Alfie,
With respect, I think you are wrong when you claim that Carnoustie was a fair test. I think young Mr. Philp was an arrogant poseur. Why an earth someone thought that he deserved an OBE for his efforts is beyond me. I will agree that Paul Lawrie won the Championship. His two 4 iron shots at the end were quite majestic.
The claim that the climate made the grass grow to its punitive height was arrant nonsense. His crew were fertilizing the stuff in April.
I looked up Philp's interview, I find his remarks concerning Duval and the money to be made playing golf to border on envy and particularly mean.
"Carnoustie run down and neglected since hosting its last Open back in 1975 was described as a "sleeping giant." Philp, recruited from St. Andrews 14 years ago, has reawakened it. "My aim was to create a course for the millennium, to set a new standard," Philp said. "The players haven't got the game for it. David Duval said the only variation to his approach was to hit the ball a little lower. What sort of crap is that? They don't play links golf on any of the tours until they come to the Open. Christ, they don't know what a low ball is. We used to call them daisy cutters. This is the old style, the natural style. ...This is the true form of the game. You have to use the contours, the banks, the mounds, and swales. You have to think about it."
Philp, as you might have gathered, is passionate about golf and even more passionate about Carnoustie. His handicap is eight, it used to be two, although he admits that around the Championship course here it would be 28. He was recruited from St. Andrews by Jack Calder, chairman of the Carnoustie Links Management Committee--he died two years ago--and Philp's remit was to restore the sleeping giant's reputation. This he and his team of 22 ground staff have accomplished with a vengeance.
"In 1975 the course was shortened and there was hardly any rough," Philp said. "There was no penalty for being off line. Prior to that there has been five rounds below 70 in four Opens. When Ben Hogan won here he did his homework. He was at Carnoustie for two weeks walking the course, plotting his approach, taking notes of where everything was. A lot of the players who have been moaning this week have never been here before. They're the top guys in the world and they didn't think they needed to practice and prepare. They're wrong. This is the ultimate test and they just haven't sussed it. It's brought them down to earth. They've got to forget about the percentage shots and take the course on. Nobody will win the Open here by sitting back and playing conservatively.
"One player told me that this is the toughest course on the planet, but the man who gets aggressive with five or six of the holes will win. Christ, the winner gets [$3.2 million]. You shouldn't get money for nothing...."
Philp admits there are certain pockets of rye grass that are "horrendous." Philp added, "the rough is not uniform, but that's not what happens in the natural world. Because of the weather we've had phenomenal growth. At Muirfield and Turnberry the rough is up to your waist. I knew the criticism was going to come but we're not going to change the course just to suit them. The R&A are satisfied and they have stuck to their guns. People in the street have said, 'Good on you, John.' There's not been one complaint about the condition of the fairways, the greens, or bunkers. They are all world class."
Carnoustie has all the credentials and it requires a whole variety of shots. Many of the players are simply not geared for it. One bad bounce and they moan. I hope they will learn from this and take something home with them. They are talented people who can play the game but this is a different league and it requires a different game plan and a different attitude. The trouble is they have an ego problem. They don't want to be seen shooting 82 in public. A lot of them should be able to play here but somehow they can't force themselves to do it. If the Open doesn't come back to Carnoustie I'll eat my hat. It's unsurpassed."
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