Mikey,
You wrote:
"16th hole at 491, bethpage '02, 10th hole at 492, 7th hole at 489, 12th hole at 499! YET... none of these holes have really been that long for the pros...."
I think you need to check a few facts. At Bethpage, the only par-five that was converted to a par-four, was the seventh hole.
The tenth hole and the twelfth holes have ALWAYS been par- fours going back to the days when TILLINGHAST first designed them.
The championship tee was always measured at 480 yards for the tenth hole, so even where some were lengthened for the Open, this tee was flattened (it settled over the years and was played slightly downhill the further one went back) and so it really wasn't lengthened by much.
The pros had a GREAT problem in reaching these holes in two on a regular basis, but this was caused more by their lack of accuracy with drives that landed in the rough rather then by the length of the holes.
By the way, the purpose in playing it to a par of 70 and by reducing par five(s) to do this, is to enable the shorter hitter to be more competitive. The thinking is that a shorter hitter will have an easier time reaching a long par four or laying up and making par, than he would of making birdie on a par five that measures in the 550+ yard range, whereas a long hitter will have an easier time making birdie or even eagle on a par five that is in that length range, than a par on a long tough par four.
The seventh hole on the Black that was converted for the Open, from its original championship tee measures 590+ yards. Long hitters have always had an advantage on this hole. In fact, in 1936, Jimmy Hines, the reigning Met Open champion, became the first person to reach this hole in two. He did it with a driver and a TWO-IRON! At the time, the hole was measured for play at 600 yards!
It just goes to show you, there's always been big bears in them woods!