OK David Kelly, I trust your opinion about how fun Torrey Pines is. However, can anyone deny the tournament was a huge television success? I say the U.S. Open tournament was improved by choosing a flatter, longer, and less severe course. The players had a chance to hit a few fairways. They played from a wide variety of lies in the rough. They made a few long putts. Because the course is gentler, there were fewer demoralizing results, and many more uplifting shots than the previous tournaments at Oakmont and Winged Foot. Augusta National faces the same problem today. It's so damn tough around the greens that nobody makes a move, and when Immelman (or Mickelson a couple years ago) got ahead by a few shots, it was over.
I thought there was a major architectural statement made by this tournament. The solution is obvious: make the course longer and give the guys a little more room to spray the ball. Use putting surfaces that allow a decent chance of recovery. You've got to have flatter greens and shallower bunkers to do that. Remember that length is the key defender of par.
Think about how great the top of the leaderboard was on Sunday. 10-12 well known veteran golfers, all in contention, with different styles and strengths, grinding it out. It was spectacular golf for the final three days.
We architecture buffs would likely choose Oakmont or Winged Foot, and certainly Augusta National, over Torrey Pines. But the severity of the greens yield less exciting results by tentative golfers playing defensively. For these reasons, Chambers Bay will make a fine Open venue, if they can keep the poa annua out until 2015, and the USGA will gladly return to Torrey Pines.