Will Pebble Beach lend itself for an exciting US Open Championship?

[Jerry Kluger]

I cannot put my finger on it but I cannot see Pebble Beach set up for a US Open Championship to be something that will keep me glued to my TV - your thoughts?

Jerry

[Will MacEwen]

I think it will be a good one.

Geoff Shackelford had some info on his blog that was interesting.  Since PB has smaller greens than most USGA venues, there is less need for shaggy rough.  I'm not a big fan of the setups where a missed fairway gives the player no chance at the green.  It can be gruelling to watch.

The USGA is also eliminating or reducing the rough buffers between the fairways and the cliffs - making it much easier for a ball to run over the edge. 

1982 and 1992 were good events as I recall, I don't remember much of Tiger's win as it certainly didn't have much in the way of drama.  I'm looking forward to this one.

[JESII]

Who can name a single architectural or maintenance concern that, if presented, makes it more likely for an exciting television event? What experience supports your claim?

[Terry Lavin]

Sure, it will.  If Torrey Pines can give us one of the most memorable US Opens in recent memory with a golf course that is far from memorable, I have no doubt that Pebble Beach can give us an exciting championship.  At the end of the day, the Open is not about the golf course, it's about the competition, but Pebble has so much tradition and institutional memories that it has an excellent chance of being a great site.  How could it not?

[David_Tepper]

A lot will depend on the weather and how hard the wind blows.

[jonathan_becker]

Jerry,

Considering that the event at Pebble every february is a huge disappointment to watch on TV (all the third rate celebs, tons of interviews, and less than half of the telecast is actual golf), I can't wait.  It will be great to see all the holes presented with nothing but GOLF and if it doesn't rain, all the better. 

[Mike Hendren]

Since when did Pebble Beach Golf Links become a goat ranch?  It's one of the greatest golf courses in the world and has consistently produced great U. S. Open winners (you know who they are), even Kite after Dr. Gil Morgan got it to dougle-digits under par for the first time in the tournament's history before the back-up buzzer went off.   

I'm guessing if everyone in the treehouse were angling for access to a private Pebble Beach , the criticisms would vanish and everyone would wax poetic about the joint like they do now about its neighbor. 

Pebble Beach is a helluva golf course with a helluva tournament history.  I guess if you aren't excited about the golf tournament you can always tune in the NBA playoffs and watch ten tall tattoo'd men jump up in the air every 24 seconds.

Sheesh.

Mike

[Mike Benham]

A lot will depend on the weather and how hard the wind blows.

I think the course has very little to do with having an exciting championship ... If Tiger, Phil, A-Kim, Tom Watson and a handful of others are battling for contention, then they could hold the tournament at the Peter Hay 9-holes and it would be exciting.

If Jason Day, Brian Gay and Jeff Overton are at the top of the leader board, then it will be a yawn-fest ...

[Jerry Kluger]

No one has said that PB is a goat ranch.  The question I posed had more to do with the architecture of the course namely, the small greens and the thick rough and how will that work when players are trying to win a championship.  Do those greens allow for imaginative shotmaking, great recoveries, memorable putts, etc?  I really enjoy watching the Masters and the Open Championship and perhaps it is the nature of the US Open and its style which makes it less interesting to me and a course like PB does not make that feeling any better.

[Bill_McBride]

A lot will depend on the weather and how hard the wind blows.

I think the course has very little to do with having an exciting championship ... If Tiger, Phil, A-Kim, Tom Watson and a handful of others are battling for contention, then they could hold the tournament at the Peter Hay 9-holes and it would be exciting.

If Jason Day, Brian Gay and Jeff Overton are at the top of the leader board, then it will be a yawn-fest ...

But how about that 16-year old kid in Dallas?

[Anthony Gray]

  Its PB. A classic. The US Open. Sure it will be memorable.

  Anthony

[J_ Crisham]

Played here 2 weeks ago with a couple of fellow GCAers. My impressions of the course and it's conditioning was that it looked and played fantastic. I have played PB several times over the last 20 yrs and have never seen it in this good of shape turf wise. The greens and fairways were as firm as I've ever seen them. The right rough along the cliffs on 6,9,10 have been shaved and anything hit down the right side of 6's fairway that is deep will be wet. The rough was gnarly and probably 4-5 inches deep. They were actually fertilizing the rough as we played. Several fairways have been pinched in most notably the left side of 8, 11, 13,14, and 16. Hard to even guess a winning number as weather can affect this track dramatically. Whoever wins will have to have a great week in greens in regulation. It's easy to forget just how small these targets really are.                                 Jack

[Bill_McBride]

Just saw this very interesting article on the USGA set up:

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/news/articles/2010-05-20/201005201274374493011.html

[Matt_Ward]

When people talk about "exciting" US Opens and whether PB will lend itself to that - it's important to remember that the quality of the architecture has no guarantee that an exciting US Open will happen there. In 1982 PB had a great US Open -- one of the best I have ever personally witnessed. Flip 10 years ahead to '92 and the event was far less even though Kite played well in the heavy wind.

At TP, Woods beat Mediate at a venue that lacks any architectural heft.

Sometimes the drama of who is playing well and what they do works inspite of the course itself.

PB is a superb layout that yings and yangs -- not every hole is stellar as most realize but has provided a solid platform in identifying many of the winners who have claimed titles there -- namely US Opens and the solo PGA in '77.

If the wind blows like it did in '92 then anything can happen. If the wind were to play less of a role then what happened in '82 with such stellar play can certainly repeat itself.

[Matthew Petersen]

Just saw this very interesting article on the USGA set up:

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/news/articles/2010-05-20/201005201274374493011.html

I love this exchange:

As the group stands on the tee, Davis has a thought. He says that they should extend the tee markers across the width of the teeing ground – far wider apart than tee markers are typically put. That way “we let them figure out the angle they want to hit with the crosswind … There’s nothing in the Rules that says we can’t do it. If we do it, it allows them to think of a strategy to the back right hidden lobe.”

The others aren’t convinced.

“I think we force their hand,” says O’Toole.

Hyler and Dalhamer stand mute, neither buying into it nor disagreeing with Davis.

“We don’t have to decide now, but let’s think about,” Davis says.

It hasn't always been for the best, but you have to admire how Davis has always wanted to tinker with the traditional idea of a US Open. Graduated rough, now widened fairways, moving tees up and back to make holes play differently. Great stuff. And this idea is right in line with that. Don't just test who can best hit the shot the USGA demands. Test the player's ability to strategize and know their own game.

[Jay Flemma]

I think it will be exciting no matter what.

If the wond blows, the players will have a tough time scoring and the "restrictor plate" will be on the field, bunching them up.

If the weather is good, then there should be plenty of birdies and that's exciting too.  we win either way.  Plus, we'll get to see some clifftop golf in an idyllic setting.  everyone wins.

[Matthew Petersen]

Jay,

Unless we get the kind of fog they had in 2000, when no one could see anything!

[Tim_Cronin]

Yes.

1972: Nicklaus vs. Palmer; the 1-iron seen 'round the world.
1982: Watson vs. Nicklaus; the chip-in seen 'round the world.
1992: Kite survives in the wind; Gil Morgan does not.
2000: Woods laps the field by 15 even with a triple bogey.

Four Opens. Four classics. Pebble Beach and the Open brings out the best.

[Mark Provenzano]

A lot will depend on the weather and how hard the wind blows.

If these goofy El Niño weather patterns continue out here a couple more weeks, they'll have all the weather they can handle. Right now it's been the polar opposite of the heat wave of 2000.

[Tim Martin]

It should be a great open. I remember when Dr. Gil got it to red double digits in 1992 as the USGA guys alternately convulsed and reeled in horror. Enter mother nature with her gale wind and it was quite exciting down the stretch. Have there really been any truly sub-standard venues for the open? 2000 was an anomaly and I don`t think it had much to do with the venue as Tiger was firing on all cylinders and could have done it at a host of other open courses.Even if he did not match the aggregate score he probably still would have had the large margin of victory. The excitement is in the leader board.