Well, I must say that although I've attended 3 other US Opens (CC, PB & BPB) I am amazed at how well the USGA runs the event. If the devil is in the details they get it right. Buses left on a time schedule; your bus leaves 4 minutes after it pulls up whether it's full or there are only 3 people on board. Projections of gridlock were completely wrong as traffic moved smoothly both from the Polo Fields for volunteers and Qualcom Stadium for the general public. Caddies wear blue, gold or white bibs and the free programs indicate this as well as the players scores; you can indentify a player you have never seen before from a distance. We had 15 people to marshall the par 3 8th; this seemed like overkill, until Tiger's group comes through and then you wish you had more. Not one Quiet Please sign is used; the 2 marshalls on the tee have yellow wooden paddles to indicate ball flight; everyone else just holds up their hands. Every green had a police officer present as well as officers walking with the group. They turned the 9th and 10th fairways of the North course into a massive driving range; it also seemed like overkill, but that was proven wrong when it was virtully full on Wed. Lines for concesions moved smoothly and beer was $6. Never a wait to use the rest rooms as each concession stand had a village of them enclosed in a wood lattice. Did I mention the free massages in the volunteer hospitality tent.
As for the golf course I think you were proved right; it might not be a fun place for the average golfer to play but did prove the perfect venue to contest the modern game. The setup was fantastic; players were allowed to actually miss the fairway and recover from the first strip of rough. Venturing past that was a sure 1 shot penalty to get out of the thick stuff; a fitting penalty for being that far off line. Ironically Tiger was able to go farther off line than that on several occasions. The gallery ropes are spread a little bit further back than a regular tournament to ensure the rough does not get trampled by the spectators; his lie on the right side of 13 on Sat. went far enough offline to get a good lie in the trampled rough. He was also far enough ofline yesterday on 15 to find the fairway bunker on 9.
The greens were quite receptive on both Mon. and Tues. as there was marine layer all day. Luckily the sun came out Wed. afternoon just enough to firm up the greens. We watched them stimp #8 on Mon. and Tues and they were not running at 13; probably just under 11. Every day the USGA would also use the "Thump-o-meter", a device that drops a steel ball on a 2 foot steel shaft onto the green surface. A gauge is connected to it and reading are taken in various areas. The impact is such that the operator has to fix his ball mark after they are done. We didn't see any water applied to the greens at any time during the event; except for a light syringing just before they were cut, both in the morning and evening.
The fairways were like nothing I've ever seen before. They really were perfect for hitting irons off; let's hope they stay that way. This would require that carts remain on the path; seems a small price to pay for such a big payoff.
Spectating was fairly easy, so long as you din't want to follow Tiger. I had no trouble following Ells group the first day. I watched the Home Depot brigade of Katayama, Jimenez and Weekly (they all showed up in orange) Thurs. and had no trouble following the action. It helps to have 20,000 of the 50,000 spectators seated. Although the Open draws a lot of noncore golfers, behavior for the most part was good. I just wish that every idiot who shouts "get in the hole" would imeadiately spontaneously combust; it makes "you the man" sound good.
There are 2 Charity Tournaments today and then Thurs. and Fri. play was determined by lottery for those in possesion of a City Card. Regular play from the reservation system and dawn patrol will resume on Sat. Prices will remain at $49 for residents and $181 for nonresidents on the weekend. Rates go to $49 and $200 next year and to $73 and $218 in 2010, then to $76 and $229 in 2011. The North course won't fully open until Sept. of this year. All in all I am very happy to have played a small part of the event, and proud that San Diego could come through in the clutch.