[TEPaul]

Tony Ristola:

I just noticed your post about Shinnecock about a month ago asking about what could the maintenance changes that have been done really matter to a golf course that has held two US Opens in the recent past as far as being ranked higher or being ranked #1.

I really don't think the question is so much what has been done to the course recently to change it. Not that much really has been done except to clear some trees away that really didn't encroach on strategy anyway. The course is really the same, just that now the course is in excellent championship condition almost regularly.

In my opinion, it's really not so much what Shinnecock has done recently, it's just that it's one helluva world class course that probably merits better ranking consideration than it's ever had either back then or now.

To me it's not so much what Shinnecock has or hasn't done--what it was or is now--it's more a matter of the fact that it was and is deserving of #1 ranking and the reason that hasn't happened is more a factor of the rankers and the rankings than it is of Shinnecock itself.

My guess would be that following the next Open at Shinnecock it will be ranked #1.

[Mike_Rewinski]

There is one thing that everybody should know regarding the fairway mowing pattern at Shinnecock. In the old days you alternated the mowing direction, clockwise one time, counterclockwise the next time. This was done to reduce grain. By doing it in the same direction, the way that Mark is doing it now, you create a much greater color difference between the two sides.

[TEPaul]

I've got to ask you MikeR that mowing those fairways up and back with the gangmowers of yesteryear in the same direction may have created grain and alternating the direction of the up and back in the old days may have reduced the grain, but today it's just a color deal!

This was mentioned to us in the last week by a super of a really old classic course who said today it's just a color deal and the fairway grasses of today are just so good and so low cut that no matter whether you alternate or not grain is just not going to be much of a factor today.

The neat thing is that the Senior Tour players and the commentators at Salem thought that they should hit the light side of the fairway for considerably more rollout. This super said that was ridiculous with today's fairways (whether light or dark) and the rollout out differnence would be in feet at most and certainly not yards!

[Patrick_Mucci]

TEPaul,

Sometimes a position, taken by an individual, masks the true reasons behind their stance.

Just putt a ball into the grain around the green, then putt a ball with the grain around the green, and you notice quite a difference.

When carts are restricted to the rough, it isn't long before the grass is going toward the green, making the extracation of the ball from the rough much much easier.

I have to believe, with new grasses, old grasses, and middle aged grasses, that if the gangmowers repeat their pattern of down one side and into the other. that it will make a difference.

And.... if the pro's felt that way, the guys who do this for a living, I would have to go with them.

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