[Phil_the_Author]

From the May 10th issue of Newsday:

Mike Davis, "Bunkers were never intended to be a place where you wanted to go. And they've turned into that. That's why we've mad a concerted effort..."

An effort to do what? To make all 70 bunkers softer and fluffier and so, more difficult.

Mike Davis, "I remember a few years ago, the goal was if we could ever get to the point where they were as hard [to get out of] as a recovery from the rough around the greens, I'd do cartwheels. I think we've done that... There are some players who are so used to getting perfect bunkers every week, they come to the Open and say, 'These bunkers are horrible.'"

 

[Garland Bayley]

Ross had a cheaper better way to accomplish the same thing. Just send a calvary troop through them on horseback before the competition.

[Will MacEwen]

Ross had a cheaper better way to accomplish the same thing. Just send a calvary troop through them on horseback before the competition.

We get deer tracks in the bunkers at my course.  Not pleasant - but how do you get mad at a deer?

[Garland Bayley]

Ross had a cheaper better way to accomplish the same thing. Just send a calvary troop through them on horseback before the competition.

We get deer tracks in the bunkers at my course.  Not pleasant - but how do you get mad at a deer?

It's a hazard Will. You are not supposed to get mad, you are supposed to get out. And it is supposed to have a detrimental effect on your score.

[Kalen Braley]

Phillip,

Thats wicked cool stuff.  With the Open essentially only a month away how is The Black shaping up?

Kalen

[Will MacEwen]

Ross had a cheaper better way to accomplish the same thing. Just send a calvary troop through them on horseback before the competition.

We get deer tracks in the bunkers at my course.  Not pleasant - but how do you get mad at a deer?

It's a hazard Will. You are not supposed to get mad, you are supposed to get out. And it is supposed to have a detrimental effect on your score.

I have enough trouble getting out without being in a hoof print, and my score is a colourful mosaic of detrimental effects.

[Doug Braunsdorf]

Phil,

  Last time I was on the Black, I noticed several new bunkers.  Not to mention #14, where the green was enlarged and larger bunkers created, ostensibly for more hole locations.  If you know about these, would you give us any color as to the thought process behind it?  I am speaking of several;

1. Back right bunker on 8
2. FW bunker on 9 (left side)

Thank you,

Doug

[Phil_the_Author]

Doug,

I know you've played the Black since the 2002 Open. The back right bunker on #8 was in place for that. It is an original bunker that time and poor maintenance did away with. It is in the exact spot that it was originally located and the putting surface was expanded out to where it was back then.

The one on 9 is new. The purpose is to create a real risk/reward aspect for attempting to drive the ball onto the top left plateau. By the widening of the fairway to the right it also provides for a safe play as well.

[Doug Braunsdorf]

Doug,

I know you've played the Black since the 2002 Open. The back right bunker on #8 was in place for that. It is an original bunker that time and poor maintenance did away with. It is in the exact spot that it was originally located and the putting surface was expanded out to where it was back then.

The one on 9 is new. The purpose is to create a real risk/reward aspect for attempting to drive the ball onto the top left plateau. By the widening of the fairway to the right it also provides for a safe play as well.

Thanks Phil.  I don't recall that other bunker, which isn't to say it wasn't always there.  9, to me, seemed a little unnecessary-extra maintenance cost.  I wouldn't think guys could get on that top left side of the fairway there. 

I appreciate you insight, all told.  Thanks!

[BCyrgalis]

Hey Everyone,

I did a story for the NY Post on the Black and all the changes made since '02.  There were a couple bunkers added, a lot of tees moved back and some other slight adjustments.  Some real interesting stuff, including ideas from Mike Davis about how the course will set up.  Check out the link below and click on "Next" at the bottom of the picture window to see the graphic that details all the changes.  

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04122009/sports/golf/bethpage_lets_public_test_drive_change_o_164019.htm

[Phil_the_Author]

Nice article!

[Jim Nugent]

Hey Everyone,

I did a story for the NY Post on the Black and all the changes made since '02.  There were a couple bunkers added, a lot of tees moved back and some other slight adjustments.  Some real interesting stuff, including ideas from Mike Davis about how the course will set up.  Check out the link below and click on "Next" at the bottom of the picture window to see the graphic that details all the changes.  

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04122009/sports/golf/bethpage_lets_public_test_drive_change_o_164019.htm

From your article: "Course set-up is a subjective thing," Davis said, "and I think some things done in '02 weren't done properly."

Did he tell you what any of those were? 

[Sam Maryland]

Other observations:

Every single tree to the left of hole #1 has been removed, and the trees to the right of that hole have been thinned considerably (this since last season). 

It's been discussed here before but every tree behind #4 green has also been removed (this a couple years ago). 

Lots of trees/brush removed down the right side of #12 since the last tourney (again, discussed here before, and has been a couple years). 

[BCyrgalis]

Jim,

Sorry for the belated response.  There were a couple comments that Mike Davis made, indirectly, concerning things that were done wrong in '02.  He never came out and said, "this was done wrong," but he would infer some things that he would have changed - and then did change for this year's set up.  Mike's a really good guy, and I think his intentions were never to slander Tom Meeks, who set up the course in '02, so don't take any of this the wrong way.

The first thing he - and a lot of people, including the people at Bethpage - regretted was the tee placement on No. 10 on Friday.  When the round started, the weather wasn't terrible yet.  By the time Corey Paving got around, it was raining the wind was gusting pretty hard into the players' faces.  "The day after the Open left, we pulled that fairway in," Dave Catalano told me about two months ago. 

The other real main gaff was how the rough was treated.  With how long the course played, to have extremely tight fairways and extremely thick and long rough, all on top of how fast the greens were ... well, the challenge is almost insurmountable.  That's why Davis is such a proponenet of this graduated rough system.  As I wrote in the article, he wants to penalize the player who missed the fairway by 30 yards more than the players who missed it by three feets - and to me, that seems just about right. 

Some other quick specifics: No. 12.  The reason they tightened that bunker to the left is because it was an unfair driving hole for someone who couldn't carry it.  And if you did carry it, there was still about 20 yards of rough right over it.  Now that's remedied.  No. 6.  The side fo the hill was shaved to make some more options available, where in '02 there was only one option off the tee (I wrote a little more about this is the "Ground Control to Major Tom.." thread).  No. 7.  The angle to the fairway took the driver out of the hands of many of the guys, and that's now fixed with the new tee box, back and to the left.

There were some other specifics, a lot of them concerned with the width of the fairways.  He said they're going to be wider this year than they were in '02.  That's the main gist of it.

[Joe Perches]

I did a story for the NY Post on the Black and all the changes made since '02

Well done on the article.

What's the chance the course actually plays 7400+ par 70 any single day?

[Justin Broderson]

Just wanted to say I played the course yesterday and unless they just let people run through the bunkers and don't put rakes out I have no idea what Mike Davis is talking about.  The bunkers to me were the easiest bunkers I've played in a long time.  Our caddie "Big Dave" told us it was heavy sand in the bunkers.  It was just  so easy to control the ball from it and this is coming from a 10 handicap.

[Phil_the_Author]

Justin,

The majority of the bunker work will be done once the courses closes for play at the end of the month.I guarantee that you wouldn't be saying that if you were playing in the Open...

[Justin Broderson]

Philip,

   That would make sense, because they were just too perfect.  My caddy kept saying "if your gonna miss, the bunkers are your friend" and boy did that hold true. 
   
     With that said, the rough and greenside rough in particular is just out of control.  The strength of my game is hitting the ball along way.  From the rough there was no way for me to advance the ball more then 120 yards no matter what I did. The last thing you want to do there is leave yourself a short chip from the rough, nearly impossible for average guy such as myself. 

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()