Is USGA unfair with setup of Open courses?

[MaxPower]

The problem the USGA has is that they try to set up the course to be fair but very difficult. However, they sometimes do not realize the effect that extreme weather will have on their set-up.

This happened 2 years ago on the 10th hole at Bethpage. They set it up so that the players had to carry their drive 250-260 just to reach the fairway. This was tough enough for the shorter hitters, but in the 2nd round there was a very strong wind and even the long hitters were having trouble reaching the fairway.

Also, this year the 7th green and a few others were crazy. It is not fair if a player who hits his tee shot on the green has to hole a long put or his ball will roll off the green (I saw this happen to Maryama). Once again it was the unexpected weather that caused the problem.

I like they way they set it up, because it always brings the best players to the top (with the exception of Jeff Maggert who always does well in The Open). It takes real talent to win the open. Goosen had to hit some incredible short game shots to win it.

[TheRake]

The problem is when it becomes impossible to hit good shots. When players are unable to hit a green because it is too firm and they can't run it on due to obstacles in front of the green it becomes too much. When players cannot make putts because the greens are so fast that they cannot hit the ball hard enough to get a breaking putt on the right line it becomes too much. I don't disagree that the courses should be set up to be more difficult than the average tour stop, but you have to give these guys some realistic chance to play the holes. Should the margin of error really be 1 or 2 feet when you're hitting an approach shot from 180 yards away?

TheRake

[BeerMoney]

[ QUOTE ]
most of the tourny courses are reasonably easy for todays golfers. so whats wrong with having a few couses that are really tough.
the reason these particular pros are winning is that they happen to play well on the courses that are presented. put a whole new set of problems out there and a new breed will emerge, with the best adapting.

[/ QUOTE ]

Make it tough in a reasonable way. Tighten the fairways, thicken the rough. Don't make people putt on marble. That's just ridiculous.

[Six_of_One]

[ QUOTE ]
The problem is when it becomes impossible to hit good shots.

[/ QUOTE ]

But it wasn't impossible. I saw Goosen and Mickelson hit a lot of good shots, and they both made birdies. Difficult, yes, but not impossible.

[M2d]

If you really want to hear the players bitch and moan, set up the course to "muni" conditions:

fairways as long as most rough with bald patches spaced intermittantly. rough with mud holes, thick spots and bald patches (and periodic "lost" balls placed here and there for fun). tee boxes without a flat area to be found. Greens that are mowed to two different heights: fairway length and bald. Greens as bumpy as a teenager's face.
And, in between each pro group, a foursome of senior citizens who are too proud to move up to the whites and are playing a $2 nassau and $.25 skins.

what do you think Tiger would say to that?

[TimTimSalabim]

Watching the tournament yesterday on TV, those putting greens reminded me of when I was a kid and played miniature golf, and sometimes you would putt it and if you didn't hit it just right it would come right back down a slope and wind up rolling all the way back to where you started. It just doesn't seem like professional golf to me. The next logical step will be to put one of those windmill holes where the blade covers up the opening to the hole and you have to time your shot just right or it will hit the blade and bounce back.

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
Watching the tournament yesterday on TV, those putting greens reminded me of when I was a kid and played miniature golf, and sometimes you would putt it and if you didn't hit it just right it would come right back down a slope and wind up rolling all the way back to where you started.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had exactly the same thoughts.

[paland]

Tiger Woods, meet Annie Duke. Ya whining bitch.

[andyfox]

The scores are irrelevant. The course plays the same for Tiger Woods as for everyone else. Somebody is going to shoot the lowest score, regardless of whether it's -18 or +18.

Tiger didn't think Pebble Beach was unplayable when nobody else could break par and he won by 15 strokes.

Stop crying.

[TimTimSalabim]

[ QUOTE ]
The scores are irrelevant. The course plays the same for Tiger Woods as for everyone else.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but they've moved the luck/skill slider more towards the luck side, especially with the crazy putting greens. Basically, what they've done is the equivalent of making the blinds and antes increase quickly in a poker tournament. So even though it's the same for everyone, it increases the chance that there will be a few more lucky players and a few less skilled players in the top positions.