[bakerg]

Pat,

I played Newport in October with a scratch member who had been playing the course for forty years.  He liked the fact that the course had been toughened up because he was getting bored.  

The sense I got while there was that the course gets very little outside play. And, the members that do play use the course quite a bit.  So, I think they are just tweaking the course to their liking.  

I am fairly certain they are not making any changes to the course in hopes of any future tournaments.  But, I will ask the member the next time I speak to him.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Gary,

With the wind, that architecture and that setting, it's hard to imagine getting bored at Newport.

This seems like a low handicaper's idea, and a bad one at that.

Just take the 5th hole, one of the great par 4's in golf that DEPENDS upon its width to make all of the architectural features blend and hum to challenge every level of golfer.

Narrowing that fairway is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard of.

I'd venture to say that the 10-15-20-25 handicapper isn't bored when they play Newport.

How can anyone get bored playing golf, irrespective of the golf course being played ?

Is this a "Silver Spoon" syndrome at work ?

[Adam Sherer]

What does it say that three of the five founding golf clubs of the USGA (Newport, Brookline, Shinnecock) have undergone alterations for majors? Certainly, those courses, with their high profile stature and membership, are not making decisions on a whim. The superintendent at Merion didn't cut the rough for an entire year leading up to the Amateur. Needless to say, that experiment did not last. Who is to say that the Newport "experiment" will last either. Honestly, it has only been a few months and reclaiming the fairways may take time. Remember, not all memberships want to see construction year-in and year-out.

I am a member of Newport's sister club in RI, I played at NCC in high school tournaments, and my friend just left the assistant superintendent job there. A course like Newport will always be special.

[Patrick_Mucci]

It looks like Oakmont has capitulated as well.

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