Is Kaymer Ruining the USGA's Experiment With Width?

[Patrick_Mucci]

There would appear to be no reason to watch this weekend, unless you're a member of the Kaymer family or the Na fan club.

I'll gladly give you Kaymer versus the field Judge...do we have a bet?

Jim,

I also like the field, but don't wish any ill toward Kaymer.

[Tom_Doak]

During our round, we played the white tees and on the par 3s, where the pins were tucked, I hit 4,6,5,5 irons.  The pros are hitting 8s and 9s on two of them today.  Why is the USGA leaving some 300 yards unused?  Maybe protecting par is no longer an objective, which is fine by me.  It would be a shame, however, if all of a sudden they decide that under par is unacceptable and they tuck the pins and push the tees to tips for the last two days.

It's always a bit easier on Thursday and Friday than on the weekend.  They have to get 156 players through 18 holes the first two days, so some of the setup is based on pace of play issues and spreading out the wear.  With half as many guys on the weekend, they can turn it up a notch.  But don't expect to see ALL the back tees used on any given day.  The par-3's are too similar in length and they will want to play one or another of them up.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Here's why Kaymer is destroying #2 after the first 2 rounds:

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/06/4-stats-that-explain-why-marti.html

[Paul Gray]

Steve,

Thanks for that.

Most interesting to me, and reflective of the mindset, os that the piece fails to mention where he's playing to from the tee. Clearly there's an implied assumption that the fairway is simply the fairway.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Steve,

I guess that they have to sell subscriptions.

He's leading because he's scoring lower than everyone else.

But, I don't recall U.S. Open trophies being awarded after 36 holes

Lost in the statistical analysis is the tempo and mental aspect of the game which allows golfers to drive and putt better than their peers.

One week a guy can't make the cut, the next week he wins.
What changed ?
Certainly not their swings which remain mostly static unless they seek the advice of guru's

Sometimes, things come together at the right time, other times they fall apart at the wrong times.

Let's disect scoring and the architecture after they present the trophy, so sit back and enjoy the golf and hope that Mother Nature co-operates.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Pat,

Of course. Golf is hard to figure. One day/week has nothing to do with the next day/week. That's why I tune out all those prediction talk shows on Golf Channel. 

I did amend my original post and let's see if Kaymer actually wins the tournament.

[Jud_T]

The fact of the matter is that the drought they've experienced this past month has made the native much more playable than had been anticipated.  Kaymer hit several shots out of the native for pars and birdies (?) that might have been bogeys if the wire grass weren't so docile.  Let's see how he fares over the weekend.  He hit several loose shots coming in yesterday that he got away with and he made a couple of 20+ foot putts.  My guess is he comes back to the field.

[John Kavanaugh]

The more width you give an expert player the less width he will require. Amazing how our worst swings appear just when we need our best the most.

[Paul Gray]

The more width you give an expert player the less width he will require. Amazing how our worst swings appear just when we need our best the most.

Wboch would actually be a valid point if you ignored the need to compliment that width with running fairways.

[John Kavanaugh]

The more width you give an expert player the less width he will require. Amazing how our worst swings appear just when we need our best the most.

Wboch would actually be a valid point if you ignored the need to compliment that width with running fairways.

My point was made Thursday and Friday by the benign scruff and soft greens. While many of you consider the lack of width boring from the tee you can not deny that it creates interest on the tee.

[Jud_T]

Looks like things have firmed up nicely today so the correct line off the tee will be more important as they can't just throw darts into those greens from anywhere now.  We'll see how Kaymer slept on a big lead after hitting several loose shots coming in.

[Patrick_Mucci]

They claim they don't care about the winning score but if he plays the weekend in even par or better they won't like it.  

Johnny will be harping for hours about on the telecast about needing 4 inch rough for our national championship.

Phil,

Your premise is flawed.

The context shouldn't be confined to a solitary golfer playing the best golf, rather to the field, including all those who missed the cut.

Conclusions concerning an experiment shouldn't be based on the sole extreme outlier, rather on the medians

[Phil Benedict]

Patrick,

The thread appears to me a moot point now that Kaymer has come back to earth.  Handful of guys left under par.  Winning score probably wont be better than 5 under unless the course softens up tomorrow.

Where else can they have an Open without relying on penal rough to contain scoring?

[Jud_T]

Fewest rounds under par in an Open 3rd round since Oakmont.  Take your penal rough and stuff it.  Be afraid for tomorrow.  Be very afraid...

[Paul Gray]

It seems to me that the experiment is working out perfectly. I've been citing this event as a marker to my Greens Committee and don't find myself wincing at the outcome.

[Howard Riefs]

For perspective: Third rounds in the 60s at Pinehurst…

1999: One
2005: Two
2014: Two

[Ulrich Mayring]

What no one has mentioned so far: Kaymer, by grinding to a 72, has actually extended his lead by two shots!

Previously he had a six shot lead with 36 holes to play. So that would equate to a 3 shot lead with 18 holes to play. But right now he has a 5 shot lead with 18 holes to play, so two shots better than on Friday. He can now afford to lose a shot to the field every 4 holes and still win - where previously he would have been in a playoff, had he lost a shot to the field every 6 holes.

Kaymer has shown it all: how to score, when the conditions are right, how to grind when they aren't and how to not let any bizarre events bother him.

Ulrich

[Tony Ristola]

One week a guy can't make the cut, the next week he wins.
What changed ?
Certainly not their swings which remain mostly static unless they seek the advice of guru's

Sometimes it's finding a Zen-like groove, greens where you easily dial in the speed, finding a course that fits your eye, turf type you like, and something clicks in the ballstriking dept. So many variables.

[John Chilver-Stainer]

If the USGA have opened the width of the Fairways at Pinehurst Nr. 2 then one can certainly not say that about the greens.

The effective internal width of the domed greens have been reduced to almost zero by the high speeds. With practically no frictional resistance a rolling ball from an approach shot will be diverted to the lower areas of the green and at Pinehurst Nr. 2 they are mainly to the sides.

If the pin positions are set on the hight parts of the green, as most of them were Saturday, then getting close to the pin on the approach is not garanteed.

This was reflected by the cries of pain from the players on Saturday

It's a great way of testing the fortitude of the players and their long putting and chipping skills.

Will they give a few easier pin placements today?

[Ronald Montesano]

When you want others to suffer (and you gain pleasure from watching it), it's sadism, not masochism.

I was about to correct the spelling of Hieronymus Bosch, then I remembered who wrote it earlier this thread and wisely decided to not do so.

Kaymer's lead did not increase but two; it shrunk by one. He was up 6 after 36 and is up 5 after 54.

[Ulrich Mayring]

So if you start the final round of the US Open up by 5 shots and come to the last hole up by 3, you're saying the lead has shrunk?

Ulrich

[Mark Bourgeois]

But ultimately I don't care what the scores are this weekend -- I just want it to be close and come down to the final few holes.  Worried this will be a repeat of Woods/Pebble and McIlroy/Congressional.

I'm not sure how setting the course up more punitively would stop one guy from playing out of his mind. The only shots he's missed, he's gotten up and down from the bunker.

Correct. Look at the rest of the field.

Kaymer is proving the USGA's experiment with width. Or I should say: their experiment with "width." (The speed of the fairways serves to narrow them and make it easier for balls to bound into the crap. This BTW is why I feel The Masters Course should eliminate their rough. Excuse me, "rough." Excuse me again, "second cut." Anyway, let the balls run into the pine straw / crap on both courses.)

A thought to ponder on the back of John C-S's post: today we will be watching the most difficult course on the planet...where you can't lose a ball. All of us could head out there tomorrow (sorry ladies), playing from the *white tees* to today's hole locations...and get absolutely crushed. All the while finishing with the same ball. (Yeah, okay: except for those of you who cold-top one on 16. Hit the ball ya chops!)

Distance may be what separates the pros from you and me but it's the short game that separates the best 150 from the next few tiers down.

[Paul Gray]

Mark,

Spot on.

In my own small way I can endorse exactly what you're saying. Last week I played what is otherwise a benign local course and because a) I hit three wide drives and b) I'm hopeless at finding things, I dropped six shots due to three lost balls. I can play my home course, a links, and experience a far more exacting examination of golf and leave the 18th green with the same ball.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Patrick,

The thread appears to me a moot point now that Kaymer has come back to earth.  Handful of guys left under par.  Winning score probably wont be better than 5 under unless the course softens up tomorrow.

Where else can they have an Open without relying on penal rough to contain scoring?

Shinnecock