My use of the word "awful" was pretty clearly in reference to the logistical mess of canceling a day's play and the constant stopping and starting of play through two rounds. It's no surprise that a competitive tournament broke out when the winds finally settled to a speed of between 0 and 15 mph.
Make no mistake, though. A three man playoff on a Monday afternoon doesn't make up for the fact that the game's most revered piece of ground, and specifically one of the best par 3s in the world, was altered in the name of:
1. Avoiding wind delays
2. Challenging professionals, which the R&A has deemed critical to keeping The Old Course relevant
The changes weren't merely controversial. They were also ineffective at accomplishing both stated goals. Play was postponed on multiple occasions due to issues on the very green that was most significantly and most controversially altered to avoid postponement of play. And while winds were high, with accounts consistently placing them in the 25-30 mph range with gusts near 40, they weren't anything that anyone on this forum hasn't played in before. Scottish golf's national slogan of "Nae wind, nae golf" should probably be updated to "Nae breeze, nae golf."
Personally, I blame the players, and particularly Brooks Koepka, for the silly wind delays. His group essentially forced a stoppage of play on Saturday when he simply refused to step up and hit a putt because the ball would oscillate when he stood over it, and god forbid a player disrupt his pre-shot routine due to weather. His group forced the committee's hand, and given the option of assessing slow-play penalties or stopping play altogether, the committee chose the former. This is a dangerous precedent to set, and I don't expect it to be the last time we see players simply refuse to play when the weather doesn't suit them. I also blame Peter Dawson for altering the green in the first place, and Martin Hawtree for failing to have the foresight to advise his client that balls would still oscillate in high winds at Open green speeds due to the exposure of the surface regardless of how he adjusted the slope.
As to goal #2, when the wind speeds were in that 0-15 mph window in which The Old Course is now playable, the course was toothless. It's great that the leaderboard ended up being crowded and the Monday finale was competitive. It was not, however, challenging. Given that the R&A has stated that keeping The Old Course relevant to professionals is a critical goal, this is another dangerous issue. I expect more ineffective changes to be made to the course after this tournament, and that's a poor tradeoff for a three-man playoff.