"They wanted a drivable par 4. They got it."

That's Davis Love talking about the 260-yard 15th.

While I feel for the players having to play the par-3 15th or any hole that long with a green designed for a shot about 75 yards shorter, I couldn't help but laugh seeing three and four irons as the club of choice for those under the age of 35.  And as Bill Fields explains, the guy who shot 63 sums up the best approach. Or is it?

"I'm not a huge fan of playing a 260-yard par 3 with water and bunkers, but like I said yesterday, we all have to play it, we all have to suck it up and try to hit a good shot there," said Stricker. "You're going to see some big numbers there and you're going to see some birdies there. But it's very difficult."

As Bob Sowards, an Ohio club professional who carded a first-round 69 said after parring No. 15 with a 17-degree hybrid and two putts, "I don't play many holes like that."

The hole played to a 3.4359 scoring average, with 9 birdies, 88 pars, 43 bogies, 14 doubles and two others.

It's a shame there isn't a little more fairway leading up to the green so that someone could lay-up. Though I suspect that might tip folks off that it's not the best design ever. But who says you have to hit a green from a par-3 tee?

"Atlanta Athletic Club’s formula of grasses will give rise to many new possibilities."

I think the suggestion in Ron Whitten's story on AAC's new turf about possible new major venues was a little exaggerated (Talking Stick and Whisper Rock?), but there is great importance in what figures to be the relentless talk about Atlanta Athletic Club's Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda greens this week (beats talking about the architecture). Hopefully the talk will turn to considering these grasses for more courses in warm climates where bent greens are needlessly installed.
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Players Praising Royal St. George's, R&A

I've noticed a recurring theme in a few stories about the course: the R&A addressed complaints by widening fairways and keeping the rough tame. Uh, let's give credit where credit is due: the Golf Gods have kept Sandwich dry and therefore, at least based on the player comments I could find, the course is going to present itself well thanks to the lack of tall grass lining the fairways that has become an R&A staple to slow down swelling driving distances.
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Dawson: Today's Higher Trajectory Means More Extreme Bounces!?

The beautiful undulations on the 17th fairway at Royal St. George's. (click to enlarge)John Huggan defends Royal St. George's but shares this peculiar theory of R&A in-house course designer Executive Secretary Peter Dawson, talking about the many harsh bounces found at Sandwich in 2003 and how the R&A has widened out the course since then to address player complaints.
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