Are you enjoying Oakland Hills as much as I am?

[Brent Carlson]

Brad -

I have to agree.  Walking around the course today it was spectacular - the routing, the greens, the conditions.  The course is draped over the property so well.  Here's to a excellent finish.

[Matt_Cohn]

The course is draped over the property so well.

Just curious if that includes 18 when you see it in person?

[Brett Hochstein]

Darren,

All courses are much more interesting and valuable to experience in person; such is the nature of golf and its architecture. 

I went to the practice round on wednesday, and I found the course much more more interesting than I remembered.  The contours of the property are great for golf--10 and 11 exemplify this--but i wonder if it could be more with varied fairway bunkers and more opened greens.

[John Burzynski]

This might be the most boring tournament of the majors this year, at least so far.

Maybe it is the Tiger factor, I am not sure, but there doesn't seem to be any excitement among the players...with the exception of Sergio begging for every other shot to do something.  I know that the 2nd round is early, but it seems to me that this is all a drudgery for the players, like they can't wait to leave, at least their body language tells me so.

I would like to see a few players below par, even -7 or -8 for a whole tournament isn't bad, is it?  It is fun to see eagle and birdie opportunities, like Harrington's on 17 at the British Open (even if that was a hole set up to be extra tough).   

There just has to be a balance somewhere between scoring, excitement and a true test for golfers.  This business of protecting par has to go.

[Dean Stokes]

I agree with John. This is like watching paint dry. This is obviously a great course but the set up makes for a boring event. If there is so much slope and undulation then the USGA did not need 5 inch rough covering the entire facility.

Where was the imagination in this set up? If the greens are raised and undulated , why not more shaved banks? Let's see bump and runs. Lets see badly shaped tee balls running down slopes into trees and bunkers rather than nestling 4 inches off the fairway - unplayable.

Go Sergio

[Jordan Caron]

I love the back 9 at Oakland Hills and think this PGA has a chance to to have an outcome much like the '06 Open at Winged Foot.  Especially if we get some guys who haven't been there Sunday in a major.   

[Bradley Anderson]

I walked the course on Tuesday, and I'll be out again on Sunday.

I honestly did not think that the fairways seemed too narrow at all. Yes they are narrower than they were designed, but they are generous compared to Oakmont, and what I can recall of the last several US Open venues.

I was able to cross the fairways at several descents and take a picture of the whole corridor. I was actually surprised at how wide they were.

I also did not think the rough was as tough as it has been played up.

There is an old Lions linebacker at our club here (Birmingham) who has been playing there for years and over lunch yesterday he told me if they let him set the pins, he could put any of the pro's on the green in regulation and they wouldn't break par.

I guess the thing that amazed me the most about the golf course was how big and undulating the greens are. Its dry and windy here, and those greens are going to get good and hard today.

[Darren_Kilfara]

"All courses are much more interesting and valuable to experience in person; such is the nature of golf and its architecture. "

Brett, that's obviously true, but some courses are easier to appreciate and enjoy on TV than others. The US Open-type setup we're seeing this week, on a course with few distinguishing landmarks or features that show up well on TV, tends to cause courses like Oakland Hills, Winged Foot, Oak Hill, Olympia Fields, etc. run together in my mind unless I've seen them recently. Of other recent US Open/PGA venues, Oakmont is different; Shinnecock and Pebble are obviously different; Pinehurst is different; Whistling Straits is different; and so on.