Brad, I thought this was the 3rd hardest of the tee shots on the par 3's at Merion. I thought 17 was the toughest and 3 was right behind it. On 9 I thought we hit 6or7 irons in . The 13th was difficult for those in the front bunker even though it was only a wedge. Great set of par 3's. Jack
at was very hard
Jack,
My point is that back in the day when you were making this shot with hickory shafted clubs, this was one really difficult shot. There was so much hazard in front of and surrounding this green, that you had to play a true aerial shot. That was a very hard shot in the day that this green was built.
Also consider that the blasting of sand out of the green bunkers, has lifted the putting sward up on all those edges. Those contours originally fell away on the sides so that the ball had not only to land on the green, but in the middle of the green. It was actually a much smaller target to hold than it is today, and with mid-iron equipment that was a lot harder to get a lofted shot out of than anything we have today.
I wish Wayne was still on here to comment on that ramp in the back of the green. It seems that that has been softened over time. But I think that is an illusion. I think that ramp in the back has not been altered, rather the left and right sides have risen so much from bunker sand accumulations, over the decades, that the ramp just appears to be softer?