Big picture: Mankind, of the races and species we know, is the ultimate destroyer, the ultimate builder who can dial up or down the praise or the ridicule of what he's done as some form of "creativity"..."making"..."arts."
Small picture: Us. Here. With Merion. These last years of USGA treatment leading up to the recently concluded tournament and analyzing the afterglow.
1.
USGA practices for US Open:I can't recall every bit of severe critique but... Floating bunkers in the rough? Fairways lines altered and moved dangerously close to OB? Pin placements? A "Par 3" requiring Driver? Facility set-up? C'mon...no one and I mean no one at the clubs I frequent, the streets I walk or the commentary I read, thought this tournament was less than an unqualified success...except
here. The USGA set up ENHANCED and ILLUSTRATED what the quality, the tradition, the tactical values, the ambiance and the grand quirks of Merion are (as I understand them); it did not demean or lie about them to produce an near-even par score. In that regard, the USGA set-up TRANSLATED and FRAMED what the sublime challenge is all about, by making these elite players encounter a course where Par 70 (even 72) is a very,very, very good score. I do not deny that an ethos of Golf and any great Golf Course is to "go as low as you can go," and make it available for excellent play... if you'll admit the firmament of level fours, "72," and "Par" is a very, very fine standard for us to understand play both dynamically and as a static number.
Merion, as many great courses imo, is a superb course of level fours, both on individual holes and in aggregate. The USGA set-up made sure that having several holes of shorter length (and shorter aggregate length) were not unduly compromised by elite, micro-precise technology and training habits. Because this is not match play and the course itself is the adversary, the course must be sharpened to draw out what's adversarial about it by design...those increased proximities on #2 and #15...guess what, the OB has ALWAYS threatened those shots since the joint was opened...3 yards...5 yards...10 yards...20 yards....30 yards...who cares?! OB is a threat on those holes, part of their playing and if moving fairway lines and chopping wood blocks translates that and makes peril for the elite player, good! He's not supposed to ignore it, he's supposed to feel that danger as any golfer playing Merion has. The Par-3rd requiring 3w or driver, with few bailouts and a difficult pin? Good...VERY good! Players I know hit 3w and Driver on 180 yd+ par 3s all the time...I'll bet some Merion members and visitors hit that too. And while Wilson, Whigam, CBM (whomever) may not have intended a spoon over that valley to a dangerously contoured plateau...they intended the shot to bear pressure and make you feel wonderful about a score of 3...and not too disimiliar about a score of 4...and really worried about a score of 5...or worse. Challenge perfectly translated. As if I needed to say any more, in one, trivial, small ironic instance on Sunday, how about Rose's position near the Hogan plaque after a
perfect pressure packed drive with the US Open on the line and a nutted 4-iron to a victory clinching four...challenge, perfectly translated....from past to present, across Ball and Tech, Merion and Rose, hold your head high. I could go on and on with this, about translating Merion's unique challenges to the modern elite player and exhibiting the course's architectural values for a tournament audience, but I'll let response bear further specific parries. But for now, my word is Bravo Merion, Bravo USGA and Bravo Elite Field for a superb tournament.
2. Wrong Type of Architectural Leadership?Huh? Because there were (and always are) added tee distances and penal rough and X pins and a floating bunker on #2, all of a sudden the Golf and Architectural worlds are going to go into a dark ages again of penalty and impossibly long courses hoping to draw a money-making tournament instead of serving time-honored challenges ethos of the game? The 98 yard par 3, the first tee steps from the clubhouse, the small green to tee walks, the cozyness of the property, the wild contours, the amazing 3-Act play of routing...none of these are going to lead in the RIGHT direction? Tell you what, in the sportsbars, and in the caddieyards and in the clubs and at the munis, people were all thrilled and captivated by what this course offered as steeplechase for the elites. But none of these people are likely to work on a golf course, no less own, commission, design or build one. But many of these same Golf common-folk as well as the gentry of the clubs (many of which don't know a Biarritz from a Ritz cracker or a Redan from a sedan) were intrigued, charmed and well-entertained by a course that was under 7000 yards, played both fair and unfair, provided compelling drama and seemed to elicit as many incredible, superb shots as well as hopeless trainwrecks and unjust results.
3. Authenticity: This is really a blend of #1 and #2, but I title it "authenticity" because I find it funny that an "Authentic Presentation" argument can be made when it is not settled law as to what is the authentic. So this is also the parapet of my screed where the experts on Merion can go and tear their hair out about what was intended and who intended it,
"and on which date, the Greens committee stated in no uncertain terms that, in fact, it was not, the previously referenced, but, instead, in something of an uncommon occurence, and contravening that which was previously stated..."
4. Valid - Of all the hand-wringing, an isolated area with which I most agree with is that Merion (for itself, its membership and its guest-visitors) should take great care to get things back to "normal." Get extremed fairway lines back in focus, mow rough, be tender and gentle, so that milking the par-experience for elite players does not despoil it for non-elite play yet to come.
This was going to be longer even, but it's late and I've walked a lot of holes of Golf in the last two weeks.
cheers
vk