2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Discussion Thread

[Groucho Valentine]

46 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

U.S. Amateur

     

Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

August 15-21, 2016

 

Too many college players. I need a bunch of old farts like me to compete against. Mid-Am is more my speed these days. 

[Chilli Dipper]

11 hours ago, Jakester23 said:

Thats crazy.  I know they did it in 07 but wow. Didn't a bunch of the guys complain about a long par 3 at Merion?  I am excited to watch it  though.

The 3rd hole at Merion played to a distance of 256 yards at the 2013 U.S. Open, but that hole had no run-up or bailout areas near a green that may have even been elevated. The 8th at Oakmont is longer, but the players will have more options than they did at Merion. The Sahara bunker cutting diagonally across the green is intimidating, but there's more room between the bunker and the front of the putting surface than it appears on the tee, and the contours of the fairway will accommodate a running draw off the right-hand side quite favorably in firm conditions.

[colin007]

I don't care how long the hole is, every single competitor plays it at the same length as all the others every day. It matters how they score in relation to the field, not in comparison to some arbitrary number posted on a sign.

[DaveP043]

5 minutes ago, colin007 said:

I don't care how long the hole is, every single competitor plays it at the same length as all the others every day. It matters how they score in relation to the field, not in comparison to some arbitrary number posted on a sign.

Amen to this.  If they called it a Par 4, the players would be licking their chops.  Call the same hole a Par 3, and they'll whine.  Maybe they should call it Par 3.5, and  the players will just be confused.

[Golfingdad]

41 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Amen to this.  If they called it a Par 4, the players would be licking their chops.  Call the same hole a Par 3, and they'll whine.  Maybe they should call it Par 3.5, and  the players will just be confused.

I propose they eliminate the pars altogether and just share with us the lengths and the field averages.

For TV, they could just extrapolate the current scores to their expected scores at the end of the day. :P

"Welcome back to the 2016 US Open where the current leaders are Day and Spieth, each tied at 69.25." :)

[Hardspoon]

Fun note: the Oakmont Country Club was designed by the architect who founded the firm that I currently work for (in 1889!)  Apparently we have his original drawings and renderings in our vault.  I am definitely going to check that out...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Stotz

 

[DaveP043]

5 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

"Welcome back to the 2016 US Open where the current leaders are Day and Spieth, each tied at 69.25." :)

Hey, I wanted to confuse the players, not myself!!

Its not going to make it any easier that I'll be watching from Ireland.  By the time the TV coverage starts, I may be several pints into a long evening.  

[GolfLug]

I will be very disappointed if winning (best survivor) score is better than par. I love how the pros fear this course, especially the greens. Something very giggly exciting about it.

That said I don't know if they can matchup to what happened in Shinnecock 2004. I still have the vivid image of Phil M hitting a putt just barely tapping it (I think 3rd round) and then him slowly following it as the ball as it rolled past the hole almost in slow motion, kept half rolling, almost stopping a few times, meandering forever and PM visibly upset, trying to  hold on to his wits with all his might until the ball finally settled some 10 feet past. Ridiculous.

Jordan, like many is my favorite. He wins and we can all get back to the Tiger replacement conversation again.  

I wouldn't upset at all if PM finally pulls a rabbit out of the hat either.

 

 

 

 

[JetFan1983]

I'm really excited for this major. I haven't watched much golf since the Masters, and I feel like my cup is filling up again for televised golf. Hopefully a well known player takes it down. I just took a look at a coure flyover and it looks like a really entertaining track. 

[Groucho Valentine]

20 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

I'm really excited for this major. I haven't watched much golf since the Masters, and I feel like my cup is filling up again for televised golf. Hopefully a well known player takes it down. I just took a look at a coure flyover and it looks like a really entertaining track. 

Looks flat and begin if you see it from that angle. On the ground it appears to be pure hell, though. 

[JetFan1983]

59 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Looks flat and begin if you see it from that angle. On the ground it appears to be pure hell, though. 

Haha good. That's what I like to hear about a US Open course. 

[ChrisP]

Weather forecast may keep scoring lower than they want. Supposed to be a lot of rain between now and Tuesday before drying up. Of course, how much rain will dictate how much it will slow down the course. And of course, will it be humid or dry next week? That's another big key. Hoping dry because Oakmont is at its best when it's hard and fast like it was in 2007.

[Chilli Dipper]

17 minutes ago, ChrisP said:

Weather forecast may keep scoring lower than they want. Supposed to be a lot of rain between now and Tuesday before drying up. Of course, how much rain will dictate how much it will slow down the course. And of course, will it be humid or dry next week? That's another big key. Hoping dry because Oakmont is at its best when it's hard and fast like it was in 2007.

The perfect amount of rain would be just enough to make the rough extra thick and juicy without saturating the soil.

[Jakester23]

11 hours ago, Chilli Dipper said:

quite favorably in firm conditions.

This makes me laugh. Not because I don't agree but because I know your right.

[iacas]

20 hours ago, Aguirre said:

Oakmont #8 plays significantly downhill, has a flat area without bunkers in front of the green that's a very safe landing area and can allow players to roll the ball onto the green Open Championship style if necessary.  It's really not as difficult as it sounds.

We have slightly different definitions on "significantly downhill." It's about 14' downhill. 5' of that comes from the tee box - the road just in front of it is 5' below the tee, which is built up a bit.

14' with a ball coming in at about 45° is all of 14' of extra carry distance.

But yes, a medium sized draw will bounce onto the green.

11 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

I propose they eliminate the pars altogether and just share with us the lengths and the field averages.

For TV, they could just extrapolate the current scores to their expected scores at the end of the day. :P

"Welcome back to the 2016 US Open where the current leaders are Day and Spieth, each tied at 69.25." :)

How do you take a quarter of a stroke? You didn't say they're 2.75 under par…

10 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

Fun note: the Oakmont Country Club was designed by the architect who founded the firm that I currently work for (in 1889!)  Apparently we have his original drawings and renderings in our vault.  I am definitely going to check that out...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Stotz

The clubhouse was built by that guy, cool! Nifty to know. I thought you were saying the course was designed by that guy. Cuz the Fownes (Henry and his son William IIRC) designed it, I believe.

[dsal89]

Fox did a horrible job last year (from everything I've heard, I inly saw highlights since I worked) but I am pretty excited to see what they do this year after reading the article in  golf.com earlier. 

[Scotsclaff]

13 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Hey, I wanted to confuse the players, not myself!!

Its not going to make it any easier that I'll be watching from Ireland.  By the time the TV coverage starts, I may be several pints into a long evening.  

Nice way to watch it,beware of the Guiness leprichaun.

[amoline]

Great guy from my hometown and very home course, actually, made it through local qualifying but missed at sectional qualifying by 3 shots (if I remember correctly). Great player (obviously) and feel bad that he didn't make it but he is getting better at every year's qualifier. 

Believe he played with Tony Finau at sectional.