Did the USGA "Nail It" this year?

[sean_miller]

I think there were a couple holes that were a bit over the top, but no more than other years. There were some US Opens in the mid-oat 90s that were virtually unwatchable because of the ridiculous greens.

[Laxplayer201092]

i dont want to watch pros (yes, professionals) have to land the ball in the rough and hope that they get a good break to maybe be on the green Cough17Cough.

Not my favorite set up.

[The Recreational Golfer]

This was my favorite Open to have watched in a long time, mainly because the setting of the course is so beautiful. The greens did seem bumpy, but the 14th was not a problem. I mean, when a ball rolled back into the fairway, these guys had to hit a ~20 yard chip to a small spot around the pin and stop it there. Can't a world-class touring professional do that?

[MSDOGS1976]

Yeah, they got what they wanted. Some awful golf, and one of the boringest Sunday U.S. open rounds of all-time!

I agree. I was talking to one of my golfing buddies yesterday about it. He's an excellent golfer and has had Master's tickets since the 60's. He said he just turned it off during the final round. I didn't do that, but it was not exciting. I didn't want to see a birdie fest like some tournaments, but there should be some birdie chances coming down the stretch to add to the excitement. But the USGA has always set up the US Open this way and it probably won't change.

[bplewis24]

I think they almost nailed it. They were close, with one glaring exception.

I am of the personal opinion that 14 has no place on the course. One of the announcers described it as trying to land the ball on a linoleum tabletop. In order to do so you would typically have to hit 2 great shots and 1 other pretty good one (laying up to within 120 yards). 2 great shots and one average shot, and you could end up putting up a snowman. The landing area is just too small, and the penalty is too great. When a safer play is to put it in the bunker and try and get up and down, something may be wrong.

That's not really championship golf, that's an exhibition display. It's like watching an NFL QB Challenge where they see who can put a football into a 3-foot wide gap of a moving target from 50 yards away. Or maybe a halfcourt shooting contest during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Would those be interesting to watch, and might they show us who the most skilled players are? Sure. But it's an exhibition, and a championship level event shouldn't be defined by it.

My 2 cents. I've never complained about the hole until this post and if they all have to endure it and I was on the PGA Tour, I'd go through with it like everybody else. But this is about whether the USGA nailed it or not, and I'd say they did not because of this hole.

Brandon

[f5joe]

Yeah, they got what they wanted. Some awful golf, and one of the boringest Sunday U.S. open rounds of all-time!

Amen Brother!

[BigMikey]

I think making a US Open where par wins it is a great goal. I don't want to get into specifics but I thought they way they did it was cheap. #14 was killing them (don't get me wrong, I laugh when I see a pro do what I did when I first started golfing but on a regular green), and #7 was darn near impossible withouth a perfect tee shot with the right timing on the wind. But we have to ask ourselves, do we want to see more 7000 - 8000 yard courses or really tough 6500+ ones that makes even the pros tremble? I liked it and hated it at the same time. Another point, those greens looked ugly and like some of the grass was missing and they just steam rolled the turf so that the ball could roll on a semi-flat surface.

I would have enjoyed it more only if they struggled on more holes, and DJ didn't choke on Sunday.

[Stretch]

But we have to ask ourselves, do we want to see more 7000 - 8000 yard courses or really tough 6500+ ones that makes even the pros tremble?

The latter please! Lets see some more setups that require guts and touch and, yes, even a bit of dumb luck.

[Valleygolfer]

I wish I could honestly answer. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. Pro's usually do not miss 3 footers but something must have been up with the greens, my guess is gun shy fear by the fourth round. Sadly I concocted a far worse version of "Montezuma's Revenge" Saturday night so I was not really enjoying anything at that point. I got out of bed at the start of the tv coverage Sunday and still couldn't stay awake. I ended up reading about the results the next day. Up until Saturday night I enjoyed every minute of it, the online coverage was stellar and the whole deal was unpredictable...so I guess they nailed it. It still took a week for me to decide, I haven't been able to go hit my new club either....I hope I feel better soon.......stupid horrendous virus.