It's taken five years, but we finally have the anti-thesis of Shinnecock Sunday, as it relates to thump, to put a full spectrum on fimrness into perspective. While the first two and half rounds back in 04' were played on what I'll call a reasonable canvas, the last round, as we all know, pushed the canvas to it's extreme. If Mother nature can provide this end of the spectrum, What's wrong with what Mark Michaud provided?
A saturated BB showed it's architectural merits this week. Just as a firm one @ SHGC did in 04'. The similarity that deserves criticism would be the surrounding of bunkers with the lush stuff at both venues.
With other threads spewing some of the negatives, this soft version yields, I was wondering which version is best for a U.S. Open. With just a little bit of drying the leaderboard is filling with the higher ranked players. Is that important? Is having exciting golf?
I'm taking the approach that seeing the full spectrum, even if it takes five years, is pretty cool. I'm confident that the firmer canvas is more testing, and exciting, however, Those that whine about this year's softness are just as wrong as those who decried Shinnecock's firmness.
Thoughts?