Deja Vu All Over Again Files: Shinnecock 2018, Where To Begin?

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Well in case you hadn't heard, the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills didn't go so well. 

The 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock had been going well, until Saturday when things spilled over the top. 

I've already shared my thoughts on Phil Mickelson's behavior today at Golfweek. 

A Golfweek column is now up related to the course setup. And many more have weighed in, including this fine one from Joel Beall. Honestly, beyond that I'm not even sure where to begin other than the incredible parallels with the Open 14 years ago.

Of course, I'd love to hear any and all thoughts as I head back to home sweet home, Jake's 58 before we do it all over again Sunday at Shinnecock.

What Would Mike Davis (Or Any 4 Handicap) Shoot At Shinnecock?

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I eavesdropped on Saturday setup and came away just astounded at the difficulty of Shinnecock Hills under tournament conditions. The difference in speed and firmness from a week ago is pretty profound, with more dryness and difficult days ahead.

So if you're wondering how you'd handle this monster of a course, you'll enjoy Eamon Lynch's premise of asking players what a 4.3 Index like USGA CEO Mike Davis would shoot on the course he's preparing with Jeff Hall. 

Davis's answer might be the best:

“90 plus,” he shot back with the good humor of a man who knows this course is designed to test the best, not the rest. “Assuming I did not run out of balls.”

 

When Is More Sound Too Much Sound On A Golf Telecast?

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Fox didn't have the best of technical days during round two of the 2018 U.S. Open, with about 7-8 minutes of no audio that fell while key players were on the course. If the Golf Gods were decent, the technical issues would have landed during a painful Fox synergy play featuring a Bill Hemmer interview. Perhaps if you're a regular viewer it was exciting to learn how life in the Hamptons works for the Fox News anchor, but for most it was an agonizing way to transition between announce teams while plugging a network show.

For every fan annoyed by the sound of balls hitting the bottom of the cup, the telecast featured several reminders of how much on-green dialogue we get to hear thanks to Fox's aggressive placement of microphones and other efforts to push the technology envelope.

But as the Sporting News' Michael McCarthy writes, Shinnecock is proving to be a tough place for Fox's 200-plus microphones given the, uh, style of New York fan energy projected toward players.

On Thursday, viewers didn't get many revealing nuggets between opposing players or between players and their caddies. Instead, they heard a lot from a loud and proud New York crowd. It was like listening to the soused, rowdy crew at the notorious 16th hole of the Phoenix Open. Technology giveth, and it taketh away.

 

On Friday, it got worse. As Timothy Burke of Deadspin noted, the increased audio led to a particularly raunchy fan conversation being picked up as Patrick Reed was playing a shot.

I'm all for Fox pushing the boundaries and trying to pick up the sound, even if the collateral damage is a bit rough at times.

Trying To Make Sense Of Another Buzzkiller Of A Shinnecock Hills Day

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That whole history repeated itself thing happened at Shinnecock HIlls. Again. 

Old fogies recall Jack Nicklaus coming off his epic 1986 Masters win at the same Shinnecock where lanky amateur Tiger Woods arrived on the scene nine years later.  Nicklaus lost a ball on 10 and Woods hurt his wrist playing out of the native grasses, killing their chances at special weeks.  And we won't revisit 2004 again.

Thursday’s bizarro opening round at the 2018 U.S. Open dropped another buzzkill-bomb when the world top ten averaged 75.2. Woods started out with an unforced error triple bogey and even the best player and day one co-leader, Dustin Johnson, only hit nine greens en route to a 69.

The top 10 amateurs were only 12 shots back of the top ten in the world. (For more strange stats from a strange day check out this post).

The field wracked up bogey after bogey in nearly historic fashion by modern day standards, and all without fertilizer in the rough:

Here’s the zany part: Shinnecock was put on full restraint mode by the USGA. Greens were slower, most hole locations were pretty safe—though Jordan Spieth felt a few hole locations were dicey and Bryson DeChambeau barked out something about clown golf.

The course had been watered to keep it from drying out on what turned out to be a windy day as forecast, though not quite as brutal as the worst case scenario suggested as a possibility.

Generally when the world’s best get course conditioning this sound, greens holding and those 41.6 yard wide fairways USGA traditionalists abhor, someone is still going to post a 67.  Especially when the course is an architectural masterpiece where we elitists assume great play will be separated from the rest.

I floated a few other theories on a ShackHouse first round pop-up, including the brightness of the day and the exposed nature of the new-look Shinnecock making it tougher for players who love their tree-lined golf. 

But this all overlooks one key and well-known theory: golf is a very strange sport. Goofy things happen no matter how many stats tell us to expect the expected.

Scott Gregory Shoots 92, Still Talks To The Press

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Scott Gregory's 2018 U.S. Open first round card

Scott Gregory's 2018 U.S. Open first round card

Former Amateur Champion, Walker Cupper and European Challenge Tour player Scott Gregory posted a first round 92 at Shinnecock Hills featuring just three pars. Unlike, eh em, some big names, the lad still answered questions after the disaster.

From Will Gray's GolfChannel.com report.

“I mean, everyone has bad days. Even people, you look at Rory, Tiger and all those. They all struggle occasionally,” Gregory said. “I qualified last week, so I can’t be that bad. Just got to go out and try to find something.”

And he does have this highlight from the week.

High Winds Forecast: USGA Calls Audible On Thursday's Course Setup

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As I write for Golfweek.com, the USGA setup team has deviated from their original plans more than they can ever recall to accommodate potentially high winds during Thursday's 2018 U.S. Open first round.

Winds will be mostly out of the west, making some very long holes shorter, but also difficult to hold uphill second shots to greens like the 9th and 10th.

The Wednesday rains also should favor morning players who will get to the course before the afternoon bakes out Shinnecock Hills. Though the forecast suggests a good steady breeze all day. Peak gusts are expected around 2-3 pm.

We discussed on Live From The U.S. Open today.

Rory McIlroy On Playing Golf For Fun

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This has little to do with the U.S. Open, or maybe it will, but of late there has been a sense some of today's best players rarely get to play their sport for fun. Or seem to have fun.

From his 2018 U.S. Open press conference:

Q. Rory, most professionals don't like to play fun golf. You talk to them, they don't know anything about Friar's Head or National or any place else.

Can you talk about your what impetus is, meaning how do you approach a fun golf round versus a professional round? And the fun golf you played this week, does that put you in a different mindset for this week?

RORY McILROY: It does. Alex, I would say for maybe five or six years, I never played fun golf. It was all to do with getting ready to play tournaments, and this is -- you know, I didn't understand people that went out and played a lot.

But basically, it's been since my dad became a member at Seminole, and I was able to go over and play a lot of golf with him, that I really started to enjoy fun golf again and playing these different courses.

And it's a real treat to be able to show up at any golf course in the country or the world and get out and play it and have a bit of fun.

And I think it does put you in a different frame of mind. You're relaxed out there, and maybe that sort of bleeds into your mindset whenever you're here in a big championship. It's no different. I think that's the thing. If I've got a shot that I need to execute under pressure here this week, it's no different than playing that shot when I'm out there playing with my dad or my buddies or whatever it is.

So obviously, there is a separation of the two, but the more you can get into that mindset of being relaxed and enjoying it, the better you're going to play.

Spieth, Thomas Just Now Learning Of New 2-Hole U.S. Open Playoff!?

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Announced in February, the lads revealed that Tuesday at the U.S. Open was the first time they learned of the new system. My Golfweek item here.

No big deal since it's not like they found out Sunday as they were about to go home to rest up for a Monday 18-hole round. But given their attention to detail, it does speak to a certain level of focus and insular protection from the golf news world that is...fascinating. Layered. 

Shinnecock's 7th: When Is A Redan Not A Redan?

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Dom Furore's Golf Digest image of the Redan makes it easier to visualize how much better the hole would play from the left.

Dom Furore's Golf Digest image of the Redan makes it easier to visualize how much better the hole would play from the left.

Since the last U.S. Open here, the Redan has become a household name. A brand.  The children of North Berwick's original and still very much alive 15th hole has developed a cult following. There are even reverse Redans. 

Labeled a Redan, Shinnecock Hills' 7th is a step-child at best. The hole shares almost none of the attributes making the original or the offshoots so much fun to play. (Ron Whitten does a nice job in this piece for GolfDigest.com getting into the Redan's background, its history at Shinnecock and the ideal playability. An accompanying Dom Furore photo also beautifully shows how some faults of the Redan could be remedied by a move of the tee toward the left.)

It's been some time since I've seen the 7th and while it's probably great fun to play at certain green speeds or for late afternoon giggles, the controversial par-3 just doesn't quite match the rest of this stupendously sound work of architecture.

Since the 2004 U.S. Open, more short grass has been installed around the putting surface, which was also expanded by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Yet walking around the green again and getting reacquainted, I find it difficult to see how the hole is a good test of skill or a fun one to play. 

I raise all of this on the U.S. Open eve not to call out the hole in advance apology for the inevitable shenanigans, but to make sure after this week we are not lumping all other Redans in with the problem child. 

Tiger: Traffic Woes Might Mean Tee Times Are Missed

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There's one you don't hear every day at a major!

The Forecaddie with Tiger's remarks and his lodging efforts to stay closer to the course, with his yacht moving---fill in nautical term of your choice here because I sure won't dare--to Sag Harbor. He'll have to settle for his incredible yacht. Well, we hear it's incredible. 

I was on the Golf Channel desk listening and not able to ask any questions. But I'm fairly certain I could have done better than some he got in his pre-2018 U.S. Open press conference. 

Highlights I could find. 

TIGER WOODS: Yeah. I've missed playing the U.S. Open. It's our nation's title. It's meant so much to me and my career and, obviously, the USGA, what it has done for golf.

This was, you know, the biggest event you could win growing up, win a USGA event. To have won it nine times is pretty special. So I'm looking forward to playing this week. I've really missed playing U.S. Opens, and this will be another fun test.

On the golf course...

THE MODERATOR: We're certainly glad to have you back here at Shinnecock this week. Can you talk about what it means to be back and your impressions of the course so far this week?

TIGER WOODS: It has changed a lot. From the two times I've played it previously, it's a lot longer. The fairways seem to be about twice as wide. It's a very different -- very different test, very different look. So many of the trees are gone.

The greens aren't quite up to probably speed yet, but they're right where they want them. And as the golf course dries out, this golf course is going to be another great U.S. Open test.

And on the putter, probably the key to his week.

Q. Tiger, by any chance, besides reps, have you done anything specifically to address your putting? And by any chance did Stricks take a look last night?
TIGER WOODS: No, Stricks didn't take a look at it. I worked on it pretty hard this past week. Just had to hit a lot of putts, just put in the legwork, and I was able to do that.

My stroke feels good, and we're back on old bumpy poa. So hopefully hit good solid putts and see what happens.

Houston Open Moves To Fall, Drops Houston Golf Association Ties

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Tournament saved, but without mention of the Houston Golf Association's involvement, there is more than a tinge of sadness to this U.S. Open week announcement. 

Astros Foundation and PGA TOUR announce five-year partnership for the Houston Open

HOUSTON and PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR, the Astros Foundation and its Board of Directors, led by Astros Owner & Chairman Jim Crane, announced a five-year partnership for the Houston Open beginning with the 2019 event. The Astros Foundation will operate the event and serve as the host organization.

The commitment to the Houston Open from the Astros Foundation, with the support of a consortium of local sponsors, is in place through 2023. The 2019 tournament will be conducted at the Golf Club of Houston during the fall portion of the PGA TOUR’s 2019-20 FedExCup Season with a $7.5 million purse and 500 FedExCup points awarded to the winner.

“Our team is committed to the continued growth of the Houston Open and making a positive impact in the city of Houston,” said Astros owner and Chairman Jim Crane. “The Astros Foundation has always committed to giving back to our community. The funds raised through this tournament will allow us to continue our commitment to serving the people within our county and city and help improve our parks.”

“The PGA TOUR has a rich history in Houston dating back to 1946, and we’re thrilled to share this great news today regarding the Houston Open,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The event has always made a significant charitable impact by virtue of tremendous partners and outstanding community support, and thanks to the Astros Foundation and Jim Crane, these works including support of The First Tee of Greater Houston will continue.”

The Houston Open was first played in 1946, with the inaugural event captured by Byron Nelson at River Oaks Country Club. Winners in the 72-year history of the event include World Golf Hall of Fame members Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Burke, Jr., Bobby Locke, Cary Middlecoff, Gary Player, Curtis Strange, Payne Stewart, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. One of Houston’s premier sporting events, the tournament has also made significant contributions to the Houston community, raising nearly $69 million (through 2017) for charitable causes.

Ian Poulter won the 2018 Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston, the tournament’s home since 2003.