Report from Merion; 18th fairway now begins at the edge of the quarry - EASIER!

[ChipOat]

Before the new U.S. Open tee box was installed on #18, the fairway did not actually begin for a good 30 yards past the edge of the quarry.  Also, the contour of the ground where the rough was did not promote any kind of forward kick.

Result:  Just because your tee shot carried the required distance on the line you intended did not necessarily mean that you got a lie in the fairway.  For club players, it didn't matter so much as the distance to the front of the green was still 275+ yards so the lie didn't really change the outcome of the approach.

Now the fairway has been extended backward to the edge of the quarry.

Result:  If you clear the edge of the quarry on the (correct) line you intended, you will now have a (presumably) good lie in the fairway.

Given the long, uphill carry that is required from that new championship tee box, this seems eminently reasonable to me.  Also, since a 300+ fairway metal shot is not unrealistic for many/most of the competitors, it may actually add a little excitement.

Also, here is an example where Merion has been made EASIER for the U.S. Open!  Who'd a thunk it?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Chip,

I always wondered why the club left such a long area after the quarry as rough and not fairway.

I think it's a very positive alteration.

It reminds me, to a degree, of the tee shot on the 6th at Sleepy Hollow.

If you make the heroic carry, you should be rewarded by a decent lie, and not a lie in the rough which would present a very difficult second shot.

I wonder whose idea it was ?

[Mark McKeever]

Sounds like a very good change!

Mark

[ChipOat]

I sure think so.

Even Pat Mucci approves, so there you have it!

[Dan Boerger]

Chip - Sounds like a neat change, particularly for the reason Pat mentioned. The guy working the fairway mower, however, better not doze.

Also, are they making any changes to 13 for the Open? (Someone mentioned that to me yesterday, but I can't imagine what it would be.)

[Patrick_Mucci]

I sure think so.

Even Pat Mucci approves, so there you have it!

Chip,

When clubs make improvements in their maintainance practices and/or their architecture, I think they should be applauded.

For decades I've been against "buffers" of rough, adjacent to hazards.

The same situation at # 18 at Merion was at # 10 (now # 1) at Shackamaxon.

It's a long par 5, with an heroic carry for the second shot over a mini-pond/stream.
Previously, two buffers of rough, about 30 yards in depth, surrounded the water hazard.

Shots that cleared it often ended up in the far buffer of rough with a difficult uphill lie.
Shots that were layed up, often rolled into the fronting buffer of rough, leaving them about 190, to an uphill green.

It was a ridiculous situation for every level of golfer.
The fronting buffer didn't allow you to get close enough for a mid-iron shot, penalizing the mid and high-handicap golfer, and, the far buffer of rough penalized the better golfer.

After many, many, many years, someone finally saw the light, and despite member protests, the buffer was shrunk to reasonable dimensions.

The 6th at Sleepy Hollow is analogous.
It requires an heroic carry to a plateau that's now all fairway.

The golfer should be rewarded for executing an heroic carry.

I'm glad that Merion finally recognized the benefit of mowing the area beyond the quarry as fairway, it's a great improvement.  

[ChipOat]

Dan,

Lowered the tee box a little bit but that's all I know at this time.

[D_Malley]

I can tell you for a fact that when i caddied there none of my players balls ever ended up in the rough short of the fairway on 18.  

[Patrick_Mucci]

D Malley,

Was that with, or without your help ?

[Mark McKeever]

D Malley,

Was that with, or without your help ?

LOL

[Ed Brzezowski]

Last week 13 was sporting a racing stripe down the left side of the green. Looked like the failure of a hydraulic hose or something. Stepped back to the back on 18, Good Lord that's a long way to the fairway.

[ChipOat]

Ed,

But not quite as long as before (unless Senor Malley was on your bag).

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ed,

But not quite as long as before (unless Senor Malley was on your bag).

That's cute 

[Ed Brzezowski]

Well played Sir.

[Adam Clayman]

Easier v. difficult is a specious argument. Merion's ground is so good, it's a crime to cover so much of it with lush rough.

[John Ezekowitz]

Having played Merion yesterday afternoon, I thought I'd add that some fairways have been moved and narrowed (this may have been covered already). The left rough on 2 has been grown in significantly. The left side of 7, too, seems to have moved in a bit. The biggest change I noticed was on 11. Now if you want to stay in the fairway, you have to hit it no further right than the right edge of the fairway bunker. Last year, I hit it further right and was in the fairway.

While the new back tee on 18 gets a lot of press, I actually think the Open Tee on 5 might be more penal for a tour pro. The tour pro won't be too bothered by the forced carry on 18, but faces a narrow fairway with the left fairway bunkers most definitely in play on his drive on 5.

[Patrick_Mucci]

John,

How have the reconfigurations of the fairways affected member/guest play ?

[John Ezekowitz]

John,

How have the reconfigurations of the fairways affected member/guest play ?

Well, I am merely a guest, but I think the fairway on 2 has the most effect on everyday play. It is now very difficult to hit that fairway for most players, and with the rough up (which it certainly was yesterday), that makes it difficult to get anything less than a long iron into the green.

The fairway on 11 was more surprising to me, but because of the length of the hole and the fact that the tee shot plays downhill, I think the shift does not have as much of an effect.

[John Ezekowitz]

Also, is there any particular reason why there is no review of Merion posted?

[ChipOat]

Adam,

Why is "easier vs difficult" a specious argument?

That is the essence of much of the bitching about course preparation for major championships.  Right now, it happens to be Merion's turn in the barrel.

Please expand your premise/thesis.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Adam,

I think it's universally or almost universally acknowledged that a course has to tighten up it's fairways when conducting a major national championship for the greatest golfers in the world.

Today at around 4:00 I stopped by my club to hit balls.

The Pro, preparing for the Met Open, was hitting balls next to me.

He was using a high tech device, I believe it's called "foresight".
It's a launch monitor.

I was watching him hit 8-irons.
He was leaving them out to the right, cutting them slightly, his swing path was Outside-In but his club face was open.
I told him that his face was open at address.
I then put rods down, a red one at his target and a blue one 5 inches from the ball at a 90 degree angle to the target rod.
When I had him align his club with the blue rod, he said he thought his face was closed, but he began hitting his 8-iron and his flight immediately improved, as did his ball speed and distance.  He then informed me that his usual 8-iron distance was 165 yards.
He then told me that on the 3rd hole at Plainfield, at 180 yards, that Sergio Garcia was hitting 8-iron.

8-iron from 180.

He then began hitting his 3-wood/metal.........270+

We also know that today's ball flies straighter.

So, how can Merion, built circa 1912, provide a challenge against the modern golfer without altering the golf course ?

[Tim Martin]

Adam,

I think it's universally or almost universally acknowledged that a course has to tighten up it's fairways when conducting a major national championship for the greatest golfers in the world.

Today at around 4:00 I stopped by my club to hit balls.

The Pro, preparing for the Met Open, was hitting balls next to me.

He was using a high tech device, I believe it's called "foresight".
It's a launch monitor.

I was watching him hit 8-irons.
He was leaving them out to the right, cutting them slightly, his swing path was Outside-In but his club face was open.
I told him that his face was open at address.
I then put rods down, a red one at his target and a blue one 5 inches from the ball at a 90 degree angle to the target rod.
When I had him align his club with the blue rod, he said he thought his face was closed, but he began hitting his 8-iron and his flight immediately improved, as did his ball speed and distance.  He then informed me that his usual 8-iron distance was 165 yards.
He then told me that on the 3rd hole at Plainfield, at 180 yards, that Sergio Garcia was hitting 8-iron.

8-iron from 180.

He then began hitting his 3-wood/metal.........270+

We also know that today's ball flies straighter.

So, how can Merion, built circa 1912, provide a challenge against the modern golfer without altering the golf course ?

I am missing the relevance of the anecdote about correcting the pro`s swing flaw. We all know the crazy distances that elite players hit the ball.