Moraine CC - 2024 Western Amateur

[Steve Kohler]

The 2024 Western Amateur is being played at Moraine CC in Dayton, OH this week.  The club has a strong caddie tradition and support for the Evans Scholars, so it’s a fitting relationship to host a WGA championship. 


A few years ago, the club hired Phil Stiver (formerly at Oakmont) as new superintendent and tasked him with getting the course playing firm and fast on a consistent basis.  His team has delivered in a big way, and the course is presenting spectacularly going into tournament week.  Last fall Keith Foster returned to make some adjustments on holes 3, 4 & 7 that have added new wrinkles and adjusted for playability issues that became apparent in the post-renovation years. 


The golf riches of Ohio are well documented, and the current iteration of Moraine stands near the top of my list.  The routing, especially the holes playing up and over the prominent glacial ridge, is spectacularly fun, strategic, and visually-inspiring (challenging too, if you pick the wrong tees).  The low-key clubhouse and locker room add a perfect final note to a post-round cooldown.


There will be live coverage of match play on ESPN+ this Friday and Saturday 8/2-8/3 for anyone interested:
https://thewesternamateur.com/the-latest/news/western-amateur-to-stream-on-espn

[Jason Thurman]

Great tip, Steve. I might just slide up there Saturday morning... anybody else going?

[JLahrman]

I played Moraine a couple of times circa 2007/2008. It was good then, but has certainly undergone a metamorphosis in the years since. If I lived closer I would definitely be interested in attending just to see the changes firsthand.

[Bill Shamleffer]

Great tip, Steve. I might just slide up there Saturday morning... anybody else going?

Jason,
I will be out all day on Sat.  Will wear tan Chicago GC Caddie hat.

[Ronald Montesano]

Bump

[Jason Thurman]

Quick thoughts on the semifinals:

• Ridiculous to have: 3 of the final 4 spots claimed by Florida Gators, both semifinal matches go 19 holes, and a pair of Gators in the final.
• Breezy fescues dominate the vistas. 18 stretches back to a near-crossover of the 17th green. 10 and 11 are a knockoff Loop. The land otherwise rolls constantly at human scale. Moraine must be the linksiest-in-spirit course in Ohio.
• I find 14 terrifying and glorious, but worry Tom Doak will compare it to the 16th at Dornoch (which I also find terrifying and glorious).
• Moraine plays up and down that big south shoulder that dominates the view from the clubhouse, but the magic of the terrain lies just as much in the continuous heaving of the smaller slopes on the property.
• Killer up-and-down by Gilligan at 12 really set up his spot in the final... That was awesome stuff.
• Henry Guan had a finish to be proud of in this tournament. I also wanted to run out and tackle him when he didn't pull putter at either 17 or 19. Huge stones with that birdie at 18 though. He showed a little inexperience, but I fully expect to hear his name again soon.

[Jim O’Kane]

The final has been fun to watch to see the course, but tough to see Ian Gilligan miss five or six putts from inside 5 feet that could have sealed the win.

Are those greens that subtle and tricky?

[Jason Thurman]

Jim, since you asked... I have to note that Moraine was the site of what I believe is my personal best putting round. I made well over 200' of putts in a round there some years ago. Gilligan should've called me.


The greens have a lot going on. I wouldn't call them subtle - the slopes are bold and readily apparent. At the speed they were running yesterday, it's not hard to imagine a player's calibration getting a little off and leading to a mixture of tentative strokes and over-reads.


29 holes in the final?!? I'm sad to have left after the semis ended.

[Steve Kohler]

I have no doubt that nerves played a part in Gilligan's putting performance.  Congratulations to him for persevering through a long week of tournament golf.


I played it yesterday (day after the final) and they kept the same championship pins in place - and there were definitely some doozies in places you rarely see pinned.  While there are some greens with pretty obvious movement, I think many of these pins were placed in sections that were tucked and/or had subtler movement around them.


I was not surprised that the highest scoring average holes were #14 and #2, both stout holes where the terrain really plays a big role rejecting misplaced shots into the green.  While there were some low scores through stroke play (one player shot a course record 62 during stroke play but didn't make it to match play), I think the course held up very well against the world's best amateurs.