[NAF]

Yes, I know this hole was reachable in Jack's day but given the modern ball and cannon driver, this may be the easiest of the par 3s, oops par 4s. I've never seen so many eagle putts, the valley of sin doesnt do enough to protect it I guess either..

[John_Conley]

Noel:

We can't have it both ways.  The USGA chooses to give courses an extreme makeover while the R&A lets them lay.  Are you proposing a 50' wide fairway, the insertion of cross bunkering, deep rough, and a hole cut even closer to the valley?

[David_Tepper]

NAF -

Think of it this way - the 17th is a par 4 1/2 and the 18th is a par 3 1/2.

DT

[Brent Hutto]

Or put another way, would the last two holes be more interesting if the seventeenth was 50 yards shorter and the eighteenth 150 yards longer? That way they'd play to about 4.0 and 3.8 strokes, respectively.

[Jason Topp]

I like it the way it is.  Downwind a possibility of a 2, seems like you should get a 3, most people get a four.

[Brian Phillips]

NAF,

It is awesome.  It was downwind today...they were still struggling to get birdies though..

Brian

[NAF]

What do I know? I tried to drive the green and hit a cut that landed one inch inside of the white fence down the right side and made 5!

[John Foley]

Caught the broadcast at lunch today and guess who hits the OB stake down the right w/ his drive and bounces in play??

Fred Funk!!! Straightest driver on Tour!!

I for one love it as is. who cares what the par is and there are some chances at 2 and many 3's made. They still have to pull it off and not everyone will! That is what makes it so special. Did anyone come close to going through the green today?

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

The concept of par, especially on individual holes, is irrelevant.  All that matters is how may strokes at the end of 72 holes in relationship to the next guy.

[Brad Klein]

Median score thus far at The Old Course is 74. Perfect! Who cares how 18 plays in terms of par? I think a driveable 18th is a wonderful dramatic stage. Besides, it means a two-shot lead is not safe on Sunday.

[Scott Coan]

The coverage in NZ started at 8pm last night so I had the benefit of watching nearly all of Tigers' round and he made the whole track look defenseless.

Perfect distance control with his irons and nearly every makeable putt was dead center.

If no wind kicks up then he will tear this old lady to shreds.

[Patrick_Mucci]

We can't have it both ways.  The USGA chooses to give courses an extreme makeover while the R&A lets them lay.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

TOC has been radically altered for the OPEN.

Dramatically narrowed fairways.
Rough where fairways used to be.
Added length
Reconfigured bunkers

Do you call those changes leaving the course as it lays ?[/color]

[John_Conley]

Pat:

My comment was just regurgitating the oft-repeated mantras.  You are correct that they've done things to the Old Course.  But not to 1 and 18.

I was just trying to point out to Noel that he's asking for more of it if he wants them to do something to the widest fairway in golf.

[Brian Phillips]

Pat,

You are wrong..

Brian

[Brad Klein]

Round one stats:

average course score: 73.67
17th hole: 4.64 (no. 1 rank in difficulty)
18th hole: 3.53 (no. 18 rank in difficulty)

So, they balance out nicely.

[Jim Nugent]

The coverage in NZ started at 8pm last night so I had the benefit of watching nearly all of Tigers' round and he made the whole track look defenseless.

Perfect distance control with his irons and nearly every makeable putt was dead center.

If no wind kicks up then he will tear this old lady to shreds.

Scott -- do you know how often Tiger hit driver?   I feel that if he can hit driver on most holes -- and hits that club like he did in the U.S. Open -- he will destroy the course and the field.  

[Scott Coan]

Scott -- do you know how often Tiger hit driver?   I feel that if he can hit driver on most holes -- and hits that club like he did in the U.S. Open -- he will destroy the course and the field.  

Don't really have a good recollection of how many times he took out the big stick.  What I do remember is that he was not swinging like a mad man with it, he was very controlled (in that Tiger sort of way).

Looks like he's playing a new little 3 wood (not sure how new...) that on one hole on the front nine went a bit too far and found his first fairway bunker.  Then proceeded to nail a short iron to about 15 feet and bin the putt.

He was greenside on that 600 yard 5 par with an iron and hit his only really poor chip shot that just found a decline near the hole and rolled away about 20 feet.  He still came within a whisker of making that putt.

He has the uncanny ability to reduce the OC to a pitch and putt whilst the likes of Ernie and Phil and a bunch of others struggle.  If he can play tomorrow afternoon in the wind (if there is any) like he did today just give him the jug right now.

[A_Clay_Man]

Forget Jacks' day, they showed the '27 open film of Jones, and he seemed to be pitching from where most of these guys are today. Besides, all four of my fanatsy players made par.

[Voytek Wilczak]

I think his good play at TOC comes from the fact that he genuinely loves the place and is fired up when he plays there for a Major trophy.

Tiger (like Nicklaus, like Watson) gets it, and it's good to see.

[NAF]

Bobby Clampett on #18

You are really seeing on 18 an example of how technology has changed the face of this game. I can never recall in all the years I’ve been watching the Open Championship at St. Andrews, this many players able to go for the green at 18. And there’s no place for them to lengthen 18.

[A_Clay_Man]

Noel- Thanx for putting up that clamopett quote.

I listened to him say it at least twice, and frankly he seems to only be jumping on a bandwagon.
The justification that "so many" are doing it, today, can in no way an be just indictment of technology. Many other factors have contributed to added distance obtained by the best of the best. Heck Maintenance is responsible for 15%. Then there's education, fitness and then spin rate.

[Paul Richards]

Mickelson just drove it hole high and had about a 25-footer for eagle.

He missed it.


I guess the hole isn't 'defenseless' after all....

[Doug Siebert]

Well, the 18th (and 17th) was defenseless against Faldo today, he birdied 17 and eagled 18.  Has that ever been done in an Open before?  I'll bet even if it was done in a casual round the caddies would be talking about it for quite a while.  Wouldn't it have been something if he'd made a few more putts along the way and posted a number just low enough to make Tiger worry a bit coming down the stretch...

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

TOC is just fine thank you. I agree with the statement you cannot have it both ways. I like the R@A way much better of the two. I watched the best in the world fight tooth and nail. Yes tTger won somewhat easily, butmany made their runs and it was not enough. Plus the natural defense of the course was absent for the most part all week. TOC rocks as the kids say.

[Paul Richards]

Despite the fact that there could be no Van De Velde meltdown on TOC 18, I still really enjoyed it for the chances it gave the players - Olazabal played it in birdie, birdie, eagle, and birdie - but that still doesn't make for an Open champion.

It's a great finisher.


Now if they only had a competition ball, Tiger wouldn't be able to hit a 3-wood hole high anymore.....

 

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