Plainfield CC...What a course

[Eric Strulowitz]

Got to attend the first day of the Barclays and must say that I was very impressed with this course.

A mix of reachable par 4's, amazing bunker complexes, blind shots, false fronts, and  perplexing greens made for a great day from a spectator standpoint.  The players seemed to be enjoying the course, as did the spectaotors.  It is a great course for viewing,  had a wide open feeling, and on some holes you could see the action on several holes.  From an archtiectural standpoint it was fascinating, wonder how much of the original Ross design was intact.

Interesting, that some pundits complained that the PGA Championship was too long and the scores too high, and I have heard some complain that Plainfield was too short and too easy, given the low scores.  Seems there is no satisfying anyone.  The course played easy because of some very wet conditions.  If the greens were hard and fast, things might have been different.  I will say this, with some added length and some really penal rough, this could be a US Open venue.  Not that it ever will, but it is certainly in that league.

I understand the Barclays will be coming back to Plainfield in a few years.   Hope the course survived the Hurricane well, and I am definately adding a round there it to my wish list for 2012.

[Joe Bausch]

Eric,

     I would like to disagree with you, but pretty much all the facts are on your side.

 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Eric,

Where is there room to add meaningful length ?

19 under for 3 rounds.  That's pretty impressive.

I've come to the conclusion that it's almost impossible to defend a golf course against PGA Tour Pros unless wind is a factor.

Mother Nature never seems to co-operate in the summer and I"m not sure that members want to risk their course in trying to achieve super fast and firm.

[Rick Wolffe]

Regardless of soft conditions, the pros shattered Par at Plainfield. There were a bunch of story lines in the Star Ledger on how easy the course played for the pros and how many guys had realistic chances to shoot a 59.  It's too bad about the Hurricane shortening the tournament to 54 holes; the only good thing about canceling the final round is that it keep the winning score from being well over 20 under par.

What more evidence do the powers in Golf need about the equipment?  If they do nothing, wait until they get to Merion in 2013, they will torch the place.

[Joe Bausch]

What more evidence do the powers in Golf need about the equipment?  If they do nothing, wait until they get to Merion in 2013, they will torch the place.

Dear Rick,

     I did not design the place to have people shoot 30 under.

Sincerely,
CBM
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[Patrick_Mucci]

Rick,

Couldn't agree more.

Between belly/long putters, the ball and equipment, there isn't a course that can present a reasonable challenge without going to extremes

[Joel_Stewart]

I played Plainfield once (20 years ago) and thought it was long and hard and the day I played the greens were really fast.  I was just invited to come back and am going to try next year.

How many holes did Johnson hit driver?  I'm not even sure taking driver out of their hands can prevent low scoring?

Agreed about Merion.

[JSlonis]

The course was really soft and there was very little wind. Give those conditions to a tour player and they'll shoot lights out anywhere, on any course, at nearly any length.

[Ron Csigo]

Rick,

Couldn't agree more.

Between belly/long putters, the ball and equipment, there isn't a course that can present a reasonable challenge without going to extremes

I don't want to take away focus from Plainfield CC but would stretching out Erin Hills to its maximum yardage provide a reasonable challenge?  Perhaps we can start another thread and discuss the topic there.

Anyway, I still think Plainfield, despite all the rain, proved to be a stern test for the PGA pros.  Unfortunately, given the 132 acres that the course sits on, there isn't any additional room to lengthen the course.  If the weather would have coorperated, I feel that we would have seen compareable scores to the North Carolina event at Sedgefield.