Official 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Discussion Thread

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by jshots

The problem with Merion was the rough was ridiculously penalizing. There were holes where if you missed the fairway, you hope that you end up in a bunker so you at least get a decent lie, that doesn't really work for me. I don't personally enjoy watching golfers struggle, I like it when a few guys are on their games and really have a chance to go low.

As I have stated before, and this time I will ask it in the form of a question -

How else did you expect the USGA to put teeth into an under-7,000-yard course?

I saw this coming from a mile away, that the USGA would jack the rough. If not the winning score would have been double digits under par.

[k-troop]

I just love how everyone thought Merion would roll over with her legs in the air, yet the winning score was +1.

[ilikefishes]

The the thing is that even the members at Merion get penalized by the rough.  That is what has made it the course it is for so long.  It really has not changed that much over the years.  It was a true test of the best golfer out there for that week and Justin Rose was that guy.  He deserved to win.  If you watched, what did you think of his last 3 iron shots.  I thought they were very impressive considering the conditions in which they were executed.

[jamo]

The problem with Merion was the rough was ridiculously penalizing. There were holes where if you missed the fairway, you hope that you end up in a bunker so you at least get a decent lie, that doesn't really work for me. I don't personally enjoy watching golfers struggle, I like it when a few guys are on their games and really have a chance to go low.

Then, sorry, this is not the tournament for you.

[RPMPIRE]

The problem with Merion was the rough was ridiculously penalizing. There were holes where if you missed the fairway, you hope that you end up in a bunker so you at least get a decent lie, that doesn't really work for me. I don't personally enjoy watching golfers struggle, I like it when a few guys are on their games and really have a chance to go low.

There are dozens and dozens of tournaments throughout the year you can watch this. This is only one difficult tourney stop. Just like how there's only 1 match play on the PGA schedule each year.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by ilikefishes

The the thing is that even the members at Merion get penalized by the rough.  That is what has made it the course it is for so long.  It really has not changed that much over the years.  It was a true test of the best golfer out there for that week and Justin Rose was that guy.  He deserved to win.  If you watched, what did you think of his last 3 iron shots.  I thought they were very impressive considering the conditions in which they were executed.

The members do not come close to playing the golf course they set up at Merion last week. Under normal conditions, Merion has very fair fairways but, for the Open, the width of every single fairway was cut back, and there was no first cut anywhere. They re-routed the fairways on at least four holes to make them tougher and to make a couple of them closer to the OB. The members don't play the par 3's, except 13, from anywhere near where they had some of the tees this week. The actual yardage that the members play day in and day out is less than 6400 yards. The only thing the regular course and the Open setup have in common is the greens.

[Mr. Desmond]

The members do not come close to playing the golf course they set up at Merion last week. Under normal conditions, Merion has very fair fairways but, for the Open, the width of every single fairway was cut back, and there was no first cut anywhere. They re-routed the fairways on at least four holes to make them tougher and to make a couple of them closer to the OB. The members don't play the par 3's, except 13, from anywhere near where they had some of the tees this week. The actual yardage that the members play day in and day out is less than 6400 yards. The only thing the regular course and the Open setup have in common is the greens.

Great point. One expects changes to the course to make it more challenging, longer and narrower for professionals, but not every shot should be fraught with drama. And that is where the USGA failed, IMHO. Not every shot should be a nailbiter. If you have to do what they did to a course, take the tournament somewhere else.

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by phan52

The members do not come close to playing the golf course they set up at Merion last week. Under normal conditions, Merion has very fair fairways but, for the Open, the width of every single fairway was cut back, and there was no first cut anywhere. They re-routed the fairways on at least four holes to make them tougher and to make a couple of them closer to the OB. The members don't play the par 3's, except 13, from anywhere near where they had some of the tees this week. The actual yardage that the members play day in and day out is less than 6400 yards. The only thing the regular course and the Open setup have in common is the greens.

That is why I love the US Open.  It should be hard and a different challenge from year to year.  Merion was a great example of this because it was a different challenge that the last three courses.

As for being short, I think it was a bit of a psychological play.  Players saw <7000 yards, but the course played very long with only two par 5s, two ridiculously long par 3s and epic par 4s like 18. I was pleasantly surprised.  Especially after Mike Davis was saying that scores would go low on Saturday.

[RonTheSavage]

Phil is a cry baby and sorry about the long paragraph, apparently I cant edit posts from work anymore. Mickelson was none too pleased after making a double bogey Sunday on the stout par-three, which played 274 yards. Into the wind. “274? That’s terrible. Can’t even reach it,” he groused as he walked off the fourth tee. His gripe was directed at USGA executive director Mike Davis, who was standing nearby, but NBC microphones picked up the complaint, which quickly became part of the post-mortem of yet another Open that landed Mickelson in second place -- his sixth runner-up finish in the event. Davis talked about Mickelson's comment in the media center Sunday evening. A reporter asked Mickelson about his comment after his round and Mickelson had a more measured response than the one picked up by NBC. Q. After the third hole it looked like you said something to Mike Davis after the double bogey and after the fourth tee shot. Did you think the setup was fair today? PHIL MICKELSON: I thought it was a great setup all week. I thought that the golf course was fabulous. We had weather and we had some conditions with Sunday pins, it was difficult. But I thought that it was really well done and, you know, it was‑‑ I loved having the hard holes be really hard. And I loved having chances on the birdie holes. Fair or unfair course, setups are the same for everyone. Mickelson played the third three over for the week. Justin Rose played it one over. A two-shot differential The same margin as his winning spread. Woulda coulda shoulda anyone? Read more: http://blogs.golf.com/presstent/2013/06/terrible-mickelson-says-of-the-set-up-at-merions-third-hole.html?sct=hp4#ixzz2WfytrFXb

[Mr. Desmond]

Phil was frustrated on Sunday, so I do not blame him for blowing up a little on Mike Davis. He knows that he took too many putts on Sunday and missed too many short ones on the previous days. He cost himself The Open and realizes he has no one to blame but himself. So these cries of "crybaby" are really drama queen-ish.

[RPMPIRE]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

He knows that he took too many putts on Sunday and missed too many short ones on the previous days. He cost himself The Open and realizes he has no one to blame but himself.

The problem with Phil is that he realizes these things after he's done shooting his mouth off on something that could be controversial (look at his tax rant earlier this year). Yes he knows everything HE'S done and said was wrong, but still starts firing whines and rants before he he realizes this. Basically it's a "Ready-FIRE-Aim" mentality.

[Lash]

Originally Posted by RPMPIRE

The problem with Phil is that he realizes these things after he's done shooting his mouth off on something that could be controversial (look at his tax rant earlier this year). Yes he knows everything HE'S done and said was wrong, but still starts firing whines and rants before he he realizes this. Basically it's a "Ready-FIRE-Aim" mentality.

Who isn't like that? You've never said something you didn't completely mean after a bad golf shot?

Coming back and being more graceful in the interview says a lot to me. I'm not a hater or fan of Phil at all, but I thought it was the right move how he handled the press conference question.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by jshots

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

The way I look at it, each Major should offer a different challenge.  The Masters puts a premium on hitting the right spots, especially on the greens, and on putting.  The US Open puts the emphasis on playing tee to green, and recovery.  The Open Championship puts the players on classic links courses and usually challenges them to put up with wind and weather, with a few quirky holes that just add to the interest.  The PGA Championship is sometimes nothing more than just a Tour stop with a better field, although it's better than it was back in the 90's.

Each is very different, and memorable because of those differences.

The problem with Merion was the rough was ridiculously penalizing. There were holes where if you missed the fairway, you hope that you end up in a bunker so you at least get a decent lie, that doesn't really work for me. I don't personally enjoy watching golfers struggle, I like it when a few guys are on their games and really have a chance to go low.

You can see your type of tournament any week, just tune in to the PGA Tour.  This was a Major Championship .  It's supposed to be different.

[BostonBrew]

Just read that TV ratings dropped 7% for the US Open compared to last year's.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by BostonBrew

Just read that TV ratings dropped 7% for the US Open compared to last year's.

Of course, Tiger was out of it by Sunday. He's within 5, and the ratings are probably up.

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by Lash

Who isn't like that? You've never said something you didn't completely mean after a bad golf shot?

Coming back and being more graceful in the interview says a lot to me. I'm not a hater or fan of Phil at all, but I thought it was the right move how he handled the press conference question.

This, if any other golfer (other than Tiger and maybe Sergio) had said this no one would care.  The media is always looking for a story and it's a bigger story when one of the tops guys mess up and show some emotion or reaction to a situation.

[Mr. Desmond]

The problem with Phil is that he realizes these things after he's done shooting his mouth off on something that could be controversial (look at his tax rant earlier this year). Yes he knows everything HE'S done and said was wrong, but still starts firing whines and rants before he he realizes this. Basically it's a "Ready-FIRE-Aim" mentality.

Yeah, I know. I hate it when Phil shows that he is a flawed human being like the rest of us.

[saevel25]

Originally Posted by Lash

Who isn't like that? You've never said something you didn't completely mean after a bad golf shot?

Coming back and being more graceful in the interview says a lot to me. I'm not a hater or fan of Phil at all, but I thought it was the right move how he handled the press conference question.

Totally agree, this constant PR crap, were everyone has to tolerant, or politically correct is a bunch BS. Drives me crazy, people think its bad now, imagine if the founding father's had twitter, dear god. There would be tweets from congress call each other wives, *****s. It was crazy a few hundred years ago, they didn't take it personally.

I like phil's honestly on the hole. I think its crap that it was 275 yard par 5. "Oh the pin was in the back" is a nice excuse by the USGA, what a bunch of BS that is. Give the pro's a chance to hit a good shot. There is hardly any golfer who can pin point there drives. Par 3's are suppose to about accuracy with irons, not luck with a driver.