Ryder Cup - Medinah Comments

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

I was fortunate enough to call Medinah home one summer,I think it was 1987..did some teaching and playing there.
Played alot with Stan Makita, Mr Fates, Mr Buchanan and a great guy called George Poulus who was a fine greek gentleman who was very good to me.
Bob Hickman was the pro back then a great guy who could be alittle grough though..but a master pro in every way.
Very very fond memories...but I do wish they had not put that bloody pond in at number 15....just my opinion, great for entertainment value this week, but so artificial in appearence.

I still think number 12 is one of the worlds greatest par fours and gets very little comment when people talk about the place.

[Terry Lavin]

Only two more days until the first balls are topped into the first fairway on Friday morning and there is an air of anticipation in the great city of Chicago.  I have been having a great Ryder Cup week here in town.  Monday was Chicago Golf Club with Bill Shean, the great amateur champion (and member at Chicago, Seminole, Pine Valley and Sand Hills), my buddy Jeff Rude and my ex cousin-in-law Donny O'Shaughnessy.   

I have the Ryder bug myself, and it's a little surprising because after attending my second Ryder Cup, I had sworn that I would never go to another in person.  I went to Valderrama and had a blast, even though the Costa del Sol turned into the Costa del Uvia, with huge amounts of rainfall.  It was fun to climb the cork trees and watch play.  It was not only fun, but that was pretty much the only way you could see any play unless you planted yourself in one spot and stayed there all bloody day.  My next was at Oakland Hills in Detroit.  They say it's a good course, or a hard course or a scenic course, but I'd never know, because we could hardly see anything.  With 50,000 spectators and four matches or twelve singles matches on Sunday, you can't see a damned thing in person.

But there's more to attending a Ryder Cup than actually watching a lot of golf in person.  There is, of course, a different vibe that permeates the grounds during a Ryder Cup or a Solheim Cup or a President's Cup.  The player's responsibility to his team, to his Country, to the fans has so much more gravitas, to use a perhaps inappropriate word, than a tour event, even more than a major, to tell you the truth.  To hear the full-throated cheers of the American fans or the rhythmic, soccer-style cheering of the Euro crowd is something so emotionally satisfying that it warms your heart, makes the hair stand up on your arms and brings moisture to even the most jaded eyes.

Yesterday was the goof-off day with my buddy Billy Murray clowning for the cameras while my law school classmate carried his bag around Medinah, but today and tomorrow will signal the end of frivolity and the beginning of what hopefully will be great drama.  I have a huge group of friends attending with me on Friday and we will all be there to watch those nervous players hit off the first tee in front of the incredibly jacked-up crowd.  It will be, as Paul Lawrie memorably said the other day, absolutely "bang on".

Bang on, Yanks, bang on, Euros.  Let's have some fun in the Windy City this week! 

[Matthew Sander]

Terry,

Obviously, it is much more difficult to see some golf at at Ryder Cup than a regular tour event. However, we saw a reasonable amount at Valhalla in '08. I guess it is all boils down to your plan and a little luck. Ryan's plan sounds similar to what we tried to do, we'll probably try something similar again this year.

[hhuffines]

How are the greens for this week?  Any firmness in them?  Thanks...

[Phil McDade]

Impressions after a full day wandering the course Wednesday:

-- Yes, this is a tree-lined parkland course. But, having seen it for the first time, it's far less suffocating (with maybe an exception or two) than I would've thought, or had heard about re. its reputation. For top-tier players -- which this course clearly aims at -- there is plenty of width, and more width than what was reported for some of the fairways at East Lake last week. There really aren't forests out there -- a bunch of really old, really big trees, but playable if you miss the fairway.

-- There is no rough, really, to speak of; it's more accurate to call the grass that's 10 feet off the fairway somewhat longer than the fairway. Players I'm guessing will be more worried about flyers than hacking out.

-- Interesting piece of land -- several holes (12 and 14 notably) sit on really rambunctious land, while others (the triangle of land that includes 9 , 10, 11 and 15) are pretty flat.

-- I was fairly astonished at just how much higher the tees for 13 and 17 (the two par 3s on the back nine over the lake) are than the greens -- those are really downhill shots in the extreme. Really fun theater, and makes them solid holes, as the tees are somewhat hidden from the winds that (at least on Wed.) were sweeping across the lake.

Overall, Medinah #3 struck me as not so much a bomber's course as a shotmaker's course -- you really have to be able to move ball off the tees on several holes, esp. on the back nine (9, 11, 12, 16, even 18 somewhat). I can someone like Bubba maybe dong well here, because he's both long and able to move the ball.

[Terry Lavin]

Phil,

It is a shotmaker's course, as long as the first shot is 295 in the middle.

[Phil McDade]

Phil,

It is a shotmaker's course, as long as the first shot is 295 in the middle.

Terry:

These guys do that in their sleep.

Seriously, it's always good to actually see these golfers in person (and I haven't in a while) to see just how long they are.

Still, I'd argue the player who can shape a tee shot with a driver at 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 16 and even 18 has an advantage out there, vs. the player who doesn't want to challenge those turns in the fairway.

[Adam Clayman]

JR, You'll be pleased to know that I just got a call from a friend who asked. "Has Medinah ever looked better?

[Adam Clayman]

.

[Ivan Morris]

Seve would have no fairways - so everybody would have to play from the rough. The greens are right on the edge of unplayable. They'd be impossible for ordinary mortals. I'm more concerned about the pace of play. It's so bad, I am quitting watching halfway through round four and am going to bed. Unless it's raining tomorrow - I dunno if I'll bother watching any more of this Hyper Cup nonsense. I'd have appreciated it if some of the European team had bothered to shave this morning and Ollie hadn't dressed his team in pink. Well done, Davis Love. I didn't see anything on the TV that could be termed disagreeable - so well 'played' Chicago fans, as well.   

[Tim_Cronin]

In all the championships Medinah has had, going all the way back to Harry Cooper winning the 1930 Medinah Open, this is Medinah Country Club's finest hour. Never a more dramatic or improbable Ryder Cup (including 1999, since this was a road game), never the No. 3 Course so beautiful. Kudos to all.

And bring it back in 2024!