Niall,
You mentioned, "I'm not sure the reason given for not using the 18th on Red ie. ordinary punters wouldn't be able to play the US Open course as it was played, is really strong enough. Surely setting the course up best you can takes precidence ?"
There is a 'psyche' that becomes part of all great private clubs that surrounds and controls the golf course and how it is maintained and evolves. At times this is looked upon by outsiders with everything from questions to discussions to outright derision. A great example of this is Augusta and the now annual announcements of adjustments to the golf course.
The same mentality is true at Bethpage.
Consider, what is the single greatest criticism of the course since the 2002 Open? The continued use of U.S. Open fairway widths. Yet WHY are they kept? Because, and I know some on here have had a very difficult time accepting this, the gap between the minority complaining about them and the majority who want them to remain is huge. People really do want to be able to play an actual U.S. Open course under as close to Open conditions as possible. They are even asked why certain back tees are never used and the green speeds are nevr increased to Open speeds. Golfers are masochists and want to have the opportunity to measure themselves against ultimate challenges. Why else would there be so many balls found in the water on 17 at TPC? No, like it or not players really do want to face this challenge even knowing that they will fail miserably.
So the idea of having a hole, especially the final one, that is an amalgamation of three holes and so could NEVER be used by the everyday golfer seeking the Bethpage U.S. Open experience is far more than something decided by the number of corporate tents that would no longer be on the 1st fairway of the Red. No, the major reason why this idea that was floated was rejected very quickly (despite the impression that Ron gives that it was an almost done deal, it wasn't even close) was for that reason. By the way, the USGA wouldn't have lost any corporate tents if that had been the case; they would still have had enough space on the 1st fairway of the Red and the 18th fairway of the Red to actually have gained a few...
At Bethpage the "powers-that-be" want to provide a true U.S. Open experience for the public golfer. That there are a few who think it wrong, who rate the course lower, who cite architectural and shot angles and values reasons doesn't matter. They are supported by the majority of those who play the course and want it to play as is.
Rick is correct and spot on... If it comes down to 18 on Sunday and a playoff that is decided by a winning putt, there will be universal acclaim given to the transcendancy of the moment where the victor birdied 18 and his vanquished foe missed. As for putting the tee down on the front of the lower tee; yes, it is conceivably drivable from there. I know, as I saw someone do it years ago with a persimmon wood with a steel-shaft. Yet the basic hole design with the long and sharp uphill terrain leading up to a VERY small opening to the green has everything going against it to be given serious consideration for playing it this way. The smart player would almost always choose to lay-up off the tee to the flat area below rather than leave themselves with a 40 to 60 yard severely uphill blind pitch... and that is only if they are in the fairway. That, too, is not the answer.
Steve, you asked, "I wonder what happened to Red getting a Women's Open." Unfortunately that isn't something that is being given serious consideration at the present time. Fortunately, it is my understanding that the idea of hosting the U.S. Amateur on both the Red & the Black is gaining momentum once again. Some are aware that the 2012 Amateur was offered to Bethpage a few years ago and turned down by the Park for several reasons. There may be a new 'mentality' about this now.
Now my good friend Matt Ward is STRONGLY in the lets put a tee down below in front of the current tee and make it a drivable 300-yarder camp. As I'm sure he will eventually chime in with this I'll only say that we've debated this enough and I won't comment on it.
The real solution here is for some true outside-the-box thinking. A suggestion was made a number of years ago that was recently made once again, this time to ears that were surprised at both its simplicity and viability. It would allow for the everyday player to enjoy the true "Open" experience and create a tough, challenging finishing hole, something which it appears that many want to see, otherwise why cite statistics, as Whitten did, from the 2002 Open showing how easy the hole played?
The idea is a simple one and requires nothing more than two new tee boxes. Nothing else of major consequence. The first tee should be built to allow for a tee shot of 180-230 yards into the 17th green. This new teeing area would be placed to the RIGHT of the 16th fairway between what that and the 5th fairway of the Red. The green complex would remain the same. Now instead of a shot to a shallow but very wide green the player would be faced with a narrow and long one. This hole would become a much greater challenge for the pro as their greatest problem at this distance is one of accuracy rather than length.
This would enable anew tee box to be built in front and just to the left of the current 17th tee. From there the "new" 18th becomes a very tough uphill dogleg left of 480-500 yards. The landing area for drives in one sense is very wide as it runs up the length as the hole exists offering a wide variety of locations for long and short hitters to play to, but it is actually critically short as it would always be into a 25- area front-to-back if the corner were cut. In all cases, the second shot would end up being played from well back in the fairway from where they are now. A long-iron up that hill to try and get a close putt for birdie is a very daunting one to face.
These changes would allow the hole to be played by all who come to Bethpage, would create a much tougher finishing hole if that is what is desired and a bettr 17th hole (in my opinion) than the one that is there.
It would also allow for another change... a new tee to be put BEHIND the current 17th tee that would allow the 15th hole to be played as a short par-5. Again, the challenge of going for that incredible green in two with a fairway "metal" might actually become the ultimate in risk/reward shots on the Black. Not choosing this, as the majority probably wouldn't, would leave a short-iron into the green; in other words, the same shot that a number of the bigger hitters have today anyway and today's hole at that is the toughest challenge on the course. But that is a discussion for another day or Open...
