Merion: Should be a U.S. Open Anchor?

[Drew Maliniak]

With Bryson bombing and gouging through Winged Foot, should Merion become the premier east coast U.S. Open venue?


People complain about driver being left in the bag. But I feel like we need more U.S. Open courses like that.

[Greg Smith]

Yes, please.  However, I think the term "anchor" may have to be set aside due to logistics.  It takes more work than usual to fit all the appurtenances of a US Open into the available acreage there.  2013 worked well, IMO … but I dunno if the club, the neighborhood, and the USGA can start doing that every six years.  I would love to see one "eastern" spot on a future "rota" be shared by Merion and TCC Brookline.

[William_G]

not Merion

[Paul Rudovsky]

With Bryson bombing and gouging through Winged Foot, should Merion become the premier east coast U.S. Open venue?

I should think that this is only half of the "question"....the other half being does Merion (or any other outstanding track WANT to be an anchor?  Obviously ZI have zero idea regarding the financial incentives, or how frequently the USGA wants to be at these places, but private clubs are run very differently and with different objectives from places like Pinehurst.  Time will tell on these questions.

[Eric LeFante]

Outside of Oakmont I don't really see other clubs/memberships wanting to host an Open every 6 years. I think the USGA wants Shinnecock to be an anchor site but we'll see if the memberships is interested. Maybe there will only be 3-4 anchor sites and a handful of others that rotate and have it once every 10 years.

I think Pebble is a given and maybe even Torrey Pines. The USGA loves west coast venues.

Will be interesting to see if Oakland Hills throws their hat in the ring to be an anchor site.

[Dan_Callahan]

I wouldn't choose Merion or TCC as an East Coast anchor over Shinnecock.

[JESII]

In theory, the benefit of being an anchor is that once the course is “modernized” to host a US Open it can pretty painlessly host one a few years later. The 20 year gaps have dictated major renovation work.


Would still be a tough decision if I were a member at one of these clubs. Big investment of time from the limited resource that is actually playing your own course.

[BCrosby]

One of many remarkable things about playing ANGC is the infrastructure for TV, f&b, restrooms and gallery embedded in the course. Some is easy to spot, but much of it you have to look for. It is well done, but it is everywhere.


Pre-positioning at least some of that infra-structure will, I suspect, be an unavoidable part of being an anchor USO venue. I'd guess that will limit further the number of clubs willing to sign on.


Bob   

[Matt_Cohn]

How would Bryson play Merion?


1. Driver near green? But OB in play.
2. Reach in 2 with good drive
3. Par 3
4. Reach in 2 with good drive
5. Drive/Short iron
6. Drive/Short iron
7. [/size]Driver near green? But OB in play.
[/size]8. [/size]Driver near green? But long grass/penalty area(?) in play.
[/size]9. Par 3
[/size]10. [/size]3 wood near green
[/size]11. Lay up...right?
[/size]12. Drive and chip/pitch
[/size]13. Par 3
[/size]14. Drive/Wedge
[/size]15. Lay up? Not sure if there's anywhere good to hit driver.
[/size]16. Forced layup, right?
[/size]17. Par 3
[/size]18. Drive/Short iron
[/size]
[/size]It doesn't seem like he could take the same "hit driver and I can get it on the green from wherever it ends up" approach he did at WF. There are 2 par 5's (same as WF) and only 4 long par 4's where he'd automatically hit driver as he did at WF. The WF setup ultimately suited him in a weird way. I don't see the same thing at Merion. Too many places where driver risks serious danger, not just rough.
[/size]

[Kalen Braley]

Fixed it....

How would Bryson play Merion?

1. Driver near green? But OB in play.
2. Reach in 2 with good drive
3. Par 3
4. Reach in 2 with good drive
5. Drive/Short iron
6. Drive/Short iron
7. Driver near green? But OB in play.
8. Driver near green? But long grass/penalty area(?) in play.
9. Par 3
10. 3 wood near green
11. Lay up...right?
12. Drive and chip/pitch
13. Par 3
14. Drive/Wedge
15. Lay up? Not sure if there's anywhere good to hit driver.
16. Forced layup, right?
17. Par 3
18. Drive/Short iron

It doesn't seem like he could take the same "hit driver and I can get it on the green from wherever it ends up" approach he did at WF. There are 2 par 5's (same as WF) and only 4 long par 4's where he'd automatically hit driver as he did at WF. The WF setup ultimately suited him in a weird way. I don't see the same thing at Merion. Too many places where driver risks serious danger, not just rough.

[Matt_Cohn]

Thanks, WTF happened to mine 

[Paul Rudovsky]

My guess is that BDC's win last week has more to do with his brains and work ethic than his length.  He simply figured WF out better than anyone else...and stuck with his plan.  There are others on the tour who are longer than he is (e.g. Wolff and Finau).  I would also suggest that Messrs Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus, and Woods were totally dominant because of brains and work ethic.

[Sean_A]

My guess is that BDC's win last week has more to do with his brains and work ethic than his length.  He simply figured WF out better than anyone else...and stuck with his plan.  There are others on the tour who are longer than he is (e.g. Wolff and Finau).  I would also suggest that Messrs Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus, and Woods were totally dominant because of brains and work ethic.

I think his putting played a major role. He rolled it considerably better than us usually the case. Still, hitting it far played a huge role. If Merion wants to be a player in the game it needs to do the opposite of WF. Open the course up, drop some yardage. This will reduce the imbalance of driving length importance and allow shorter hitters in the field to have a better chance of competing. The answer to all questions for the US Open surely shouldn't be hitting it further. Sure, the scores would probably be better at Merion, but the entertainment value goes up when more golfers with different emphasis on skill sets can compete. Merion is perfect for this because it was traditionally a course that wasn't about length. Let those boys out at 6500 yards and let's be entertained by the full field. I am convinced the way to bring a proper balance to the game (assuming no rules interventions) is to make courses shorter and wider, not longer and skinnier.

Ciao