Merion Fairway Contours

So with all of this talk about Merion's meticulous restoration work to get the course resembling 1930, no one seems to mention the chintzy fairway gerrymandering to mask how short some of the holes would play if they had 1930 fairway contours.

For starters, what is this year's wood chip nursery running up the left side of 14 to force the players to play way out to the right?  Note in this 1930 aerial photo (left) how the 14th fairway hugs the road on the left.  Today there appears to be 10 yards of wood chips (or whatever that is) and another five or six yards of rough between chip nursery and fairway.

Also check out the photo of #16 (right) and how the fairway hugs the left fairway bunker. There looks to be 10-15 yards of rough to the right of that same bunker this week. As with #14, someone is trying to force the players out right to make the hole play longer because, well...the kids are just really working out a lot!

FYI: The lines indicate how Bobby Jones played the holes in his 1930 U.S. Amateur qualifying rounds.

And FYI II: The 14th green played today is not in the same location as the green site used in 1930. The green was shifted for the 1934 U.S. Open, and never restored to its original location. Same deal with the second green.

Golf Magazine Top 100 Question 3

No listing of panelists, no explanation of criteria. There is a comment in the September issue that a visit to golfonline.com will allow someone to see "how we select the Top 100 in the World and the U.S."  But not yet.

Still posted is the 2003 list of panelists. And it's still a woefully low 86 voters. Perhaps they'll post the 2005 panel this year (though it should appear in print).

Hopefully the panel will top 100 voters this time around so that we can see who is so infatuated with Rees Jones. And so that some courses get, oh, I don't know at least five votes every two years.

Merion Day 4 Vol. 2

USGA.org has a nice summary of the quarterfinalists at Merion, maintaining the fine job the web site has done covering the event.

Here are the Thursday interviews from the U.S. Amateur.  And at the Buick (Hartford edition), Pepperdine's Michael Putnam explains how and why he turned pro, after playing a practice round at Marion (yes, that's the ASAP transcript spelling...just like the Thomas course in Massachusetts).

Merion's Open Dream**

William Gildea in the Washington Post offers a lengthy overview of Merion's quest to get a U.S. Open.

"Is the course long enough? I believe it is," David Fay asked and answered himself. "They have lengthened their traditional long holes to the point they are really long. It's a lot closer to 7,000 yards than one thinks. And they have sexy short holes, [par] 4s and some 3s."

And regarding judgements about whether the course is suitable for an Open, look to the scores. What else is there?

"Stroke play is a factor," said Bill Iredale, Merion's general chairman. "If many of the young players come in with 65s, then maybe the course is not difficult enough for the pros."

You know, why don't they just stop this silliness and award the 2013 Open to Merion? So the USGA make $15 million less one year?  Is the money that important to them?

Wait, I'm asking rhetorical questions now just like the Executive Director. Oh no!

** Did you catch the Walter Driver interview during Thursday's coverage? Spellbinding as always. Despite attempts by Dan Hicks to setup him up for a "Merion is back" home run, Driver took the pitch and focused on the lack of space to provide the experience for all of the people who want to see the Open. In other words, not enough gallery and corporate tent space. And it sounds like a no-vote from Driver.

Another Flogging Article

Bill Livingston in The Plain Dealer of Cleveland writes about flogging and the impact of power in golf.

Golf Magazine Top 100 Question, Vol. 2

Looking at the architect credits next to the current Golf Magazine Top 100 lists, it's surprising how many of the listings are inaccurate or missing key original design contributions.

It'd be nice if, say, William Flynn got some credit for his extensive to shape Merion into the course we know today.

Same for Press Maxwell, who did 9 holes at Prairie Dunes. How about a little something, you know, for the effort? The Prairie Dunes listing simply says "Maxwell, 1935-56" (meaning dad, Perry, who did the first nine holes that opened in 1937). Perry died in 1952, five years before the second nine opened in 1957.

Mike Clayton is not included in the credits for the newly opened Barnbougle Dunes. (Actually, it's listed as Barnbougle, which definitely is not its full name.)  That's like listing Sand for Sand Hills.

Then there are the incorrect years. (Torrey Pines, Bell, 1926? Try William F. Bell, 1957). Hey, they were related.

And one of these days, some magazine will get the Riviera opening year right (1927) or that L.A. Country Club-North was Fowler in 1921, Thomas/Bell 1928.

Why isn't Fazio listed at Augusta National (along with about 40 other people)? Or what about the parade of stars that have been through Bel-Air and Quaker Ridge? Only Trent Jones is listed next to Tillinghast for Quaker Ridge.

Again, no big deal except to the courses themselves or whoever it is that put the listing together (the magazine doesn't say).

Yet if either Rees Jones or Robert Trent Jones did restorative or non-restorative work at your course, they are likely listed. (Well, except Baltusrol Lower, where Rees is mysteriously left off, but he is included on the Upper listing!)

If an architect mangled a classic badly enough, he gets credit. Ex: Fazio at Oak Hill and Inverness even though no one likes his additions.

But then folks who do restoration work are only mentioned a handful of times for no apparent reason other than someone thought to include them (Doak at Yeaman's Hall, Silva at Baltimore CC). Why not Doak at Valley Club or San Francisco, or Silva at Seminole, or Hanse at Plainfield, or Coore/Crenshaw at Riviera, etc...

Meanwhile Rees Jones is listed at Bethpage and The Country Club, which were sold to us as restorations (or were they?). Robert Trent Jones is listed at say, Olympic Club, while original contributors Willie Watson and Max Behr are not included. And Trent pops up at Baltusrol, Congressional, Interlachen, Oak Hill and Oakland Hills, but not Augusta National where he added a pivotal hole?

Not only is the listing inconsistent and confusing, there is a troublesome aspect to it as well. It could (or maybe already has) sent the message to architects that the only way to get your name on a ranking list is to make changes.

Just restoration? That won't get you listed. Changes? There's always hope.

Most of the courses on this list do not need to be changed. Restoring a few features? Sure. Major changes, no way.

After all, they're the best courses in the world. Right?

Sampson on Jones

Curt Sampson in the new Golf World writes about the toll the Grand Slam took on Bobby Jones. I'm currently reading Sampson's The Slam, from which I believe this article is excerpted. The book is quite good.

Merion Day 4 Vol. 1

Golfweek's Dave Seanor previews the round 2 matches at Merion, providing some insights into the combatants.

Another Week, Another Major

The Jeld Wen, Jen Weld, whatever it's called, wraps up the Champions Tour major season. Pretty soon they're going to have more majors than regular events on that Tour.  I think I'll stick to the Amateur at Merion.

Merion Day 3

Wow, Merion looked really good. Imagine how great it would look with fairways!

Seriously, NBC/The Golf Channel made up for their less than stellar coverage of the Walker Cup by doing an excellent job on day one. Great camera work, aerial fly overs and solid commentary from the on-course reporters. Though I don't know about the story Gary Koch was given on the four experimental approaches taken with the Merion bunkers during the renovation (uh, wasn't it more like trial by error?).

Here are the round 1 results. And here's the match play tree. Note the match up of fifty-something George Zahringer vs. 16-year-old Oliver Fisher (with the Ernie Els swing). They are teeing off at 1:45 eastern, meaning we should see most of their back nine.

Here are the TV times, with The Golf Channel coming on at 4 m est. tomorrow, 3 pm est. Friday and NBC carrying the weekend play.

The Very Best of Tom Meeks

It’s been rumored that a Tom Meeks going away party would be held this week at Merion. The retiring Director of Rules, Competitions and Setup Calamities will be thanked for his years of service to the USGA.

Since we won’t be invited to this great moment in USGA open-bar history, we can only wonder if anyone will bring up these episodes while celebrating Meeks's long and illustrious career?

• The 1978 U.S. Junior Amateur when Meeks told Mark Brooks to tee off in his match, even though opponent Willie Wood was not present. When Wood showed up, Meeks showed great compassion by not DQ'ing Wood, and instead, allowed him to play Brooks. Wood eventually won the match.  

• The 1991 Senior Amateur at Crystal Downs saw Meeks warned by the club staff not to use the front location on the treacherous 11th green. He did anyway, and most players who hit the green putted off.

Then he took over for David Eger, setting up U.S. Open courses. The real fun began!

• The 1996 Open at Oakland Hills, where Meeks was asked about playing conditions when several inches of rain had flooded the bunkers and drenched the course. Meeks responded with a less than subtle jab at the PGA Tour, "No, we won't play lift, clean and cheat."  The Commissioner received an apology call from Mr. Meeks’s boss for that one.

• There was the stellar hole location on #18 at the 1997 Senior Open (Olympia Fields) that caused nearly every player to at least three putt, while then-leader David Graham four putted.

• Who will ever forget the 1998 at Olympic and that wonderful Friday afternoon hole location on 18 (which I was blessed to witness in person). And then there were the nice chats Meeks had with Payne Stewart about slow play and sand-filled divots. All of this distracted folks from the horrific fairway contouring on holes 2, 4, 9, 10, eh…you get the idea.

• The 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills was particularly special. That’s where chicken wire was placed in front of 9th and 18th greens during practice rounds to prevent players from wearing out turf in the areas where every ball rolled off and collected short of the greens. And the excessive green speed led to the infamous slowing down of the 9th and 18th, leaving them nice and lumpy for Retief Goosen, Mark Brooks and Stewart Cink to look foolish on Sunday.

• Another epic, the 2002 Open at Bethpage where Meeks refused to movethe 10th tee markers up so that players could reach the fairway. And funnyman Meeks telling the press "it doesn't say in the Rules of Golf a player has to be able to reach the fairway."  The 270 yard carry and tiny landing area on the long 12th was special too. (Well, long back then in 2002. 496 today is a drive and a wedge! Okay, maybe a 9 iron for some.)
  

• Oh, then there was Shinnecock where Meeks didn’t say much other than to insist the greens didn’t need to be watered Saturday evening despite the 7th green fiasco earlier that day. And even though a dry wind was blowing. No water! He instead saved his best commentsfor a month later at the British Open, noting that "a lot of golfers lost their patience and gave up early in the round. I really think Ernie Els gave up after the first hole."  Els responded: “You know what? They have got no idea," Els continued. "To take one of the best golf courses in this entire world and to make it a farce like that, they’ve got egg on their face."  So Meeks apologized. Sort of: "I just said, 'Ernie, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that.' I explained to him it was just a casual remark. And it was just my opinion."  So, if it was just your opinion, you still believe he gave up?
  

• Finally, 2005 saw Meeks go quietly, but he did finish off with one final head scratcher at Merion Tuesday. Joe Logan wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer that “when somebody noted that not a single golfer was under par at Merion by mid-afternoon yesterday, Meeks seemed almost fiendishly pleased." "I think this golf course is just that hard," Meeks said. "If we wanted a bunch of 62s and 63s, we could have held it on some municipal course."Not to be picky, but there was a 64 and a 65 at stroke play co-host Philadelphia Country Club. Does that mean it’s almost a muni?  Like, say, Torrey Pines?
  

Thanks for the quotes...err...memories Tom!

Knockdown Shots

The Orlando Sentinel's Steve Elling offers (Tribune paper reg.required) his always entertaining "Knockdown Shots" column. A few favorites:

News item: Residents of The Villages, a growing retirement golf community located northwest of Orlando, will attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Record mark for longest golf cart parade in a charity fundraiser on Sept. 4. The record is 1,138 carts.

Knockdown shot: Noting the average age of the residents and the heat this time of year, we're betting there will be a few dozen ambulances padding the back end of the procession, too.

News item: There was good news on the Appleby front, though. His peers, in a Sports Illustrated poll, voted him as the owner of the coolest car on tour. Appleby owns a yellow Lamborghini.

Knockdown shot: In the spirit of full disclosure, Appleby reports that he not only didn't own the best car on tour, but didn't have the hottest ride at Isleworth. That honor clearly goes to Woods, who recently bought a $450,000 Porsche Carrera GT, which he has since sold. "Made mine look like a Datsun," Appleby cracked.

News item: On the 16th hole, Appleby uncorks a drive of at least 400 yards in each of the first three rounds last week, an astounding feat.

Knockdown shot: A dizzying total of 40 players are averaging more than 295 yards per drive in 2005 - and so are three geezers on the Champions Tour, players who didn't hit it that far in their prime. As for the asleep-at-the-wheel governing body of golf, it is technology-driven stats like this that make me ashamed to be a USGA member.

Golf Magazine Top 100 Question, Vol. 1

Okay, technically, this is quibble/question #2.

As part of the Golf Magazine rankings package, writer Lisa Taddeo talks to panelist Leon Wentz about his feat of playing all Top 100 in the world. Wentz says:

I was flipping through Golf Magazine, saw the Top 100 World list, and thought, "Now, here's a challenge!" I asked my wife if it would be okay if I made this my chore for the next few years, and she said go for it. I lost 11 courses because of the list changing. For example, I had to go back to New Zealand three months ago to play one that came up on the last list. I wanted to play the current list, not an old list.

Now this means a few things. First, Wentz knew what the 2005 list looked like at least three months ago. Or three months before the interview took place, so more like four months ago. This would mean that he probably knew what the list was going to look like in April or May.

Which is interesting since list newcomer Bandon Trails didn't officially open until June.

2007 Tour Schedule Update...Sort Of

AP's Doug Ferguson gets the latest on the 2007 schedule and new TV deal from Tim Finchem. I'm not really sure what all of this means except that they still haven't figured out what they're going to do.

"You want to grow," Finchem said. "To compete effectively - even if you weren't going to grow, just to maintain your position - you look at who you're competing with. And everyone you're competing with is changing to get better, sometimes dramatically."

Finchem says there are still "a number of options," but two sources who are privy to the discussions said last week that the tour is focused on a playoff race that would begin shortly after the PGA Championship and include four tournaments that lead to the Tour Championship.

"You need to challenge yourself every few years and say, 'Are we taking all the steps necessary to allow us to compete effectively?'" Finchem said. "It may develop that you say, 'You know what? There's no better way to do it, so let's just leave it alone.' It's certainly easier to do that. But I think it's been good to challenge what we're doing, and I think the likelihood is we'll make some changes."

"It's taken a lot longer than we thought," Finchem said. "It's going to be very late in the year before we get to television (negotiations). I would be concerned about that, because we don't like to be within a year of starting the next season. But this year is a little different in the sense we've extended so many title sponsors."

Elite Clubs Hosting Majors

Chris Baldwin at Travelgolf asks if elite golf clubs should be rewarded with majors. He uses 2006 U.S. Women's Open site Newport Country Club as his prime example.

While I sympathize with Baldwin's point, I also can't wait to see Newport.

If there were more quality public venues available for majors it might be a different story. But ultimately, we want to see the best courses. Don't we?