U.S. Ladies Open qualifier, Big Wiesy in the hizzy

[John_Conley]

Who can resist?  Despite the rain, a good number found their way out to Heathrow to see the Big Wiesy.  Some snafu led to her going off #1 instead of #10, so it took us nearly an hour to get caught up with her.

+3 38 at the turn and a par on 10.

She was putting on #11 after going for the green (528 yds.) on her second shot with a 4-wood.  (Hole doglegs, so let's say she hit it 275 & 235 for her two shots.  We're waterlogged today so there won't be much roll.)  She pulled it into a tree, got stymied, and missed a short bogie putt.

#12 is about 150 downhill to a big island green.  Paula Creamer (talk about the marquee pairing of the day) hit her iron right over the pin and about 15 yards deep - into the water.  Wie stuffed her approach, but missed the putt of about 6' or so.

#13 is a short (341 yd.) dogleg right.  She feathered out a 3-wood to the fairway and Wedged close to 12' pin-high.  Narrowly missed the putt.  Her tee shot was right next to those of her playing partners, but one had to beat a Driver to get to the same spot.

#14 is a long (388 with a slightly uphill drive) dogleg right.  One girl hit two wood shots to the front of the green.  Up about 20 yards, Creamer also drove to the fairway.  Michelle drove THIRTY SEVEN yards past Creamer and it appeared that both hit it well.  A very nice approach scooted just a tad too far and rolled down a ridge on the green.  Routine two putt for par.

The biggest differences from observation of Michelle Wie versus other female golfers:

A)  Distance control - managed her approach shots like a men's Tour player.  Able to have short birdie putts on even off-line shots.
B)  Power - surprisingly to me, she does not swing hard.  Her power is an easy, effortless type.  She appeared to be hitting it 275 yards in conditions not conducive to long drives.  She also probably has "another gear" when the situation calls for it.

On our walk in we saw T.G.F.K.A.Aree Wongluekiet stick her approach on the par 5 (544 yds.) 16th.  In keeping with tradition, her sister was following her and planning on playing in her Sectional next Monday in Ohio.  (The twins have made it a habit to travel to different sites because they figure they would have better chances to get through since their sibling isn't in the field.)

When we left, there was one score of 73 and Morgan Pressel had 74.  Silvia Cavalleri shot 80, so you can see conditions were very tough for them.  (Very light rough, fast greens, tucked pins. sloggy fairways, and long - 6,541 par 71.)

I picked up her soggy Bermuda divot patty after her approach on #14 and wondered if you think it could actually fetch a bid on eBay?  "MICHELLE WIE DIVOT from U.S. OPEN qualifier!!"  I can just see the posting now.

[eye_on_stocks]

John_Conley,
Why the obsession with women golfers and tournament golf?  

Golf course architecture please.

[John_Conley]

No obsession with women's golf at all.  In fact, from the others I saw while trudging out to see Michelle Wie, I still couldn't watch much of it.

Considering the amount of attention Michelle Wie has received on this site, considering the "fear" (on the part of some/many, not all) that there is an army of robogolfers coming up from the junior ranks that will render all existing courses less outstanding, considering that we are talking about a 13-year-old girl that carries her drive 275+ yards at sea level on a humid day, it seems like a topic worth mentioning.

The significance of Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie for golf course architecture goes without saying.  How would you set up a golf course for a tournament?  For Nicole Jeray or Michelle Wie?  If they set up courses for Wie - and the layout she's playing today pretty much snuffed out half of the field before they teed off because of length - she'll win even more than people are predicting.

It is hard to imagine that there will be many competitive female golfers that possess her combination of talent and strength no matter how far down the road you look.  She will pose the same challenge to the sport from a course set-up standpoint that Tiger has over the last 6 years, in my opinion.

[SPDB]

But John, the Michelle Wie attention has only been generated by one person. And I didn't see anything whatsoever about architecture in your first post.

just curious.

[Bob_Huntley]

If that sloppy divot doesn't convey some information on architecture than my name is Tillinghast. It's obvious that the layout does not have the requisite drainage in certain areas of the course and needs work!

[John_Conley]

Spiderbite:

There have been a few threads about Michelle Wie.  Tom Paul even swears she drove a green because the greenskeeper told him she did when she wasn't in the field!

As far as the threadstarting post... I did leave out the underlying theme that pervades much of the discussion here - the trend for highly skilled players to drive the ball further and realize more benefit from advancements in the game poses serious questions to the custodians of the game/sport, and nobody has any answers.  (I didn't mention it because I thought it went without saying.  Most of the discussion about competitive golf on the site is relevant in the same manner; given that players are good, how do you design for the masses?  Karsten Creek was set up hard enough to challenge all players, yet it may have gone too far in that pace of play was so slow they had to hastily implement a cut mid-event to whittle down the field.  I ask you, how do you design for women?  For Nicole Jeray or Michelle Wie?)

Think back to the lengthening of Augusta as a way to see the winning score stay around 275-280.  Is it good for golf?  Was it a result of Tiger lapping the field in 1997 and winning by a cool doz?  The consensus here was No on the former and probably Yes on the latter.

We can see Wie today at 13 - in her FOURTH summer of national competition - and see the same issues coming up on the female side of the ledger.  Tiger may have surprised a few when he hit the PGA Tour scene, but the same can't be said for Wie when she finally gets there.  Should the LPGA do anything in preparation for her arrival as it relates to site selection and course setup?  They seem to have less latitude when compared to the PGA Tour with the TPC network to "build-to-suit" for tournament venues.

Wie is not to Annika what Gossett, Garcia, and Baddeley are to Singh, Love, and Couples.  Wie is (potentially) to Annika what Tiger is to Faldo.

A saving grace on the LPGA is that they could use a course that didn't have a 7000 yard set of tees.  The advantage is big in that longer courses played from forward tees often have greens that are too big to challenge the better players.  If Wie's high visibility - and she is being talked about as a person more marketable than Freddie Adu and almost as visible as Lebron James - leads to a sentiment for 6800 courses for the LPGA, how does that affect architecture?

As of today I have seen the Big Wiesy (I believe it was Lehman who gave her the all-to-appropriate moniker, think effortless power like Els) and she's no Paul Bunyan.  Everything you have been told is true.  What this means for the future of golf is unclear to me for now, but it is obvious it will change it.  She's not Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, or Aree Song - all of whom were also in the field at Heathrow today.  She's a difference maker and will become a brand of her own like Pele, Jordan, and Tiger.  The first female Superathlete, unless you count Gabby Reece   ?

[John_Conley]

It's obvious that the layout does not have the requisite drainage in certain areas of the course and needs work!

Bob:

An all too common occurence in Florida once our rainy season starts.