[PThomas]

Geoff Shackelford posted a letter from Frank Hannigan on his great blog site after the Open that i thought was pretty interesting..no one else raised the issue, i don't think think, so i will and hope others find it interesting as well

in addition to the above, Hannigan also said" ...a young man on the USGA staff, Mike Davis, just about turned water into wine preparing Torrey pines......What I learned is that, given a few million dollars and enough property to expand the course to 7,400 yards, Mike Davis could make any of hundreds of courses pass as US Open courses"

do you agree or disagree with Hannigan? 

[John Kavanaugh]

Do you honestly believe that the golfing public spends that much money on greenfees during 60,000 rounds per year at a course that is not at least exceptional?  Who defines great or exceptional and why do you think it is limited to 20 or so courses?

[David Stamm]

Do you honestly believe that the golfing public spends that much money on greenfees during 60,000 rounds per year at a course that is not at least exceptional?  

exceptional  (ĭk-sĕp'shə-nəl)

 
adj.
Well above average; extraordinary: an exceptional memory. See Usage Note at exceptionable.
Deviating widely from a norm, as of physical or mental ability: special educational provisions for exceptional children.


In answer, yes, I do believe the public will and they do.

[Jay Flemma]

I agree.  There is little horizontal or vertical movement in the earth and the defenses are merely pretty good.  They left a few things in the bag.  13 would make an excellent punchbowl green and 8 would be a great lions mouth.  Perhaps a redan at one of the par-3s...

Pretty good...not truly great.  but that's Rees anyway.

Great tournament though.  Only trouble it was too crowded...the canyons mean that whole sides of fwys can;t be traversed by patrons and at times 45,000 people moving about was zany..expecially the 21000 at the playoff!

[Brent Hutto]

Do you honestly believe that the golfing public spends that much money on greenfees during 60,000 rounds per year at a course that is not at least exceptional?  Who defines great or exceptional and why do you think it is limited to 20 or so courses?

I know very little about Torrey Pines. Does it have any views of the ocean? Then it does not need any other "exceptional" features to garner high green fees for 60,000 rounds per year.

[John Kavanaugh]

Do you honestly believe that the golfing public spends that much money on greenfees during 60,000 rounds per year at a course that is not at least exceptional?  

exceptional  (?k-s?p'sh?-n?l)

 
adj.
Well above average; extraordinary: an exceptional memory. See Usage Note at exceptionable.
Deviating widely from a norm, as of physical or mental ability: special educational provisions for exceptional children.


In answer, yes, I do believe the public will and they do.

Torrey fits every one of the above criteria.  If it is in the top 500 courses in the country it is well above average; extraordinary.  The views and weather deviate widely from the norm.  Exceptional is a lower standard than what I thought.

[tlavin]

I agree with the statement and that doesn't take anything away from the majesty of the championship itself.  And it doesn't mean that Torrey Pines is a goat track.  It just means that Mike Davis and the rest of the crew did a terrific job of making a pretty good golf course the site of an amazing tournament.

[John Kavanaugh]

I agree with the statement and that doesn't take anything away from the majesty of the championship itself.  And it doesn't mean that Torrey Pines is a goat track.  It just means that Mike Davis and the rest of the crew did a terrific job of making a pretty good golf course the site of an amazing tournament.

Terry,

How do you explain the historical evidence of past great Buick Opens without Mike Davis?

[JSlonis]

Outside of Tiger or Phil winning, can you really remember any past great Buick Invitational's/ San Diego Open's?

[John Kavanaugh]

Outside of Tiger or Phil winning, can you really remember any past great Buick Open's?

I cried when John Daly won.

[JSlonis]

How am I supposed to respond to that?    He did hit a helluva bunker shot.

[tlavin]

I agree with the statement and that doesn't take anything away from the majesty of the championship itself.  And it doesn't mean that Torrey Pines is a goat track.  It just means that Mike Davis and the rest of the crew did a terrific job of making a pretty good golf course the site of an amazing tournament.

Terry,

How do you explain the historical evidence of past great Buick Opens without Mike Davis?

Who could ever forget the epical events of those tour stops in La Jolla?  Well, me, I could.

My quick analysis: good (not great) golf course; excellent setup; fabulous drama; one of the best majors of my lifetime.  I just can't fathom that anything occurred at any of the Buick or San Diego Opens that would have moved the meter quite so well.

[John Kavanaugh]

How am I supposed to respond to that?    He did hit a helluva bunker shot.

I guess it is the Buick Invitational.  I do find it interesting that the tournament has been at Torrey since the year I started playing golf - 1968.  Here is a semi-interesting history of the tournament which does represent a fine list of champions.  http://tinyurl.com/3mkzef

[Garland Bayley]

Outside of Tiger or Phil winning, can you really remember any past great Buick Invitational's/ San Diego Open's?

The only one I can remember can be called the bonehead open as Bones was on the bag of the bonehead that could have won the play off with just his 9 iron, but instead hit driver into the ravine just like is opponent did.

[John Kavanaugh]

Who is the Frank Hannigan guy anyway?  Was he paying Torrey a compliment in saying that it now passes for a US Open course?  Should he be held responsible at all for the requirement of 7400 yd courses?  Are him and Geoff strange bedfellows?

[Sam Morrow]

Who is the Frank Hannigan guy anyway?  Was he paying Torrey a compliment in saying that it now passes for a US Open course?  Should he be held responsible at all for the requirement of 7400 yd courses?  Are him and Geoff strange bedfellows?

Wasn't Frank on the ABC telecasts with Musberger that helped set golf broadcasting back 20 years?

[Jerry Kluger]

Just because a golf course is a very good tournament venue does not make it a very good golf course.  I first played TP South back in 1981 and the fact is that it was cheap and had great views of the ocean.  Most recreational golfers enjoy playing the North more than the South as it has the same views but is more interesting and not as long.  There are many reasons that a course becomes an Open venue or even a tournament venue; the quality of the course is not at the top of the list.  

[David Stamm]

Frank Hannigan was the former executive director of the USGA and I believe David Fay's immediate predecessor. He's been an outspoken critic of many of his blue blazered fromer colleagues and I find his viewpoints refreshing. He also wrote a great piece in the '74 that called attention to one A.W. Tillinghast called "Golf's Forgotten Genuis".

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