US Open set-up -- where's Tom Meeks when you need him?

[Ted Cahill]

Eric- your point is well taken. My complaint was it didn't feel or seem like a US Open- it felt and looked like te John Deere Classic. I want to see guys sweating putts, watch balls run through the green and difficult chips and pitches. The PGA at Whistling Straits last year felt more like a US Open than this.

[Eric_Terhorst]

I want to see guys sweating putts, watch balls run through the green and difficult chips and pitches.

Ted, we didn't see much of Phil's 77 yesterday, so I guessed we missed most of this kind of action...

[Garland Bayley]

Regarding the soft conditions:

How much of it is the weather, and how much of it is because of how much water you need to keep greens perfect at 14 on the stimp?

Honest question, I don't know much about grass. I remember when things were a little soft at Valhalla in 2000, I thought it was the weather, but an esteemed poster pointed out when you have speedy bent grass greens in the South, you need to keep them soft to keep them alive; the implication being Bermuda would have been firmer. Just wondering it this might be similar.
...

They had temps over 100 the week before the open. Therefore, they had to keep watering and the greens were kept soft. This was followed by rain the week of the open and more soft greens. I know they said they didn't get the greens to 14 the first three days (I played today instead of watching), because of the weather.

Yesterday I heard a comment that they could not get the grass to grow to the desired height in the rough because of the weather. I'm not sure why that would be true unless grass doesn't grow when it gets tooooooooooo hot.

[Garland Bayley]

I would like to see how Rory does when he can't just fire at the pins. Does he have the smarts? I have no idea since all he did was shoot at the pin at this "US Open".

Richard it seems you forget he did just fine at the greens at Augusta until some driving difficulties brought him roaring back to the field. Or is Augusta someplace you can "just fire at the pins." 3rd at Whistling Straits seems a good indicator unless you think that is someplace you can "just fire at the pins." But 3rd place at last years Open Championship certainly can't be classified as someplace you can "just fire at the pins" being links golf and all.

[Jim Nugent]

But as a US Open course, it is a joke.

Yeah, I guess these guys found it really amusing:

Major Champions
M. Kaymer +3
L Glover +4
P Harrington +5
P Mickelson  +7
T Hamilton +8
S Cink MC
D Toms MC
T Immelman MC
J Furyk MC
A Cabrera MC
G Ogilvy MC
M Campbell MC

Notables
L Donald + 5
B Watson +9
H Mahan MC
R Fowler MC
J Rose MC
A Scott MC
P Casey MC
I Poulter MC
C Villegas MC
K Choi MC

If you add 4 to these scores relative to par to compare them to'97 scores as suggested by Tom Doak, you get some pretty ugly numbers.  Not that most people care.  Those of us who are not hyper-critical saw some compelling golf from the best players in the world, and one guy schooling them all.  I thought it was fun to watch.

If the set-up had been "traditional U.S Open" we'd probably be 632 posts deep into a thread about how dull it is to watch players gouge it out of the rough repeatedly at a U.S Open  

Eric, by my count 33 players broke par the last round alone.  20 broke par for the entire tournament.  As Martin Kaymer was quoted, ""It's not really a U.S. Open golf course, to be honest."

[Richard Choi]

Seriously, I can pick any regular PGA Tour stops and give you a list of great players who didn't make the cut, so what's the point? The numbers clearly show that this is probably the easiest US Open in modern era.

Let's face it, Congressional has no business hosting US Open with conditions like this.

[Dan Herrmann]

Richard - to me, it's all weather related.  You have no idea how hot and muggy it was in these parts the week before the Open.   The new greens would have died if they weren't properly cared for.

Plus, the heat made the rough up here in Philly much more benign.   It was like a succulent gob of green 3 weeks ago, but the heat really started thinning the grass, and by this weekend I was able to actually get a fairway wood on the ball in the rough.  Granted, our course wasn't set up to Open standards, but it does illustrate the difficulty in getting a course set up in June in DC.

[Phil McDade]

Richard - to me, it's all weather related.  You have no idea how hot and muggy it was in these parts the week before the Open.   The new greens would have died if they weren't properly cared for.

Plus, the heat made the rough up here in Philly much more benign.   It was like a succulent gob of green 3 weeks ago, but the heat really started thinning the grass, and by this weekend I was able to actually get a fairway wood on the ball in the rough.  Granted, our course wasn't set up to Open standards, but it does illustrate the difficulty in getting a course set up in June in DC.

So why play it there? And why the significant differential in scoring between this Open and the one held here in '97? Even if you (dubiously; it's not like the one par 4 switched to a par 5 was simply kept the same with a different par attached to it) subtract four strokes from the scores of everyone in the field, this year's Open still had more than twice as many players under par than in 1997. Can anyone account for this?

[Phil McDade]

Mike Davis a few days before the Open; says the low humidity and modest temps will allow the USGA to "get the golf course in the condition we want..." (starting @ 1:45 mark):

http://www.golf.com/golf/video/article/0,28224,2077691,00.html

...and expresses "delight" with the greens the day before the Open begins:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/golf/us-open-usga-congressional-officials-downplay-concerns-about-course-conditions/2011/06/14/AGziOMWH_story.html

Mike Davis, not long after the Open concluded, blames heat and humidity in DC:

"We never got the course to where it was bouncing and hard, maybe exactly the way we would have liked it, but this was still a very difficult test."

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/19/sports-glf-jim-litke-061911_8524291.html

[George Pazin]

Nice finds, Phil.

Richard - to me, it's all weather related.  You have no idea how hot and muggy it was in these parts the week before the Open.   The new greens would have died if they weren't properly cared for.

Plus, the heat made the rough up here in Philly much more benign.   It was like a succulent gob of green 3 weeks ago, but the heat really started thinning the grass, and by this weekend I was able to actually get a fairway wood on the ball in the rough.  Granted, our course wasn't set up to Open standards, but it does illustrate the difficulty in getting a course set up in June in DC.

It's almost as if the US Open has never been played in tough conditions before... It sure never gets hot and muggy in Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, etc.

I'm still curious if anyone knows if the grassing choice and pursuit of super fast perfection required more watering.

-----

It strikes me that Congressional as a course lacks the back up defenses that most other greats have, should things not go perfectly with regard to the weather. Not enough fairway or green contour, not enough difficult bunkering, etc.

It seems as though you need a brutal, almost unfair hole like Pebble's 14th to make things interesting.

[Jason Topp]

Interesting thread.  I am of two minds:

1.  The philosophy behind this setup, and the weather conditions, did undermine what the US Open has traditionally stood for - surviving a torture test.  That was lacking this year although I think scores would have been low even under a traditional US Open setup.  Nonetheless - some of the uniqueness of the event was missing this year.

2.  The US Open also is a showcase for what golf should be - at least for US courses.  From that perspective - I really like what Davis has done with his setups.  The US Opens the last several years have been very entertaining to watch and produced a variety of winning scores depending on weather.  To the extent this approach is imitated by clubs, it is very much a positive for the game.

Which perspective is more important will probably vary based on priorities.  

[Anthony_Nysse]

I have been very hesitate to get into this topic too much. Let me state that I DO NOT know all the pieces to this puzzle, but going off what I saw on TV and heard from several other turf professionals.
  I think WAY TOO much is being made of the weather, the week leading into the OPEN. There was 5 days of 92-101 degrees, with nighttime lows of 67-78 degrees during the same stretch. Keep in mind, the staff at Congo are on wilt watch from June-September, where there temps can be suffocating for bentgrass. I’d have to think that they were prepared for the warm weather-They had a closed golf course, I’m sure they’re chemical and fertilizer applications were spot on and ALL the labor/handwaterers that they needed. I, personally, do not believe that that 5 day stretch caused the condition issues. If all it takes is 5 days, how can that staff ever expect to make it through a summer?  Many of the green sites had fans set up until Wednesday night, also. Those guys are at the courses that they are at because they are among the best in the Mid-Atlantic region.  
  I think all the talk of the use of Sub Air and it’s perception of being bulletproof is a joke. It is a tool, just like fans are. Just because you have a Sub Air system, does not mean that you’re going to have firm surfaces every day because they were run all night. There are other sub surfaces “air conditioners” that do a variety of different things, not just pull moisture. Precision Aire, which Southern Hills has, Alotian Club, and TPC can cool AND heat roots, along with pulling moisture. Hopefully, more Superintendents and Memberships will look into this product, as it seems to be more versatile. I’m sure you can remember how good Southern Hills’ greens were in 2007 for the PGA, when the temperatures were 100+ for the entire week, and that was after 2.5 months of heat and humidity prior.
  If we remember, last summer was BRUTAL for the northeast and the Mid-Atlantic, less than a year after regrassing the greens. (2009)   Last summer could not have been a good summer to strengthen that plant, build roots and a dense turf.  Lastly, those greens are 18 months old, being mowed and rolled 2 or 3x daily. Mowing heights under .100” for that period of time, being such a juvenile plant is what I believe caused the thinning that we saw, NOT the 5 days of heat and humidity.
  If all it took was 5 days of heat and humidity, you’ve never seen bentgrass south of Chicago….

[David_Tepper]

Tweet from Dan Jenkins:

"I've covered almost 50 US Opens and this one is in my Top 5, along with Hogan in 1951, Arnold in 1960, Jack in 1962 and Tiger in 2000."

[jeffwarne]

I have been very hesitate to get into this topic too much. Let me state that I DO NOT know all the pieces to this puzzle, but going off what I saw on TV and heard from several other turf professionals.
  I think WAY TOO much is being made of the weather, the week leading into the OPEN. The was 5 days of 92-101 degrees, with nighttime lows of 67-78 degrees during the same stretch. Keep in mind, the staff at Congo are on wilt watch from June-September, where there temps can be suffocating for bentgrass. I’d have to think that they were prepared for the warm weather-They had a closed golf course, I’m sure they’re chemical and fertilizer applications were spot on and ALL the labor/handwaterers that they needed. I, personally, do not believe that that 5 day stretch caused the condition issues. If all it takes is 5 days, how can that staff ever expect to make it through a summer?  Many of the green sites had fans set up until Wednesday night, also. Those guys are at the courses that they are at because they are among the best in the Mid-Atlantic region. 
  I think all the talk of the use of Sub Air and it’s perception of being bulletproof is a joke. It is a tool, just like fans are. Just because you have a Sub Air system, does not mean that you’re going to have firm surfaces every day because they were run all night. There are other sub surfaces “air conditioners” that do a variety of different things, not just pull moisture. Precision Aire, which Southern Hills has, Alotian Club, and TPC can cool AND heat roots, along with pulling moisture. Hopefully, more Superintendents and Memberships will look into this product, as it seems to be more versatile. I’m sure you can remember how good Southern Hills’ greens were in 2007 for the PGA, when the temperatures were 100+ for the entire week, and that was after 2.5 months of heat and humidity prior.
  If we remember, last summer was BRUTAL for the northeast and the Mid-Atlantic, less than a year after regrassing the greens.  Last summer could not have been a good summer to strengthen that plant, build roots and a dense turf.  Lastly, those greens are 18 months old, being mowed and rolled 2 or 3x daily. Mowing heights under .100” for that period of time, being such a juvenile plant is what I believe caused the thinning that we saw, NOT the 5 days of heat and humidity.
  If all it took was 5 days of heat and humidity, you’ve never seen bentgrass south of Chicago….

2 things happened.
(at least)

1.They didn't gimmick up the par and make it 70 (that's 4 shots)
2.Rory played great
3, The USGA has gotten a bit too enamored with "options" as an excuse for playing the course up.
  Greens super soft? Make them hit something longer in, not shorter....


That said,
Did it ever occur to anyone that in (needlessly) recontouring the greens(for more speed they never got) and regrassing them that maybe 1 year might not be enough for them to healthy enough to withstand the conditions THEY GET EVERY YEAR?

[Terry Lavin]

Seriously, I can pick any regular PGA Tour stops and give you a list of great players who didn't make the cut, so what's the point? The numbers clearly show that this is probably the easiest US Open in modern era.

Let's face it, Congressional has no business hosting US Open with conditions like this.

I agree.  We should give the USGA and Congressional a stern rebuke for allowing the weather to get so hot and so humid.

What are you going to say if the weather in Seattle results in a soft and soggy Chambers Bay when they host the Open?  What if half the field shoots under par there?  Will you say that it's attributable to all the "options" that the faux links setup provides?

I'll agree that Congressional is an underwhelming Open course, especially if you compare it to Oakmont, Shinnecock and others on the rota.  It did feel like a tour stop.  But if they had the right pre-tournament weather and the course was firmer and the greens faster, the scores might, just might, have been much different.

Final point:  This thread referenced Tom Meeks.  Even Tom Meeks can't change the weather.  Had he been there, he would have done pretty much the same feckless things that Davis did in an effort to make the course play harder.  Sometimes, the weather just kills the Gods of the golf setup world.

[Kalen Braley]

I guess what has me the most curious is...

....why would the USGA or Congo for that matter allow an Open to be staged so soon to major changes on the course where they are seeding new greens within a year of the tourney?  Unless I misunderstood and they only changed some of the greens.

It seems that work should have been co-ordinated better so the new greens would at least have had a few years to mature a bit before being put under so much stress that can be induced from a tourney like that.

[George Pazin]

Shiv, I didn't watch golf at that time - did the play at Medinah get any tougher over the weekend? It seemed to get easier every day this year. Can't remember ever seeing so many funneling hole locations.

As Terry mentions frequently (and justifiably), OF got an unfair shake, but at least play over the weekend was fairly challenging.

[Jim Eder]

Did the USGA intentionally set the course up easier on the weekend (pin placements in bowls, etc) after they realized they had to keep moisture in the greens to keep them from dying (Thurs or Fri) thinking that given the state of the game (poor) a benefit from low scores would be a tremendous amount of free advertising (and hype) and hopefully increase interest in the game among semi-attached golfers and those who think about playing but haven't yet?

[Anthony_Nysse]

Did the USGA intentionally set the course up easier on the weekend (pin placements in bowls, etc) after they realized they had to keep moisture in the greens to keep them from dying (Thurs or Fri) thinking that given the state of the game (poor) a benefit from low scores would be a tremendous amount of free advertising (and hype) and hopefully increase interest in the game among semi-attached golfers and those who think about playing but haven't yet?

It rained on Thursday and Friday and remained cloudy most of the week. I doubt that they was a lot of handwatering or drying down.

[Jim Eder]

Tony,

I would agree.  I guess what I was trying to say was given that the rains came and softened things up did an idea pop into their minds that if the course is going to be soft and therefore scores will be lower than they would have been if the greens were firm then they figured let's make it easy and instead of getting 8 under and no records etc let's give someone a chance to go really low by having shots funnel into holes etc and therefore if we get a record the media will take about it in all ways and we get a lot of publicity and that will help the game.  I guess I was really surprised at many of the pin placements and how so many balls funneled into the "leather".

Tony, do you know why they chose not to use the sub-air system to get the excess moisture out of the greens to firm them up a bit?  I am not at all qualified technically to know but my guess is that they were worried about having the greens die after the tournament.  I know you are qualified to know the thinking behind not using the sub-air system. I am close at all on why it wasn't used?  Thanks.

[Richard Choi]

I agree.  We should give the USGA and Congressional a stern rebuke for allowing the weather to get so hot and so humid.

What are you going to say if the weather in Seattle results in a soft and soggy Chambers Bay when they host the Open?  What if half the field shoots under par there?  Will you say that it's attributable to all the "options" that the faux links setup provides?

I'll agree that Congressional is an underwhelming Open course, especially if you compare it to Oakmont, Shinnecock and others on the rota.  It did feel like a tour stop.  But if they had the right pre-tournament weather and the course was firmer and the greens faster, the scores might, just might, have been much different.

Terry, let's drop all this weather excuse. It is just wrong.

First, as others have pointed out, the weather over last several weeks in DC area is not really out of ordinary (not like last year). Second, BPB had torrential storms and played soft as hell and players did not go nuts shooting under par every round. At some point, you have to blame the course and the conditioning. I don't know why anyone would say otherwise. There was no real difference between what we saw last week compared to what we see every week on the PGA Tour. What happened to that "championship brown hue"? That is not what US Open is supposed to be.

Perhaps Mike Davis got a little tired of USGA making mistakes on "too hard" side and decided if he was going to make a mistake he was going to make it on "too easy" side. But whatever it is, let's stop blaming the weather. The weather was gorgeous.

As to Chambers Bay, that is the whole point of having fescue greens. My guess is they probably won't water the greens at all with months to go before the US Open. The greens were plenty firm this spring even though we had pretty wet spring. It had that hollow bouncing sound whenever a pitch landed on the green, and I didn't need a pitch-fixing tool. If we get a standard wet Seattle spring, it should be plenty firm to test the best. Of course, if we get torrential down pours for weeks, there isn't much you can do, but that would be OUT of the NORMAL weather pattern, unlike Congressional which pretty much had the NORMAL weather leading up to it.

[Dan Herrmann]

But CB is built on sand.  The Northeast is generally topsoil over clay - not too great for drainage.

[JR Potts]

...Second, BPB had torrential storms and played soft as hell and players did not go nuts shooting under par every round....


 The weather was gorgeous.

unlike Congressional which pretty much had the NORMAL weather leading up to it.

You know not what you speak.

[Anthony_Nysse]

Tony, do you know why they chose not to use the sub-air system to get the excess moisture out of the greens to firm them up a bit?  I am not at all qualified technically to know but my guess is that they were worried about having the greens die after the tournament.  I know you are qualified to know the thinking behind not using the sub-air system. I am close at all on why it wasn't used?  Thanks.

Jim,
  They were using them...not sure how much...

http://gcm.typepad.com/gcm/2011/06/the-subair-subsurface-aeration-units-under-the-greens-at-congressional-cc-were-up-and-running-this-morning-be.html

[Dan Herrmann]

By the way...  How much better would the course have played if they used the greens from 2007?    To this untrained guy, the greens seemed to be breaking up as the week went on.

Plus - will the course really be playable for the members this year?   (How much healing time will she need?)    I heard that Congressional's other course is out of play for quite a while because of the villages and gravel roads they built there.