Poulter's Instagram and Pic of Chambers Bay Green

[Garland Bayley]

Poulter may be whining, but did anyone see how Snedeker's putt hopped up in the air on #14 or #15 yesterday?  It was like it hit a...well... a head of broccoli.  It jumped straight up into the air and killed all of it's speed.  I saw other putts "wobbling" as they rolled.  I am also not sure (due to the shadow) that Dustin Johnson's ball did not hit something and kick left on #18.


All in all, no one likes a whiner, and they all have to play the same course.  However, you guys have to admit the putting surfaces were not ideal for a major championship.

Do you even play golf?


Here's the situation. You have a four foot uphill putt to tie for the US Open championship. You think stroking it so lightly that it finishes a couple of inches past the hole is the proper stroke? Why? Because it will give you the greens were bad excuse?


It just seems to me that stroking it solidly into the back of the cup is the way to go. But I guess my high handicap means I shouldn't know. 

[Garland Bayley]

...
Isn't it possible that four days in a row of putting on crap greens had rendered Dustin's always dodgy putting stroke disfunctional?
...

No that would be US Open final round pressure!

[Garland Bayley]

Amen, George.  We saw birdies galore, and even nearly two score eagles.  This was the opposite of the frequent US Open par/bogey slog. 

And the Amateur at Chambers produced similar stellar results. 

I again wonder, what would have changed if the greens had been in perfect shape?

The losers wouldn't have excuses.

Damn George, you're good!

[Garland Bayley]

...
There would still be the head-scratching elements of a walking-only course laid out like the worst form of cart-ball routing ...

Pat Mucci wants to know if you have played the course.

[George Pazin]

Surely everyone on here has seen the up close, slow mo video of Tiger's putt on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines against Rocco, no? That thing was bouncing all over the place. Yet it still went in, much like the putts of Louie, Jason Day (who had virtually the same exact putt as DJ), DJ on 17, etc.

Maybe DJ wins if they are playing on billiards greens. Maybe Spieth wins by more.

What coulda happened, did. There's a sports radio guy here in the Burgh that says that all the time. It's one of the few insightful things he says.

[William_G]

Most people that call people like Poulter whiners have never played any sport at a high level. You do not want the adverse condition of the playing field determining the champion. That should be skill. if the greens were decent Dustin wins by 4.

http://golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/joshua-crane-part-i/

thanks for the link, never heard of Crane before...
very interesting!
I do think Crane's theories in application may have resulted in what was known as the "US Open" test
I am more of the opinion that golf is a game, not a sport, similar to Behr and Mackenzie's thoughts, which may coincide with Mike Davis and the current direction of the USGA and the US Open.

[David Kelly]

All these threads about Chambers Bay prove what I've thought about this discussion group for a while now.  There is a significant minority of people on this website who are really only interested in following and talking about professional golf and not really into golf architecture at all.