I must have heard it over ten times at my club. About the horrible conditions at the US open, how the course looked like a goat track, how they could not be bothered watering the course, how ugly it was. How the course is no longer on the bucket list.
These comments I have also noticed across some other golf discussion groups.
I have always said jokingly that if you think there is any hope for mankind, than spend a day with some golfers. Now of course this is a generalization, and probably applies less to this group perhaps than the average golfer at large, but this mentality is one of the reasons the game is in decline. Green does not define a great golf club. Augusta National, perhaps the ultimate in green and perfection, is a false standard. Green for the sake of it often means soft conditions and a lot of overhead to maintain that green. There is a lot more to a golf course than the color of the fairways.
The game is enhanced when I can get some good roll, and roll a ball up to the green. That often means brown or a lack of pure green. Too many courses these days seem overwatered, and it is frustrating to see a great drive just take one bounce or two and die. it is downright silly to walk on a course after no days of rain and hear a squish noise as you walk the fairways. Golf is as much a ground as an aerial game, and lush green conditions can take this away.
And I always hear golfers complaining about the cost of golf. Well, if green is your goal, you are going to have to pay for it. Yes, golf is expensive in places like Cabo, Phoenix, Palm Springs, do you expect it to be cheap when millions of gallons of water are needed to keep them green? Green is pleasing to the eye, but fake and contrived. If this is the standard we apply to a course, just one of many reasons why this game is in decline, and last year 440,000 less rounds played. There is no pleasing a lot of these folks.
I have played #2, yes it is costly and perhaps even real overpriced, but there is no taking away that this is one fun course, and the lack of deep lush green does not take away from it one bit.