The Straits is EASY!!

[Ron Kern]

Well, apparently it is hard on the spectators.  Last night on TGC it was mentioned that there have been 7 broken legs as a result of spectators falling, even before the tournament proper started.  Is this true?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Ron,

I don't know if that is true, but here is another rumor I need confirmed.

I heard the course was named after a band that the (now) former govenor of NJ was in..... and that it was the least favorite band on the San Francisco bar scene.....

[Jeff_Brauer]

Again, kind of off topic - but not off color this time - but weren't there similar occurrences of spectator injuries at the TPC Stadium course when it first opened?

[George Pazin]

Pretty nice mix of big hitters and shorter guys on the leaderboard.

CBS is praying Tiger goes low tomorrow....

[Jeff Goldman]

I was out there today, and it played short and soft. Not only were balls stopping dead and even spinning back, but there was very little fairway roll. I think 15 probably played the hardest because they did not put the tee way up.

Otherwise, it played like a normal parkland target course. If that's what they wanted, why bother going there? They are turning it into the Buick Open. Shivas is right--they left Oak Hill alone with that ridiculous rough but chop 300 yards off this one.

[Dan Kelly]

Let's see what today and the weekend bring.

Hate to say it, but I do think the easy setup yesterday was at least in part a reaction to Shinnecock -- the same way Hazeltine 16's setup in Round 3 of the 2002 PGA was in reaction to the train wrecks on the same hole during a windy day of the '91 Open.

The other part, and this is just my speculation: The PGA of America has no interest (nor should it have) in embarrassing its club pros.

As I said: Let's see what the weekend brings.

Quote of the day (possibly minimally paraphrased), yesterday -- as the TV guys watched yet another shot from the rough land in front of the green and refuse to bounce on the bent:

David Feherty: "It looks like a links, and it smells like a links, but it plays like a Pete Dye target golf [sic] with a very strange haircut."

[A_Clay_Man]

Once again GCA leads the way on analysis. WTG Dick! The broken legs are gonna need someone to sue, aren't they? Or does the dis-claimer on the back of the ticket limit their liability?

No intention of hijacking but.... Back when Kohler got on the map, the thinking was that the areas infrastructure couldn't hold a major championship. Not enough Hotels, Motels and dining.

How much has that really changed? Or, is the commute fromMilwaukee not as bad as a weekend in the Hamptons?

[JakaB]

Who decided what tournaments are majors...the definition of major has changed over the years and I say it's time for another change....When a tournament allows local rules like removing stones from bunkers and then moves up the tees and softens the greens because some of the qualifiers are worried about embarrassing themselves...it is no longer one of the great tournaments in the world......The BBGE will be the first to call for the Australian Masters to replace the PGA as the forth major.....

[A_Clay_Man]

John- What about the qualifying restrictions for this Major? It starts at the top 100 world rankings. Pretty impresive stuff if  there wasn't so much lag time. I mean how could Tiger be #1 when he has golfed like #2 for so many months? And, back in the day, any PGA tour stop would've been a Major, for that area of Wisconsin.

[Mike_Golden]

Maybe I'm just too pragmatic for this discussion but when I read things like '...there are 156 players in the field, setting up the course really hard would make it tough to finish in under 5 1/2 hours...'  as I did in the newspaper this morning it makes all the sense in the world to me for the pin placements to be in rather friendly places for the first couple of rounds.  And the PGA, rightfully so IMO. doesn't want to embarass club pros who qualify for the tournament-after all, this is a tournament with much history, it's not the True Value Hardware Greater Lower Slobovia Open.

I would guess that after the cut we'll see the tougher placements and scores will go up.  If they do, will that make everyone happy?

[Jeff Goldman]

I don't think the issue is how “hard� the course plays, but how interesting the golf is. Yesterday was basic tourney golf which could have been played anywhere. The only interesting holes I saw were 1, which required some thought, and 15.

The infrastructure part worked beautifully. Easy drive, easy parking, but very long walk, especially to the back 9. Great sightlines too, though some perilous climbs.

[George Pazin]

Well said, Jeff.

I don't care what they shoot, I care how they shoot it. If they shoot even par over the weekend because the holes are in impossible locations, that wouldn't interest me nearly as much as how they'd play with firm and fast conditions.

[Dan Kelly]

Have we gotten answers to the most pertinent questions -- raised by David Feherty's wonderful line about WS's resemblance to a links (and/or the lack thereof):

Who decided to have bentgrass approaches?

Why?

And: Is that an *architectural* decision?

[John Foley]

Can someone tell me why the bent approaches can't be firmed up? Is it that you can keep the same firmness there and on the greens different? I seem to be missing something?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Can someone tell me why the bent approaches can't be firmed up? Is it that you can keep the same firmness there and on the greens different? I seem to be missing something?

John,

Our courses have had occaisional trouble with this. It's possible, but sometimes the amount of water draining off large greens, or green surrounds to the front makes that area soggy.  If the green is sand, and the front soil is clay or silt, it tends to hold water.

Construction techniques to remedy this include part to part circle heads so the green and surrounds can each get the proper amount of irrigation, adding sand to the approach area to make it drain more like the green, and adding herringbone tile to the approach area to suck excess moisture out of the soil.

It would seem to be simpler to create firm and fast, just like they did in the old days, but for some reason, it gets harder and harder to make it, well....harder and harder!

[John Foley]

Jeff,

Thanks for the note & clarification.

That makes sense.

[mike_malone]

 For many people the par threes are the heart of a course.I heard that Mr.Kohler told Pete Dye"Build me a Ballybunion!".
    Well IMHO this is no Ballybunion when you look at the par threes.
    Ballybunion has five of them,only one has a tee shot even towards the water#15.WS has a formula --4 par threes--each by the water.Ballybunion has 3 par threes in four holes.

    I must say this nonformula approach appeals more to me.

[tonyt]

OT - Where's the music?

The traditional PGA Championship theme music is gone. The Masters has its distinctive piece, the USGA Championships have their imposing and announcing theme, but the little piano number that means its PGA time has vanished  

[Bruceski]

At least the PGA has its "Glory's Last Chance" or whatever motto. Does Augusta have a motto?

[Dustin Knight]

Tony,

That was the first thing I noticed this year!

Bruce,

I do remember when I was younger that coverage used to
open with Jim Nantz saying " Springtime in Augusta, time for the Masters " 92-99.

They may be making the Straits look easy but I sure wouldn't
like to be in the "sandbox" like mr Clarke was this morning!
What a fantastic piece of Architecture! Like it or not, It's definately creating a talking point and the players seem to want to avoid it like the plague!

[Matt Kardash]

The 11th hole is a GREAT hole.
I found it interesting that Dye said that 10 was his favorite hole. it really is an excellent hole.

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