The only course that will remain difficult under all conditions will be one that is designed and kept for golf of a stereotyped, monotonous character, and this makes a most uninteresting proposition. BOBBY JONES
Available via Amazon (US): Golf Architecture For Normal People
Barnes And Noble (online and in stores)
Bookshop.org option to support local independent bookstores.
Reviews:
"Golf Architecture for Normal People . . . should be required reading for those who are not ashamed to admit they know little about the subject, and for those who think they do . . . . Golf course architecture geeks have trouble slimming their thoughts down to bite-sized chunks, but Shackelford has achieved a remarkable success here." —Independent (Ireland)
"From the relative newcomer who’s slowly getting hooked to those that have played the game for most of their lives and think they know a thing or two, Golf Architecture for Normal People provides a solid and sober perspective that will help everyone recognize why some golf courses are worth playing more than once while a single trip around others is all you’re ever likely to want or need." —Links Magazine.
“It’s a wonderful book. An easy read that arrives just in time for your summer reading list. If you’ve never thought about how an appreciation for course design could heighten your enjoyment of the game, you must check this out.”—The Peterborough Examiner
"As in his prior publications, in his newest book Shackelford shows a deep appreciation for what can be done to create a golf course that appeals to the broadest possible golfing audience…Shackelford’s prose is succinct, often witty, and accessible."—Cape Gazette
"Author, blogger and golf architecture expert Geoff Shackelford, who helped Gil Hanse design Rustic Canyon and restore 2023 U.S. Open host Los Angeles Country Club, taps into his passion by creating a guide that helps every golfer understand the nuances of course design. Published by Tatra Press, the 164-page hardcover book is a must-read for every golfer to better understand the game they love." —Golf Pass
"Shackelford provides an informative picture [and]...sprinkles in history lessons about those who planted the game's architectural roots, defines common terms and helps you hone your eyes when it comes to identifying some of the tricks of the trade."—FORE Magazine
"This new book does a great job demystifying golf course design ideas for average players, but can also be a beneficial read fro PGA Professionals and other golf course employees to get a better understanding of their home courses." —PGA Magazine
I was on the course all day and so I didn't get a sense of how the golf came across on television. Would love to hear your thoughts on the quality of golf you saw, the presentation of the course and some predictions for tomorrow.
A warm, glorious day greets golfers at Olympic Club for the third round of the U.S. Open. With the leaders teeing off at 3:05 they may actually experience still conditions on their back nine as the afternoon sea breeze dies down.
The setup figures to be fun, with a benign-looking (but apparently volatile) hole location on the short par-5 17th, and the 108-yard 15th bound to turn heads. Some are concerned that the front location on No. 8 could get a little goofy, but I watched early play there and the green seemed sufficiently soft to retain moisture by the time the leaders stroll through at 4:30.
The course certainly can't play any tougher than it has the first two days, can it?
Your leaderboard link is here.
NBC comes on the air at 1 p.m. Pacific, as does online Live Video of holes 8 and 18.
**Course setup notes from Saturday:
COURSE SETUP: ROUND THREE OF THE 2012 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The following are details on the course setup for Round 3 of the 2012 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, from Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director.
Weather Forecast for Saturday (provided by Jake Swick with Thor Guard Weather) – There will be plenty of sunshine mixing only with low-level haze and a few high-level clouds. Temperatures will be comfortably warm again with highs in upper 60s early this afternoon before dropping back later with the arrival of a light onshore breeze. The winds today are predicted to be out of the southwest at 4 to 10 mph.
Green Speeds
This morning’s green speeds once again averaged in the low 13s on the USGA Stimpmeter immediately after the cut and roll. They will settle out in the mid 12s by midday.
Water Management
Hand-watering was applied to all putting greens last night; more water was applied to all the greens this morning. The amount of hydration was based on firmness and moisture readings. All fairways, green approaches and closely mown areas were watered on an as-needed basis last night. There has been an attempt to mimic firmness conditions from rounds 1 and 2.
Total Course Yardage for Round 3 (tee marker settings to flagstick)
3,503 yards out, 3,545 yards in for 7,048 total yards
Hole-by-Hole Information
Hole 1 – 509 yards; the hole location is in the front-right swale.
Hole 2 – 427 yards; the hole location is back left.
Hole 3 – 256 yards; tee markers placed on the back teeing ground for the first time in the championship; the hole location is placed in the far, back center on a green that subtly falls away front to back.
Hole 4 – 423 yards; the hole location is placed in the front right, making putts from the middle of the green very fast.
Hole 5 – 499 yards; tee markers placed on the back teeing ground; the hole location is in the center-left portion of the green; balls will feed to this hole but putts above will be fast.
Hole 6 – 499 yards; the hole location placed in back right.
Hole 7 – 268 yards; tee markers again placed on back of the penultimate teeing ground; hole location is placed just above the back tier on the left side making a miss to the left of the green a tough up and in.
Hole 8 – 188 yards; the hole location placed in front-left portion of the green only several paces over the false front; putts from the middle of the green to this hole location are quick.
Hole 9 – 434 yards; the hole location is front right; putts from most areas of the green will be downhill with a fairly hard left-to-right break.
Hole 10 – 436 yards; the hole location is far, back center of this fall-away putting green.
Hole 11 – 420 yards; the hole location is placed in the front right of the green; players will be able to use the tier that separates the green as a backstop.
Hole 12 – 456 yards; tee markers placed on the back teeing ground; the hole location hugs the left side of the green.
Hole 13 – 180 yards; tee markers placed on the penultimate teeing ground; the hole location is about halfway back and close to the fall-off left of the green.
Hole 14 – 429 yards; the hole location placed in the far, back center of the green; putts from the middle of the green are surprisingly slow up to this hole location.
Hole 15 – 107 yards; tee markers have been moved to the very forward most area of the teeing ground; the hole location is placed only four paces on the green in the front- left corner.
Hole 16 – 671 yards; tee markers placed on the back teeing ground; the hole location is placed in the back-right corner just over the front-right bunker.
Hole 17 – 502 yards; tee markers placed on the players’ left teeing ground; the hole location is placed in the center of the green about a third of the way back; putts from above this hole are very fast.
Hole 18 – 344 yards; the hole location placed in back right just over a very subtle rise.
Awful Announcing has some of the best Tweets from two days of Chris Berman's U.S. Open announce gig.
Bill Fields on Graeme McDowell, the 2011 U.S. Open champion lurking at +1.
"My day was as equally un-enjoyable as yesterday," McDowell said after shooting a two-over 72 Friday at the Olympic Club that left him at one-over 141 and right in the thick of things after 36 holes. "It's just tough to have fun out there, I got to be honest with you. It's just a brutal test of golf."
Sean Martin posted an item on qualifier John Peterson, T4 after two rounds at +1 and just two strokes out of the lead.
This is Peterson’s first major. His destination from Olympic Club? The next two stops on the Hooters Tour. He’s unaccustomed to this stage, but that has one benefit.
“I have nothing to lose,” said Peterson, a LSU product who won the NCAA individual title little more than a year ago. “I have a whole lot to gain and nothing to lose.”
You may recall that Peterson won the NCAA Championship, Jones Cup and had a runner-up finish at the Nationwide Tour stop in Columbus, but was left off the Walker Cup team that ultimately lost last year. Several of the committee members who did not include Peterson are still very active this week, including the first tee starter Dan Burton and Championship Committee Chair Tom O'Toole.
It was a prototypical, retro opening day at the US Open: Cinderella stories, a few superstars lurking and a vicious golf course ruining the hopes of several.
Not prototypical was the setup, which had more bite than recent Mike Davis setups in large part do to a huge shift in conditions overnight (I wrote about this for Golf World Daily). The greens were noticeably firmer right off the bat of the Tiger-Phil-Bubba grouping. But with the increased firmness, combined with fairways simply not wide enough for any kind of speed, players are put on the defensive. Drivers were scarce (Tiger hit three) and because of the narrowness, several players said shot shaping was mostly discouraged.
Doug Ferguson's game story sums up a rather old school U.S. Open first round:
The U.S. Open featured two marquee groups, but only one marquee player.
Take Tiger Woods out of the equation and the top five players in the world were no match for unforgiving Olympic Club.
Then again, not many were.
The lead belonged to Michael Thompson, a 27-year-old in his first U.S. Open as a pro. He made seven birdies - that's seven more than Luke Donald - for a 4-under 66 that gave him a three-shot lead over Woods and the four other lucky souls to manage to break par Thursday.
Steve DiMeglio went the Tiger route with his USA Today lede:
Tiger Woods was in total control of his golf game from his opening tee shot Thursday in the first round of the 112th U.S. Open on the arduous Lake Course at historic Olympic Club.
Sean Martin quotes 66-shooter, 22-putts-in-his-round(!) leader Michael Thompson.
“I’ve been looking forward to hopefully playing in this event for over two years,” he said. There’s a good reason why. He was runner-up in the 2007 U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club. He's staying on San Francisco's famed Lombard Street with the same family that hosted him during that Amateur. This is Thompson’s first major as a professional. What more could the second-year PGA Tour player want?
“This is just a bonus in my career. I'm not guaranteed into all the majors,” said Thompson, who had a three-shot lead when he finished Thursday’s round. “And then to have it be on one of my most favorite golf courses in the world, even better.”
Martin also has a nice piece on the Cinderellas from day one, including J.B. Park, Alistair Presnell and Beau Hossler, who all handily beat some big names.
Bob Harig analyzes the struggles of the all-star UK threesome and the conditions in the morning versus afternoon rounds.
Gary Van Sickle says that "by and large, Olympic delivered multiple humblings to the rest of the field" and runs through the ways the course won the day.
David Shefter's first round notes covers the usual noteworthy stuff, from Hossler to Mickelson's tree ball to Ryo Ishikawa's caddie Steve Molinelli, and Olympic Club member who looped for winner Colt Knost in the 2007 U.S. Amateur.
The round one scores are here.
GolfDigest.com's Birdies and Bogies from round one.
USOpen.com's picture stream is pretty impressive for image buffs.
Getty Images best shots from round one can be viewed here.
And a Golfweek image gallery is here.
If you missed it, Nick Watney's albatross.
Golf Channel's 16 minute highlight package is here.
Jimmy Roberts interviewed Thompson after the round.
And the ESPN Sportscenter highlight package:
Casey Martin recovered from a tough start, reports Bill Fields.
Early on, Martin was five over through the Olympic Club's tough half-dozen opening holes. Then came a welcome birdie at No. 7. Later on, his nerves settled down (some) and he finished with a four-over 74. It was the same first-round score he shot in his historic U.S. Open appearance at Olympic 14 years ago after he had sued for the right to ride a cart due to a painful congenital circulatory disorder in his right leg.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
