Kenny B:
Thanks for your comments -- a bit more from me on my previous statements.
I have the utmost respect and fondness for Plainfield -- I have long taken the position it is without question the #2 course in NJ behind the legendary PV. I also see Plainfield as being vastly underrated and even ignored on a national level.
With that said ...
I had the pleasure in being on-hand for the '78 US Amateur and the '87 US Women's Open and both events stretched the capacity for Plainfield in those two instances -- especially the Women's Open which was played in mid-July, featured horrendous t-storms and caused plenty of havoc on the parking and logistics side.
In sum -- the facility was stretched to the gills and it showed big time.
Hosting the initial tourney of the FedEx series is no small undertaking. Ridgewood was blessed in having 27-holes on site from which to handle crowds and corporate tents. In addition, they had neighboring Bergen County Community College to handle parking plus other assorted areas spread nearby -- such as the Garden State Plaza, to name just one.
Ridgewood also benefited in a small but large way from Bergen County's blue laws which essentially shut down business on Sundays. That made access via Rte 4 and Rte 17 manageable for the final round action.
You make the assumption that the course (Plainfield) will only be shut down for two (2) weeks. Keep in mind, the overall preparation and the amount of rounds that will be permitted to be played will be impacted leading up to the event itself.
The playability dimension of the course will also be changed to handle the caliber of play you see from the elite best players. That could mean a clear backward step when fairway widths are reduced dramatically. The whole purpose of the improvements that were carried out fairly recently were meant to provide wider fairway areas to accentuate the playing angles into the greens as originally designed.
I concur with your desire to see more classic courses be used for such events but the reality is that many classic courses are ENGULFED in highly congested dense suburban settings and given the 2009 logistics / needs for major men's events the probability of such venues being successful is not good.
Plainfield doesn't need a FedEx Cup tourney to legitimize what Donald Ross did there from years ago. Here's another thing to ponder -- Plainfield will need to lengthen a number of holes to really test the big boys. That will mean added costs and frankly I don't see how gorilla like tees will really add much to the course itself.
Last item -- the parking situation will be sheer bedlam -- the crampness in and arount the club will make that week really difficult -- especially for the neighbors in and around the vicinity of the club. Having the advantage of Plainfield West will not be much help and likely Plainfield West will serve as the location for corporate tents and other critical components because the actual course grounds will be really maxed out.
Finally, there is little effective gallery room for so many holes at Plainfield. I can't imagine how many more than 200 people can actually watch action by the green at the par-3 11th!
Ditto the crowd control issues you have when people are in and around the clubhouse and the closeness of such holes as #1, #9, #10 and #18.
Like I said I salute Plainfield -- it is a superb course and worthy of much fanfare and attention. I'm happy to see such an event in NJ but candidly only the likes of Baltusrol and Ridgewood among classic courses can host such events. On the modern side I can see why Trump is pushing his 36-hole complex and frankly The Donald is blessed with more land and more transport / parking solutions than Plainfield has.