U.S. site which would be most favorable to the U.S. team

[PThomas]

you are head of the PGA  and get to pick the next US site for the Ryder Cup...you are instructed to pick the site which would give our apparently hapless team the best chance to win...what would it be?

[John_Conley]

Valhalla.

[PThomas]

why Valhalla John?

[Kevin Pallier]

I'd go to one where they have played well in the past Ryder Cups / Presidents Cups.....The Country Club, Kiawah Island & Robert Trent Jones Golf Club for starters

[Rick Shefchik]

The TPC Stadium Course in Scottsdale -- assuming the U.S. players could get their matches to the 16th hole...

[johnk]

I'd say Pebble Beach.

Going on the theory that you want a course that the Americans know and like, and have done well on.  It also has greens that are hard to read at first.

It's a course that many Euro team members won't have played as much.

[Matthew Mollica]

Is there such a course in this day and age?

How does one provide advantage Tiger, Mickelson, Toms, and Furyk, while at the same time, making things tougher for Garcia, Donald, Harrington and Casey?

Matthew

[Nick Pozaric]

I'd say Pebble Beach.

Going on the theory that you want a course that the Americans know and like, and have done well on.  It also has greens that are hard to read at first.

It's a course that many Euro team members won't have played as much.

not all the players like PB becasue the greens are bumpy thats why Tiger doesnt play there

[Big B]

Firestone

[Voytek Wilczak]

Pitch and putt?

 

Nah, they've been missing putts, too.

I am at a loss.

[Eric Franzen]

Winged Foot west or any other course that have hosted the US Open. The stats for European victories there speaks for itself.

[Adam Clayman]

not all the players like PB becasue the greens are bad thats why Tiger doesnt play there

So Nick, The greens are bad at Pebble Beach?

This perpetuation of pampered perversity is positively perplexing.

The greens are not bad at PB.

In Late January, due to the nature of the set-up of the AT&T, the greens do get bumpy.

To call them bad, is irresponsible and flat out wrong.

[Joe Hancock]

In Late January, due to the nature of the set-up of the AT&T, the greens do get bumpy.

In what way does the specific set up for this particular tournament make the greens bumpy?

Joe

[Steve Lapper]

Adam,

   Nick is an absolute expert on all things PGA...just ask him!!

   Pebble has 100% pure poa annua greens (something not seen frequently in bluegrass country). Yes, they get bumpy and especially in cool wet weather interspersed with sun and periodic, but fleeting warmth. They need constant cutting and rolling to play perfect. Yet, if I recall correctly, didn't Tiger break all kinds of US Open records with his runaway victory at PB? I seem to also recall that Tiger has said numerous times that Pebble is his favorite Open venue and his favorite course in California.

   Seeing how I haven't spoken to Tiger lately (sic), I speculate that his lack of appearance at the AT&T is more about his desire to trim the schedule and limit himself to certain other PGA events. But, of course, Nick is likely chatting into his ear right now in County Kildare.



PS....Of course, Valhalla has great greens...that's why they are rebuilding most of them!

[Eric Franzen]

I speculate that his lack of appearance at the AT&T is more about his desire to trim the schedule and limit himself to certain other PGA events.

Woods said he was skipping the AT&T for the second straight year because of the bumpy, poa annua greens in early February.

``You walk off the golf course saying you can never make a 1-foot putt,'' he said.

http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news04/woods1.html

[Steve Lapper]

I speculate that his lack of appearance at the AT&T is more about his desire to trim the schedule and limit himself to certain other PGA events.

Woods said he was skipping the AT&T for the second straight year because of the bumpy, poa annua greens in early February.

``You walk off the golf course saying you can never make a 1-foot putt,'' he said.

http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news04/woods1.html

It is bumpy in early February indeed, but Tiger rearranged much of his schedule in 2004....just go back and see the variety of tournaments he erased off his schedule. He was also quoted in one of the golf biz rags as not much caring for the format play with the amateurs in that event.....my guess is that all of that contributed just as much as the "bumpy" greens.

BTW...Winged Foot was bumpy as well....exclusively due to the USGA's debatable decision to NOT cut and roll those greens to avoid any repeat of the Shinny debacle.

[Tim Bert]

Gillette Ridge in CT.  There's no room for a ground game there whatsoever, though now that I think about it the Euros weren't exactly bumping and running too much in this whooping.

Perhaps we could find a tricky mini golf venue and name 12 year old children to the team in a surprise move.

[Darren_Kilfara]

Winged Foot west or any other course that have hosted the US Open. The stats for European victories there speaks for itself.

Because that worked so well at Oakland Hills and Oak Hill (two of the last three US courses to host the event)!

[Nick Pozaric]

not all the players like PB becasue the greens are bad thats why Tiger doesnt play there

So Nick, The greens are bad at Pebble Beach?

This perpetuation of pampered perversity is positively perplexing.

The greens are not bad at PB.

In Late January, due to the nature of the set-up of the AT&T, the greens do get bumpy.

To call them bad, is irresponsible and flat out wrong.

Im sorry, Ill edit out bad and replace them with bumpy

[Matt_Cohn]

We should follow the European formula and find a site where all of the American players have lots of experience, but where almost none of the Europeans have ever played before.

Oh, wait. I guess that place doesn't actually, you know, exist. Does it?

[Eric Franzen]

Winged Foot west or any other course that have hosted the US Open. The stats for European victories there speaks for itself.

Because that worked so well at Oakland Hills and Oak Hill (two of the last three US courses to host the event)!

Well, you know... never trust anything a European says when it comes to Ryder Cup...

[Anthony_Nysse]

Steve,
  Apparently you didn't watch any of the Senoir Tour event that was recently at Pebble-The greens were still very bumpy and sucked and it's not Febuary! Having an assistant who used to work there, the amount of rounds that they have along with not closing the course before the ATT and the Senoir event, doesn't leave alot of time to prepare tournament quaility greens, other than for an Open. Pebble would be a poor choice....
 Just because Valhalla is rebuilding their greens doesn't mean that they were bad? Do you have any clue as to how many new strains of bentgrass have come out since Valhalla opened in 1986? Strains that are much more heat tolerant, disease resistant and do not produce as much thatch? Louisville is not the easiest place to grow bentgrass. Maybe the greens were not orginally built to USGA specs? We rebuilt our greens in 2001, but that didn't mean that they were bad-We changed grass from Tifdwarf to Tifeagle....

Tony Nysse
Sr. Asst. Supt.
Long Cove Club
HHI, SC

[Greg Tallman]

Is there a course where superior talent does not matter?

[Anthony_Nysse]

Maybe something in the south because most Europens don't get much of a chance to play on warm season grasses unless they are playing on the PGA tour....oh, and it doesn't have to have bermudagrass greens! And lets be real, it will never have a chance of being at Austin Golf Club, The Rawls Course or Cuscowilla. A few possibilities....

Shoal Creek
Doral
Southern Hills
Oak Tree
Atlanta Athletic Club
Peachtree
Dallas Natianal
TPC to name a few....

Tony Nysse
Sr. Asst. Supt.
Long Cove Club
HHI, SC

[peter_p]

Isleworth.
Lake Nona
Someplace in Phoenix
Someplace in Texas

In short, where our pros live and practice. While Pebble Beach is nice, its greens woudn't give anyone an advantage.