Great article Richard. Merion is certainly on my must-play list. That is of course, unless the U.S.G.A butcher it in the lead up to the 2013 U.S. Open.
You mentioned that "Tom Fazio has been hired to propose whatever work he sees fit to accommodate the U.S.G.A. So far, in addition to the tee box additions for four and fourteen, other tee boxes have been added on par threes. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no attempt to replicate the simple character of the existing Merion tee boxes in the work so far. Granted, more square footage is needed than what is currently provided but free-form, two-tier shapes clash greatly with the runways and ovals that dominate the East Course".
Do you know if Merion intend on keeping these tees for member play following the U.S. Open?