Official 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Discussion Thread

[BostonBrew]

Just saw a Paul Azinger tweet that stated the official ruling if a ball hits and sticks in one of the wicker baskets at Merion, the ball will be placed at the lip of the hole. Thought that was interesting.

[billatthebar]

thats pretty strange for a US open - a bladed pitch shot ending up at the lip of the hole when its could be 30 yards past seems a bit silly for a US open.... not that the pros often do that but if it happens and ends up being the difference at the top of the leaderboard it would be a travesty!  Why not just have flags with pictures of the basket on them to keep with the tradition but not affect the integrity of the event!  Also that takes out the reading of the wind at the green from far out...all in all i think thats a poor decision but who am i at the end of the day.

[BostonBrew]

Here's a picture of one. It doesn't look like a ball would very easily stick in one. Makes me wonder how often it happens throughout the year.

[Lefty-Golfer]

weather update

we are now at 26 hours of solid nonstop soaking rain. the ground is saturated. it hasn't rained hard enough to run it just has been steady solid rain. Accuweather is calling for rain until 4AM...

[billatthebar]

those flags look like big matches lol i really dont like those

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer

weather update

we are now at 26 hours of solid nonstop soaking rain. the ground is saturated. it hasn't rained hard enough to run it just has been steady solid rain. Accuweather is calling for rain until 4AM...

Ouch. Was listening to SVP on ESPN radio earlier today and he had on Curtis Strange. Strange said that if the weather doesn't allow for the course to dry out, we'll likely see very low scores. On the other hand, thick wet rough (like the Wegmans today) would make it very punishing to miss the fairways. But wet fairways and greens would mean balls would hold better.

[BallStriker]

US Open Pairings are out..........love the USGA......here are some guesses on the pairings

Bomber group..........Watson, Colsartes, Johnson

1.2.3 (obviously).....TW, AS, RM

Teen Beat group......Ricky Fowler, Matteo Mannasero, Jason Day

Ex-No. 1 group....Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymar

South Africa group......Swartzel, Oosthuisen, Clark

[jamo]

Also the British Open...ish group: Sergio Garcia, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington.

[Shorty]

Has anyone worked out what the "prick group" is, or don't they do that anymore?

Maybe they've put Garcia in the group that you wouldn't walk across the street to watch (Cink and Harrington) to punish him for being a douche.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonBrew

Quote:

Originally Posted by k-troop

I think the fairways are far too wide, and the course is playing too short.  With the ridiculous jacking of the modern ball, any major championship course under 8500 yards is a total joke.  The winner should have to hit driver 15 times per round (yes, at least once on a par-3) so that they're facing the same type of test the average golfer faces on the average weekend, and they should be missing at least 60% of the fairways.

Winning score should be around 300, just like the typical club championship.

Is there a course that plays that long?? The course I worked at hosted a Tar Heel Tour tournament once and we got pretty creative to add distance to the course. Our everyday tips played over 7200. But with some creativity, like using the back tee box of hole 1 for hole 10, we added I think another 100+ yards or so. But 8500?

I've played a Nicklaus course in Anaconda, Montana that plays 7705 yards, par 72 (75.8/135) from the tips.  They have 5 sets of tees, and though my brother and I played the middle tees (6776 yards, 71.6/125), it was still the longest course I've played in a long time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonBrew

Just saw a Paul Azinger tweet that stated the official ruling if a ball hits and sticks in one of the wicker baskets at Merion, the ball will be placed at the lip of the hole. Thought that was interesting.

That isn't an unusual rule - the decision has been on the books for many years.  It's the same as if the ball gets stuck in the flag.  Decision 17/6:

Quote:

17/6

Ball Lodged in Flag Attached to Flagstick

Q. A player's ball lodges in the flag attached to a flagstick. What is the procedure?

A. A flagstick is a movable obstruction and Rule 24-1 applies. However, in taking relief the player may not place the ball in the hole. Therefore, in equity (Rule 1-4 ), the player must place the ball on the lip of the hole when taking relief.

[Golfingdad]

I've played a Nicklaus course in Anaconda, Montana that plays 7705 yards, par 72 (75.8/135) from the tips.  They have 5 sets of tees, and though my brother and I played the middle tees (6776 yards, 71.6/125), it was still the longest course I've played in a long time.

Lol! I'm playing there on Monday! When I told some people about those back tees they were egging me to play them. Pretty sure that would be torture though, so I think I'm gonna stick with the 7200 tees, which are still longer than anything I've ever played! As far as the open goes ... I don't care if they have to hit driver 4 times or 14 (making them hit driver on a par 3 is a joke, IMO), as long as the course doesn't play like the bob hope classic, and keeps people fighting for pars ill enjoy it.

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Lol! I'm playing there on Monday! When I told some people about those back tees they were egging me to play them. Pretty sure that would be torture though, so I think I'm gonna stick with the 7200 tees, which are still longer than anything I've ever played!

As far as the open goes ... I don't care if they have to hit driver 4 times or 14 (making them hit driver on a par 3 is a joke, IMO), as long as the course doesn't play like the bob hope classic, and keeps people fighting for pars ill enjoy it.

Agreed. I have never hit more than a 3 iron into a par 3 and trust me, that's tough enough (although I did witness a guy hit driver on a par 3 because he was playing so awful and decided he was just going to run the ball up there). The leading average distance to the pin when approaching from more than 200 yards is Colsaerts at 43 feet. And there is a ton of evidence that supports short par 3s can play as the toughest holes on a course as well.

As for playing 7700 yards, no thanks haha. I enjoy a challenge but I have a feeling that challenge may be a bit overwhelming.

[KrazyTrain18]

Hopefully the 123 group is the featured group otherwise that would be a joke.  Anyways should be exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing how #17 will play as well as how Manassero plays.

[Zwick]

http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen13/story/_/id/9355392/2013-us-open-merion-golf-club-threatened-heavy-rain

McIlroy now the heavy favorite

I hope they get it firm and fast in time.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

[URL=http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen13/story/_/id/9355392/2013-us-open-merion-golf-club-threatened-heavy-rain]http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen13/story/_/id/9355392/2013-us-open-merion-golf-club-threatened-heavy-rain[/URL] >McIlroy now the heavy favorite  I hope they get it firm and fast in time.

The kid was hitting irons 30 yards right of the green from 150 yards out for the last 2 weeks. He's gonna struggle here.

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf

The kid was hitting irons 30 yards right of the green from 150 yards out for the last 2 weeks. He's gonna struggle here.

Agreed. Unless he has worked things out while practicing, his performance in the tournaments leading up to now hasn't been confidence inspiring. I'm not predicting him playing well.

[phan52]

They didn't allow any practice play this weekend while they worked on the course and it is supposed to rain again tomorrow. Nothing like the other day, but probably enough to make it difficult to harden it up by Thursday.

Well, here we go. The players aren't the only ones who will need practice.

[colin007]

I cannot wait for this thing to get underway...