First, I would like to thank Jeff Warne and the entire staff at The Bridge for being such great hosts. Same goes for Rick Hartmann and the staff at Atlantic. Everything was first class, from the food, to the service, to the course conditions. A+ to both facilities. Also, it was nice to meet you Matt. Too bad we met at the BBQ after both missing match play. Oh well, there is always next year!
As for the golf courses...
My first round was played at The Bridge at 7:50am Saturday morning off of #10. Maybe my nerves made it seem worse but it felt like a 25mph wind in my face for my first tee shot. Jeff Warne might be able to either confirm that or give a better estimate as to how hard it was blowing. Let's put it this way, I drove the ball about a foot into the right rough, hit 5-iron out and still had 127 yards to the hole. For what is normally a reasonably reachable par-5 with no wind, it played difficult. Especially having to hit your third shot straight uphill into the wind. Needless to say, the wind never let up the entire round. And when I say never, I mean NEVER.
As for my assessment of The Bridge... The last time I had played it before the championship was in 2003. LOTS of tree removal. I really thought the tree removal opened the course up visually which benefited the amazing views on the property. Plus, I think it allows the wind to wreak more havoc on the player. Thumbs up on the tree removal. The new tees built on #6 on #16 made the walk doable. If I would have had to walk up to the 16th tee I would have needed an ambulance. It created a much more straight on shot to the green and put the bunker(s) guarding it off to the right which allowed the player to hit a tee shot directly at the hole without having to carry it. Considering it now plays uphill from the new tee box, the tee placement made sense. The only downside is that it took the giant slope that is left of the green and made it harder to use for your benefit, especially with the back hole location. Had the hole location been middle or up front the shaved slope would have been much more usable for the player.
The Bridge is truly a "manly" golf course. Lots of long par 4's. #3 played incredibly long for my group, even with the tee moved up a bit, as it was dead into the wind. On the flip side #1 played short. I hit sand Wedge into it. I think Matt mentioned he had the opposite wind and those two holes kind of canceled each other out as the wind made one hole long and the other short depending on which way the wind blew. #6 played incredibly long. I hit Driver, 3-wood into it and made my best birdie of the weekend there. One knock I had in the past on The Bridge that I still have is that there are no "true" short par 4s. There was no real let up in the length of the par 4's except for maybe #17 and #8 and those I hit 8 iron and 5 iron into. The only wedges I hit into a par-4 green were on #1 and #4. As Jeff Warne mentioned, the tee on #15 was also moved up as it played directly into the wind Saturday.
The bunkers look very much in the mold of what Rees Jones would design and the course itself is a very difficult test of golf. I really like the course but I don't know how I would feel if I had to play it everyday. I love playing competitive golf on it as it will truly separate who is striking the ball well, but it could get tiresome for all levels of golfers as if you are off your game it will expose any weakness you may have that day. With that said, The Bridge is a good course, just very, very difficult.
By the way, the only people really complaining about the walk were the caddies. Fortunately, my 64 year old father was so high on adrenaline that he didn't feel the fatigue until the round was almost over. The walk was tough, but I agree with Matt, it was manageable, especially with the new tees on #6 and #16.
As for Atlantic... the changes made (which would be interesting to know who did them as there were rumors flying around that Rees didn't make them, but I can't verify that for certain) were excellent. Atlantic moved a lot of bunkers and even added some into more centerline locations adding much strategy. The bunker renovation gave Atlantic a much more "soup du jour" look, ala Coore/Doak-ish, and gave the course a much more natural feel. Atlantic has matured quite well. It mixed up the length of the par 3's, 4's and 5's. There were drivable par 4's and reachable par 5's. They have a 125 yard par 3 (#11) that is very scary considering the pin placement and firmness of the greens. They also had long, difficult 4's and 5's. It was just a very good mix of lengths to test all aspects of one's game. #10 played incredibly hard for my group. Tough driving hole and @ 450 yards long straight into the wind. #16 was similarly difficult but a little more forgiving of an off-line shot. I shot a higher score at Atlantic but that had more to do with missing short putts than anything else. Overall, the course played about equally difficult to The Bridge, which I believe the stats show, as the scoring average for both courses were virtually identical.
Atlantic was a much easier walk and had the better mix of holes for match play so I think the USGA picked right in choosing Atlantic as the "home" course. If the tournament were all stroke play I think it would be a toss up as to which would identify the better player. My vote would still be with Atlantic as I saw the mix of length of holes, the new and changed bunkering, and the easier walk as taking it a small step ahead of The Bridge for usability in a championship of this caliber. I certainly don't mean that as a knock against The Bridge as both are very fine golf courses.
It will be interesting to see how both continue to evolve over the years. I truly enjoyed the experience and both courses are fantastic. I can't say enough about how well maintained both courses are. They were in phenomenal condition and the USGA certainly knows how to run a tournament. I was very impressed with the whole experience and look forward to qualifying for more.
As for my playing... I hit the driver great and pitched and chipped awesome. Unfortunately, I hit my irons worse than I have in years and putted HORRIFICALLY. I had 68 putts for 36 holes with 6 3-putts. Considering I missed match play by 3 I can definitely blame my putting. I grinded it out until the end and hit some unbelievable short game shots on the last 5 holes trying to keep my hopes alive. This was the first real tournament I have played in in over 3 years minus the qualifier and trying to qualify for the Am at Hacienda in July. Overall, I am disappointed but optimistic about my future in Amateur golf.
If there are any questions I would be happy to answer any of them to the best of my ability.
Jeff