so at a major championship."
And I knew sticking with AOL would finally pay off:
In addition to the live coverage on TNT and PGA.com, AOL.com users will have exclusive access to live video coverage of select par-3 holes.  This coverage will be available free and open on the Web on Thursday and Friday at http://sports.aol.com. Announcers Grant Boone, Beau Estes and Christine Pullara will provide users with an in-depth look and analysis of the world’s greatest golfers as they make their way through the challenging par-3 holes at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club. Also offered is a unique interactive open forum where golf fans can email, log on to chat or send AOL Instant Messages to our anchors and expert analysts.
Does this mean we can IM Bobby Clampett?

 

Lorne On Links

Lorne Rubenstein shares a few thoughts on Hoylake and also writes about some favorite links holes in Canada.

The Harvest Has Begun

Ed Sherman reports on all of the fun Medinah members will have this year playing the No. 3 course.

No. 3 is tough enough as it is without having a forest of rough under the corridor of massive trees. In some areas, it already is 7 inches high.

Some of those par 4s are going to turn into par 44s when the amateurs try to hack their way out of high stuff, provided they can find their golf balls.

"Our ball revenue in the pro shop should go up," Scully said.
Oh boy, don't give those manufacturers any ideas!
In addition to the rough, for those who truly like punishment and want to play from the back tees, players will find an added bonus on the fifth and 14th holes.

After watching the pros launch bombs at the PGA at Baltusrol last year, tournament officials decided to push back the tees on both par 5s.

The fifth is 20 yards longer at 550 yards, and the tee box was moved over to the left to bring the fairway bunkers more into play. The 14th was lengthened by 25 yards, pushing it back to 610 yards. It will require a poke of 240 yards just to carry the water, and a blast of about 350 yards to reach the top of the hill on the fairway, affording a look at the green.

All told, Medinah now will play to 7,561 yards, the longest in major championship history.

Makes you just really want to host a major, doesn't it?

Medinah's MacKenzie Bunkers

The PGA of America announces that Medinah will be the longest course in major championship history this August. And even better, they have MacKenzie/Tillinghast bunkers.

A world-class field of 156 will converge Aug. 17-20, 2006, at the 88th PGA Championship, competing on the 7,561-yard, par-72 layout, which will be the longest course in major Championship history. (See chart below).

The Championship will be the fifth major to be contested at Medinah, following the 1999 PGA Championship, won by Tiger Woods; and three U.S. Open Championships (1949, 1975, 1990).

"I think the players will notice a different golf course from 1999 when they come here," said Jones. "When players return here, they're going to really see a different golf course, a golf course that really has more definition."

The Jones' restoration featured the removal of 300 trees, which allowed for more of the original Tom Bendelow design to be in play, and eliminated "blind" shots on the first and eighth holes. Additionally, the tee at No. 17 was moved back, the green positioned closer to a pond; and the 18th green was elevated to require a more precise approach shot.

Nice irony there...Bendelow designs it with blind shots, they're restoring his design, and eliminating the blind shots! Sorry...the best part:

"We have classic old-style sculptured bunkers, which are like A.W. Tillinghast or [Alister] Mackenzie bunkers," said Jones. "So it has much more character. The bunkers are deeper, the green contours and sizes of the seven greens that we did are complimentary to the greens that were originally here. I'm very pleased with the results."