2013 U.S. Open Course Set-Up Reviews In And They Are Not Exactly Glowing

/

I would call my Golf World review of the USGA's course setup at Merion "mixed" with a lean toward positive because the emphasis on difficulty let the Merion membership feel good about hosting the U.S. Open.  In other words, there was a political element to this year's setup and Mike Davis addressed that.

However, in the details I certainly make clear there were some elements that were just not very good and contradictory of the USGA's desire to show off Merion's supreme architecture. In particular, was lack of width and the setup of the third hole Sunday, something Phil Mickelson, errr...lamented.

Anyway, check out my story in Golf World this week.

I have a few stats in my story, but Jim McCabe also breaks down Merion "by the numbers" and has some fun stuff to share at Golfweek.com

Tod Leonard wasn't so forgiving and says Mike Davis "botched" the setup.

There is making the course hard, and there’s making it fair, and Davis — who hasn’t erred much during his reign — made a mistake with this one. The final round was drudgery, not good or interesting golf. The USGA is trying to grow the game. Would anybody want to go out and take up golf after watching that?

Rex Hoggard talked to players at the Travelers and concludes that the USGA did not do a good job showing off Merion at its best.

“I met a guy in the airport on Saturday when I was flying home, he was 91 (years old),” Glover said. “He had been to every Open since 1950 at Merion. I asked how fast the greens were in ’81, he said, ‘10 (on the Stimpmeter).’ I said how long was the rough, ‘3 inches.’ I asked if that was the same golf course and he said, ‘Absolutely not,’ . . . he said it was atrocious.”

Lost in last week’s reintroduction of Merion after a 32-year hiatus from the U.S. Open rotation was the fact that this was not the same course where Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam in 1930 by winning the U.S. Amateur or where Ben Hogan made emotional history at the 1950 U.S. Open.

Davis, the USGA executive director who took over for Tom Meeks as the Open’s top setup man in 2004, has proven himself adept at setting up fair, but difficult golf courses. This time, however, he may have blazed through a few stop signs on his way to Sunday’s trophy presentation.

Of the 500 or so votes cast in the poll here, it's clear the setup was seen as a way to mask distance gains and that very few saw the week as a resounding win for the pro-do-nothing-about-distance set.

Royal Cinque Ports Is Hosting The Amateur This Week...

/

Which is not really of interest to most except that this is one of my very favorite places in the game. And the British Amateur is a perfect excuse to show some photos of the place three years ago when things were drier in the UK and I was there to investigate Freddie Tait's cross country play a century ago.

You can follow The Amateur at the R&A site, and there was this account of the first day of matches.

I've included photos of the links and the town of Deal, which would make wonderful hosts of the Open Championship (again).

Those Letterman Top Ten Lists Just Aren't What They Used To Be...

/

The Justin Rose, post-U.S. Open win list is positively brutal, but by no means the fault of Justin.

If you have three minutes of your life you never want back...

Top Ten Questions People Ask Me About Golf

Wednesday, June 19, 2013
10. "There is regular gold, there is miniature golf - how come no giant golf?"
9. "Why don't all balls have dimples?"
8. "Does Obamacare cover the yips?"
7. "Ever get tired of Jim Nantz whispering?"
6. "Would you let President Putin hold your trophy?"
5. "How often do you slap your caddy?"
4. "Is a threesome better than a foursome?"
3. "Can you get me an autograph from PGA Honorary President Allen Wronowski?"

Okay for golf wonks, that was good.

2. "Would you say this is my sweet spot?"
1. "Where's the strangest place you've ever made bogey?"

Ogilvy Loved Merion But...Too Narrow, Too Much Chip Out Rough

/

Post Merion 2013 observations from Geoff Ogilvy.

From this week's Golf World:

My one criticism of the course setup would be that the fairways were too narrow. Merion is a great course with many great holes, but it was sometimes hard to tell with so much rough everywhere. It was tough to picture how it sets up and plays for the members.

I know that -- apart from next year at Pinehurst -- calling for more width in the U.S. Open is a forlorn hope. I have a suggestion though. I would like to see dry, "flier" rough rather than the "chip-out" long grass we had at Merion. Maybe the wet weather precluded doing anything about the thickness of the rough, but it would have been nice to see guys attempting risky recovery shots (perhaps the most exciting aspect of professional golf) rather than hacking out 50 yards or so up the fairway. Anyone and everyone can do that.

He goes on to explain why local knowledge was a good thing and how Merion provided good "awkwardness" especially had there been some room to get suckered into bad plays.

Instant Poll: Did Merion Alter Your View On Distance?

/

You may recall that prior to the 2013 U.S. Open at 6,996-yard Merion, former USGA Executive Director David Fay told Golf Digest contributing editor David Fay that "of course" this would be a referendum on the question of distance and its impact on the modern game.

Since then we saw high scores at Merion thanks to a combination of the difficult architecture and restrictive setup.

So with that, I ask...

Did Merion alter your view on distance?
  
pollcode.com free polls 

Two Minor 2013 U.S. Open Quibbles...

/

The most significant quibble I've heard from fans was the lack of ability to see action, particularly on the closing holes. By and large, the Merion experience was reviewed positively and the USGA operations team deserves a big bonus and ensuing vacation for pulling off something pretty extraordinary on a tiny property.

That said, I had two quibbles with the 2013 U.S. Open...

- The lack of spectator access to the area right of 14 fairway, behind 17 tee and right of 18 fairway. For reasons I still can't quite figure out, there was a huge area in this area free of fans that was perhaps the best viewing spot on the entire property and I still can't figure out why it was restricted to inside-the-ropes access. Next time the U.S. Open returns there needs to at least be a small grandstand behind the 17th tee so that fans can see some of 16 green and the tee shot there.

- The lack of retro-logos on merchandise items. One of the fun trends at the Masters and Players was the use of old tournament logos on shirts and hats. I know if there were some 1971 U.S. Open logoed stuff, my Lee Trevino friends who are fans would have gotten a bigger kick out of something with the distinctly 70s "branding" than the 2013 logo.

Justin Rose's Win: Vindication For Sean Foley, England

/

Nice story by Steve DiMeglio on Justin Rose's win as vindication for the often unfairly criticized instructor Sean Foley.

The criticism has been relentless at times, which Foley, by the way, deflects with ease, so much so that Rose, even while holding the U.S. Open trophy was asked if the victory was affirmation of Foley's instruction.

"I feel like my golf game has gotten better and better every year. I've picked up distance and I'm hitting the ball straighter. And for me to come into a U.S. Open and feel like this is one of my legitimate chances to win a major is a testament to my ball striking. So I got to give a lot of credit to Sean," Rose, 32, said. "I would say it's more than just a player/coach relationship. I regard him as a true friend and I regard him as someone who, if I ever had a question upon golf or upon life, he would be very much at the top of my list.

"He's a very mentally, I think, a very interesting character and very strong mentally. And he passes that on as well."

John Huggan also looks at this as a big win for the English male golfing contingent who were beginning to wonder if they would ever win a major in the 21st Century. He also points to a Derek Lawrenson interview with Rose prior to Merion where the U.S. Open champion made this frank statement:

"If we're really honest, I think it has now reached the point where it's down to the fact if we (the English) can handle the pressure we will win a major and if we can't, we won't."

For Phil "In the end it wasn't strategy but execution."

/

Stepping back from the U.S. Open for a day to consider Phil Mickelson's incredible sixth runner-up finish and while a lot of people want to question his decision to leave the driver in the locker or his putting (everyone stunk on the greens at Merion), it will all really go back to the decision on the short par-3 13th that cost him a spot in a playoff.

From an unbylined USA Today story:

But he hit a pitching wedge instead of a gap wedge to the hole, flying the green and leaving himself with a pitch from the rough he had no way of getting close to the hole. He made bogey, then compounded his error on No. 15 by quitting on a gap wedge and leaving it so short he had to chip from the front of the green for another bogey.

In the end it wasn't strategy but execution.

"Thirteen and 15 were the two bad shots of the day that I'll look back on where I let it go," Mickelson said.

I was standing behind the 13th green after Mickelson's shot with USGA Executive Director Mike Davis, who pointed out that there was a line about 20 feet left of the hole location that a shot with proper spin could take and like spin right to within 10 or so feet of the hole, mitigating the risk.

Justin Rose Honoring His Travelers Championship Commitment

/

From the AP...and yes, the U.S. Open Champion committed and of course he should play, but he still very easily could cite fatigue from all of the shuttle busings. But he's not...

Nathan Grube, the tournament director at the Travelers Championship, said Rose's wife, Kate, called shortly after he won his first major title, to confirm they would be in Connecticut for this week's tournament.

"She called last night at about 9:30 and I looked down at the phone and said, 'This is either going to be a really good call or a really bad call,'" Grube said Monday. "It was fine. She said, 'We're coming, we're just trying to rearrange our schedule a little bit because of all the media (commitments).'"

Rose will be making a cameo with David Letterman Tuesday night.

2013 U.S. OPEN GOLF CHAMPION JUSTIN ROSE TO PRESENT THE TOP TEN LIST ON CBS’s
“LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” TUESDAY, JUNE 18
 
NEW YORK, June 17 – 2013 U.S. Open golf champion Justin Rose will present the Top Ten List on the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Tuesday, June 18 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.  Rose won his first major golf championship Sunday at the Merion Golf Club, shooting a closing round of 70 and finishing two shots ahead of contenders Phil Mickelson and Jason Day to secure his U.S. Open victory.  Also, Rose became the first Englishman to win the championship since Tony Jacklin in 1970, ending a 43-year U.S. Open drought for England.

Why Tiger Has A Boat Called Privacy Files: Merion Housing Edition

/

Jere Longman looked at Merion's successful week and some of the stuff that went on behind the scenes.

He included this anecdote that is yet another reminder why...ah you know the drill.

Woods was the subject of countless rumors about his living arrangements during the Open, all entertaining, none necessarily reliant on the truth.

One rumor, debunked by a police officer assigned to Woods, had him installing a pool at his rental house. On Sunday, Joe DiTomo, a volunteer driver for the players, said that Woods reportedly grew upset with the house and moved into a hotel.

“I wouldn’t repeat it,” DiTomo said, “but I heard it from a nun on the way to church. I didn’t realize nuns followed golf.”