Report Card for the Men's Open at Pinehurst

[noonan]

Great tournament and playing conditions - A+

[BHoover]

What I think is most encouraging, in terms of whether the F&F trend is viable, is that even the players seemed to embrace the conditions.

[Mark_Fine]

The Donald better get them to turn the water on over at Trump International Golf Links in Scotland because the place is looking a little brown and rough around the edges   

I think one thing the world learned this week is that brown grass plays just as well as green grass!  I am already getting calls from clubs I had talked to in the past about restoration (and thought I was crazy) and are now reconsidering taking a look at their heritage. 

[Matt MacIver]

A great week and no doubt #2 will remain on the rota, we'll see after next week weather they want to sign up for another back-to-back again.

Aside from Kaymer the course played plenty hard but I was surprised to see how fluffy the sand was, especially given how dry and little rain. I expected less raking and more hard pan, mostly in the name of lower maintenance costs and speed of play.

I think future sites like Chambers Bay and Erin Hills can continue to carry the mantle.

[Greg Ohlendorf]

Ran,

Well said! Great event for Pinehurst. Hopefully, a lesson in course conditioning for the other 16,000 courses around the country.

Greg

[Keith Grande]

Did anyone catch Phil's comments after the round?  He praised the USGA for one of the best setups he's seen, and said the conditions/greens were every bit as good as Augusta.  We now have Phil Mickelson as poster boy for the GCA!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Again I ask those who were critical of this year's Open, how would you view it had MK been disqualified after the 1st round ?

Pat,

I am curious what you think about Trump's views on Pinehurst?


I think they're misguided, focused on a visual presentation rather than playability.
Cheers

[JC Urbina]

I think Pinehurst #2 gets an A+

The creative shots around the green went up  by 100%   Watching flop shots with wedges out of deep rough every weekend on TV gets pretty mundane.

I saw more creative thinking over the last few days then I have seen in awhile. That PGA commercial "These guys are good " really showed at Pinehurst.

[Howard Riefs]

Big thumbs up from Brandt Snedeker via twitter:

"And to everybody bemoaning the golf course... One if the best tournament set ups I have ever seen.. Golf course was perfect."
            https://twitter.com/BrandtSnedeker/status/478378794773118976

"Brown is the new green.. Get on board!!"
            https://twitter.com/BrandtSnedeker/status/478378911534170112


I agree on all accounts.

[Paul Gray]

Rightly or wrongly, this support from players is so important.

[Kevin Lynch]

I had little respect for the Donald's opinion on GC architecture coming into the week, and his commentary lowered it.  I actually thought he may have been moving beyond his one-dimensional aesthetic perspective when he hired the likes of Gil Hanse, but now I suspect he hired Gil as a "hot blame" rather than an appreciation of classic principles.  I'll be interested in seeing Turnberry look like the K Club once Donald "fixes it."


As for my missionary work this week, there were many fronts:

For the "no rough is too easy" crowd - this one was pretty easy. If they showed a close-up of some of the lies, I'd simply ask "would you rather see him try to hit a a heroic shot through that miniature pine tree or hack a wedge to the fairway?"

For the "it looks awful" crowd -  what can you do other than explain that this is what nature looks like and explain the virtues of firm & fast.  

For the "these greens are ridiculous" crowd - I didn't have the strongest convictions to challenge this.  I'd explain the "evolution" from Ross' original greens, and hope that C&C gets a mandate to roll back the clock.

[Tom_Doak]

I thought the course did precisely what any championship golf course should: identify the best player in the field. Kaymer did everything you're supposed to do, and he did it much better than anyone else, so he won by a lot. There wasn't much drama because no one matched Kaymer, not even a little bit. Mission accomplished, USGA.

Does anyone really think the result of the tournament would have been any different on the course as it was in 2005?  Or in 1935?

I certainly do not.  Kaymer played his brains out and would have won in any setup.  I'd wager he would have beaten Payne Stewart and Michael Campbell, too.

So much of the tournament setup deal is overplayed ... and with his opening post Ran has jumped up to head cheerleader.  I am very much impressed by the restoration, but my opinion has nothing at all to do with the championship that was just played.

[Sean_A]

Can somebody please explain how a course identifies the best player?  That saying is right there with the course makes you use every club in the bag. 

I am in Tom's camp.  Don't judge a course by how its set up or played by pros unless you make your living playing golf. 

Ciao

[Jason Topp]

For me the most interesting moment of the final round was when Kaymer putted around a bunker rather than risk a wedge from a thin lie.  I thought it was a wise decision and an opportunity he earned through his play up to that point.  Not many US Opens have required a player to make a similar decision. 

I don't think anyone could claim the course played too easy.  Scores were high. 

I am not sure, however, that people are generally salivating over playing a course conditioned in a similar manner. 

I wish, however, our club could figure out how to have the transitions to native like those at Pinehurst.  The super green and lush first foot of long grass at the transition point really stinks to play from, particularly in June.

[Will Lozier]

Again I ask those who were critical of this year's Open, how would you view it had MK been disqualified after the 1st round ?

Pat,

I am curious what you think about Trump's views on Pinehurst?


I think they're misguided, focused on a visual presentation rather than playability.
Cheers

Agreed.  You have been a big supporter of Trump - how will you sway him he is misguided when you next have lunch with him?

[Terry Lavin]

For me the most interesting moment of the final round was when Kaymer putted around a bunker rather than risk a wedge from a thin lie.  I thought it was a wise decision and an opportunity he earned through his play up to that point.  Not many US Opens have required a player to make a similar decision. 

I was intrigued by the same decision-making process, not that I thought it was all that complimentary to the setup.  I credit Kaymer for knowing his weakness and his willingness to risk bogey in order to avoid a double bogey that might have given the field comfort and given him doubts.

[Garland Bayley]

Overheard at my club:

"Pinehurst looks great!"

"The transformation of Pinehurst was awesome."

"Great looking course!"

But then, many people at my club regularly get to play at Chambers Bay and Bandon.

[Matthew Petersen]

For more of this perspective, check out Donald Trump's twitter feed: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

So it comes down to The Donald's view vs. Ran's?  Really? 

I think highly of Ran, but how many golf courses does he own and what is their advertising budget?

[Bill Brightly]

For more of this perspective, check out Donald Trump's twitter feed: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

So it comes down to The Donald's view vs. Ran's?  Really? 

I think highly of Ran, but how many golf courses does he own and what is their advertising budget?

Huh? What is your point Matt?

[Kevin Lynch]

For more of this perspective, check out Donald Trump's twitter feed: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

So it comes down to The Donald's view vs. Ran's?  Really? 

I think highly of Ran, but how many golf courses does he own and what is their advertising budget?

Just because I may have the money to own 10 expensive & fancy looking cars, it doesn't mean I know more than my mechanic about how it works.  And even if Ran may not be a "mechanic", I probably still know less than a passionate car guy who runs a respected car review website.

[Matthew Petersen]

For more of this perspective, check out Donald Trump's twitter feed: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

So it comes down to The Donald's view vs. Ran's?  Really? 

I think highly of Ran, but how many golf courses does he own and what is their advertising budget?

Huh? What is your point Matt?

That as much as we (I?) want to laugh off Donald as ridiculous, he has a very powerful voice in the game of golf. Not via his inane Twitter comments, of course, but by owning multiple courses, which are heavily marketed. We trivialize him at our peril, lest every American who heads to Scotland to play Trump Aberdeen come away thinking he's just had an actual links experience.

[Bill Brightly]

I agree that Donald has a very powerful position in the game, and I commend him for keeping many courses open that might have otherwise closed. But that does not make his comments, if he in fact did make them, any less ridiculous.

I view Donald's understanding of great golf as "developing." He hired Gil and will work with C & C. That is fantastic. There is hope. I give ALL golfers the opportunity to move away from the viewpoint that "green and pretty" golf is good golf. I know that it took me many years to change my views. And Donald has the money to effect truly great changes.

[Scott_Park]

Great competition and the best player was identified.  While light on drama due to Kaymer's exceptional play, watching him play was a pleasure.

My big complaint is on the spectating side, in that it was so over crowded that it made seeing anything very difficult.  Based on some web research on ticket sales, Olympic sold 33K/day; Merion 25K and Pinehurst 50K.  Later in the day my son and I both admitted that leaving at 10am crossed out minds.  We ended up staying at the driving range for the majority of the day.

Btw- we were watching Bradley, D. Johnson and Koepka hit drivers and Koepka was the longest of the three by a noticeable amount- unbelievable how his tee shots would go and go.

[Craig Disher]

Only one suggestion to what was otherwise a perfect setup - I think less firmness in the greens would have encouraged more players to play something other than aerial approaches. When #6 played at its full length of 245 yards the green was sufficiently soft to allow aerial shots with just a few feet of roll. I understand that the heat - especially the heat forecast for the following week - required extra care with the watering but I would have liked to see the course play a little more like Ross had planned. A lot of credit has to go to Bob Farren and his crew. In spite of a real downpour at the start, the green speeds were kept at a reasonable 12-12.5.

[Greg Tallman]

Does Ran have a set of pom poms? He has the hair but...