When evaluating golf courses, does hard mean better? Are quirky features better than good, fair layouts that reward good play?
After watching the 125th U.S. Open, I don’t think so.
I’m probably going against the grain here, but Oakmont doesn’t cut it — though it could use a good moving — as a proper U.S. Open site. Sure, it’s excruciatingly tough, particularly with narrow fairways and impossible length rough. But what course wouldn’t be with that type of setup? Then throw in lightning-fast greens and ridiculous pin positions.
Here’s my recap on what golf fans suffered through over the weekend:
— Tiny, winding fairways that repelled center-cut landing tee shots bounding off into thick 5 1/2-inch grass. Though they averaged 28 yards wide, the steeply sloped landing areas were sometimes less than half of that. Balls hit perhaps five yards off target disappeared into impossible positions in fescue.
— Blind approaches left on several holes following textbook tee shots.
— Greens so undulating and fast that often the only way to stop a golf was to hit it in the cup. Approaches that hit the middle of greens and trickled agonizingly slow before burying in high rough.
— Pin positions that consistently confounded players trying to put or chip close to the cup, often players to start 2-foot putts outside the hole.
Sunday’s final round, plagued by heavy rain late in the day that left standing water in the fairways, made the conditions nearly impossible, especially for the players battling for a career-changing victory.
Yeah, I like the church pew bunkers. I’m not so sure that having the Pennsylvania Turnpike run through the course provides charm or character.
No, I wasn’t at Oakmont over the weekend. But I did cover the 1994 Open there when Ernie Els won — or outlasted — a three-way playoff with Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts.
The heat 31 years ago was brutal — Chris Patton had to quit on his first nine holes, and the pasty Montgomerie was soaked with sweat throughout the week. During the week, Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered, O.J. Simpson led police on a chase in a Bronco, the New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 40 years.
On Friday, Arnold Palmer played his final U.S. Open round before an adoring hometown gallery. Finally, the TV broadcast of the playoff was pre-empted by coverage of O.J.’s arraignment.
That was a crazy Open week, too. But for much different reasons. So much for reminiscing.
Did the USGA identify the best player — the goal they claim to seek? J.J. Spaun played great. His last two tee shots and his winning putt that lifted him into red figures were fantastic. He rebounded from some tough breaks and shot 3-under on the back nine as the other contenders imploded.
But I don’t think so. Of course, this is a tournament won twice each by Andy North, Steve Jones and Lee Janzen — I’ll be nice Wake Forest fans, and leave Curtis Strange off the list. I’d rather see a major championship won by great shots rather than attrition.
I know I was equally critical of Quail Hollow (the seventh-best course in North Carolina, according to Golf Digest voters) as PGA host, though for entirely different reasons.
Last year, we got Bryson DeChambeau vs. Rory McElroy at Pinehurst No. 2, capped by a spectacular long bunker shot from DeChambeau. This year, it came down to Spaun vs. Robert MacIntyre with the likes of Carlos Ortiz and Sam Burns also in the mix.
The USGA has some terrific sites in its Open rotation. Shinnecock Hills, Pebble Beach and Pinehurst quickly come to mind. Oakmont isn’t one of them.
