US Open: Erin Hills

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Buck said Koepka views himself as a top tier athlete who could dominate many sports but chose golf so he expects to win. He didn't react much on the green but you could see when he rode the cart back to the club house that he was emotional.

 

I heard one commentator say that Koepka wanted to become a baseball player, but ironically he couldn't hit the ball. Think that was on Saturday's round.

[sekrah]

This wasn't a US Open today.

 

 

 

It used to stand for "toughest test", as The Open stood for "nature's major", and the Masters was the Invitational (PGA top 100)...but the US Open wasn't the US Open today.

 

 

I could live with Chamber's Bay - only -5 won there, and while the choppy greens were a let down, the course was pretty - water, trains on the course, it was not bad in hindsight.

 

 

I felt like Rory bastardizing the record books at Congressional was the worst taste left in my mouth after a major (perhaps), but this is worse than that.

 

 

This was like the Bob Hope Classic today.

 

USGA should've made par 68. Then, it would have been one for the ages, right? Even par, and a worthy champion. Instead, we had this sideshow of jokers making birdies where no birdies should have been made.

 

Hell, I think par should've been 22. That would show them.

 

You're missing the point.

 

How does anyone play a par 5 680 with two 3 woods and they're on the green?

 

If this was (allegedly) the longest course in US Open (or major) history, of second or third, how did so many guys still cut the course up to the tune of so many under par, and record number of guys double digits under par?

 

Because the greens were perfect for 4 days.

 

Give touring pros generous fairways and greens that are soft and receptive, and they will cut up ANY course.

 

If the course is dry and firm, you couldnt hold some of the iron shots these guys played this week on those greens. It was just an unlucky break with the weather. The wide fairways needed to be balanced out with hard greens that you needed to be precise on, and the rains washed away those plans.

 

Errrrrr.. Wrong answer.

 

There's NO hazards around the greens. They were missing some huge greens on some of the longer holes and getting up and down out of municipal rough. There was absolutely no punishment for missing a green. It had very little to do with the weather. You don't need tricked up greens to make a golf course hard.

 

The venue was excellent. The USGA ran a fine event. The champion was worthy. See you in Shinnecock in 2018...

 

You can lie to yourself because you're a Wisconsinite, but the truth is Erin Hills was a toilet bowl and Koepka is the US Open Putting Champion.

[sekrah]

You're missing the point.

 

How does anyone play a par 5 680 with two 3 woods and they're on the green?

 

 

 

That's a great question, and I'm curious to hear your answer.

 

I'd also like to hear what DJ and Rory have to say about it.

 

Do you remember how many people reached that green in 2 all week? It's a pretty small number.

 

So... IMO the answer is "they do it with extraordinary talent along with a whole lot of cajones". For 4 days BK showed some pretty awesome golf, especially with the run of birdies to close it out down the stretch. He went out and just won this thing and deserved it.

 

It took zero cajones to go for these greens in two. Why wouldn't they when the downside of missing them was microscopic?

[SoCalTitleist]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

it may not ever happen. He is 28 and i read the article that said Butch Harmon had to have a serious discussion with him about what he wanted out of being a tour pro....did he want to be elite or be a Kardashian? Harmon said Fowler was upset at the discussion, but it was on point.

 

Somehow Fowlers social media life gets zero critique.

they brought that up on the golf channel

[trickblue]

They kept saying the pros were walking 9 miles! How in the world does that course measure 9 miles walking? It's what, 7,800 yards. Most golf courses I play when they are 7,000 yards are about a 4-5 mile walk. I mapped this one out on Google, even using the farthest tee boxes and only go to 5.35 miles. Factor in some more distance for practice and moving around on the greens and you might get to 6, maybe at most 7 miles. But, I still don't see how they get to 9 miles? Am I wrong here?

 

 

 

Your 100% wrong. They walked 20 miles and hit 9 irons 250 yards.

 

Every hole was uphill... in the snow...

[J_Tizzle]

I enjoyed it, don't see why people are so negative about Erin Hills.

 

Course got rain and the wind was down most of the week making the course play much easier than it probably typically does on a day in day out basis. I do think if they wanted they could make the first cut of rough before the long stuff a bit longer and cut down on the width of the fairways a bit to make it more difficult to control shots into greens. But you saw the impact a little bit of breeze had on the course/players on Sunday and the course at least seeming to play a bit more difficult. I guess if everyone wanted it to be even par, just never water the greens, cut the pins on slopes and bring in the long stuff closer to the fairways. I"m sure they could make that golf course impossible if they wanted. Maybe the USGA didn't want to make it impossible?

[duke2001j]

Brooks Koepka was the best player this week no matter the course.

 

3rd in strokes gained off the tee

1st in strokes gained approaching the green

3rd in strokes gained putting

1st in strokes gained total

 

Is it mathematically possible to win a golf tournament and not lead the field in total strokes gained? I'm being serious, I have a hazy at best understanding of the whole strokes gained thing.

 

No, that's not possible. Total strokes gained is just basically your score relative to the field. So if you have the lowest score relative to the field, you'll always finish 1st - unless there's a tie of course.

[salmon1a]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

 

Fowler seemed a bit off after his Thursday round. He was playing relatively conservatively and leaving himself some long second shots to the green. Had a bad stretch of three straight bogeys on Friday which he never seemed to completely recover from. I think he wins a major fairly soon since he routinely gets himself into position in Majors - just needs to find the magic on Sunday.

[glk]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

 

Fowler seemed a bit off after his Thursday round. He was playing relatively conservatively and leaving himself some long second shots to the green. Had a bad stretch of three straight bogeys on Friday which he never seemed to completely recover from. I think he wins a major fairly soon since he routinely gets himself into position in Majors - just needs to find the magic on Sunday.

I agree. Rickie had a plan and it was a good one to get him to Sunday but then he stuck with it too much when it was clear he needed to be much more aggressive on the back nine.

Told my wife at the turn he needed to shoot at least a 32 to have a shot - turns out even that would have come up one stroke short however had he posted it Brooks might have had bit more pressure on him - Hideki's -12 didn't really do the job presurewise.

[games]

The venue was excellent. The USGA ran a fine event. The champion was worthy. See you in Shinnecock in 2018...

 

You can lie to yourself because you're a Wisconsinite, but the truth is Erin Hills was a toilet bowl and Koepka is the US Open Putting Champion.

 

I have a very good grasp of the event, having actually attended it... So, here's how it is, Chief...

 

- Finally, the USGA allowed a great course play in its natural state rather than tricking it up;

- The greens were in incredible condition because course management did not allow open play since last fall (maybe you prefer the Chambers Bay greens?);

- The tournament provided fair competition to all types of players: lefties, righties, bombers, pickers, young, old...

 

I'm starting to believe the USGA did not have to trick up Erin Hills because it allowed this type of competition in its natural state. Where older courses hosting the US Open require some type of equalization to prevent shutting out one type of player over another.

 

In addition, I think TV distorted your perception. Maybe you were getting too much interference? Try getting a long enough extension cord to let the antenna sit on top of the bridge, rather than underneath it with you...

[duke2001j]

Can we also talk about how the yardage numbers at Erin Hills seem a little bit juiced? For example, On #18 on Sat, JT had 269 to carry the right bunker off the tee. He carried it by about 10 yards and rolled out another 40-50 yards. So let's say the tee shot went 320. Then how does he only have 299 left on a 680 yard hole? Because it's a dogleg and the yardage is really "only" 620. I never heard anyone on the broadcast mention that. So when they say Koepka hit a 370 yard 3 wood on 18, and he had virtually the same yardage left as JT, the 1st words out of my mouth were "that's a lie!" It doesn't make it any less impressive to me, but it just undermines the credibility of the commentators and the coverage when they do that.

[sekrah]

The venue was excellent. The USGA ran a fine event. The champion was worthy. See you in Shinnecock in 2018...

 

You can lie to yourself because you're a Wisconsinite, but the truth is Erin Hills was a toilet bowl and Koepka is the US Open Putting Champion.

 

I have a very good grasp of the event, having actually attended it... So, here's how it is, Chief...

 

- Finally, the USGA allowed a great course play in its natural state rather than tricking it up;

- The greens were in incredible condition because course management did not allow open play since last fall (maybe you prefer the Chambers Bay greens?);

- The tournament provided fair competition to all types of players: lefties, righties, bombers, pickers, young, old...

 

I'm starting to believe the USGA did not have to trick up Erin Hills because it allowed this type of competition in its natural state. Where older courses hosting the US Open require some type of equalization to prevent shutting out one type of player over another.

 

In addition, I think TV distorted your perception. Maybe you were getting too much interference? Try getting a long enough extension cord to let the antenna sit on top of the bridge, rather than underneath it with you...

 

 

- A mediocre, stretched out muni course that played like a downhill driving range with a green at the end of it.

- The greens were a joke with very few real hazards protecting them

- Fair as in totally negating skill and turning the tournament into a putting contest.

 

You're in homer land. $260 for Erin Hills? No one with more brains than money would ever waste their dollars on this piece of crap. There's courses within 60 miles of every person on this forum that are nicer than Erin Hills for 1/4 of the price. The general public turned on the TV to see a US Open, they got a very watered down British Open course with few hazards and no wind. They shut their TVs off. Worst. Open. Ever.

[warfelg]

 

You're missing the point.

 

How does anyone play a par 5 680 with two 3 woods and they're on the green?

 

If this was (allegedly) the longest course in US Open (or major) history, of second or third, how did so many guys still cut the course up to the tune of so many under par, and record number of guys double digits under par?

 

It all comes down to measurement. I think the hole is measured (effectively) right down the middle of the fairway. When there's nothing in the way and you can straight shoot it, the distance of 18 is closer to 550-590. Add in the teeshot is downhill, trail wind, and these guys hit 3 wood 270-300 these days....yea 3 wood/3 wood on in two is completely doable.

 

Another example of exaggerated distance is #5. Measured ~500 all week. From the tips, 290 clears the left bunker and catches the speed slot, adding 40 yards. Could leave as little as 150 into the front of the green. Sounds long saying 500 yards par 4, but when you don't have to play down the line it's measured at it becomes a lot shorter.

 

Doglegs with no trees look long on a scorecard, but when you realize how much you can cut off it becomes so much shorter. Erin Hills has a ton of "vanity distance" IMO of holes that have doglegged fairways so the scorecard looks impressive.

[warfelg]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

 

Fowler seemed a bit off after his Thursday round. He was playing relatively conservatively and leaving himself some long second shots to the green. Had a bad stretch of three straight bogeys on Friday which he never seemed to completely recover from. I think he wins a major fairly soon since he routinely gets himself into position in Majors - just needs to find the magic on Sunday.

I agree. Rickie had a plan and it was a good one to get him to Sunday but then he stuck with it too much when it was clear he needed to be much more aggressive on the back nine.

Told my wife at the turn he needed to shoot at least a 32 to have a shot - turns out even that would have come up one stroke short however had he posted it Brooks might have had bit more pressure on him - Hideki's -12 didn't really do the job presurewise.

 

Yup. It's like he kept expecting people around him to succumb to the pressure and his conservative play would pay off. Any other US Open and it works TBH.

[sekrah]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

 

Fowler seemed a bit off after his Thursday round. He was playing relatively conservatively and leaving himself some long second shots to the green. Had a bad stretch of three straight bogeys on Friday which he never seemed to completely recover from. I think he wins a major fairly soon since he routinely gets himself into position in Majors - just needs to find the magic on Sunday.

I agree. Rickie had a plan and it was a good one to get him to Sunday but then he stuck with it too much when it was clear he needed to be much more aggressive on the back nine.

Told my wife at the turn he needed to shoot at least a 32 to have a shot - turns out even that would have come up one stroke short however had he posted it Brooks might have had bit more pressure on him - Hideki's -12 didn't really do the job presurewise.

 

Yup. It's like he kept expecting people around him to succumb to the pressure and his conservative play would pay off. Any other US Open and it works TBH.

 

Bingo. Erin Hills is nothing but a stretched out pitch and putt to the pros. Fowler had no chance if he was waiting for the leaders to come back to him. He needed to be taking advantage of the cheap a** layout.

[Jasonic]

The venue was excellent. The USGA ran a fine event. The champion was worthy. See you in Shinnecock in 2018...

 

You can lie to yourself because you're a Wisconsinite, but the truth is Erin Hills was a toilet bowl and Koepka is the US Open Putting Champion.

 

I have a very good grasp of the event, having actually attended it... So, here's how it is, Chief...

 

- Finally, the USGA allowed a great course play in its natural state rather than tricking it up;

- The greens were in incredible condition because course management did not allow open play since last fall (maybe you prefer the Chambers Bay greens?);

- The tournament provided fair competition to all types of players: lefties, righties, bombers, pickers, young, old...

 

I'm starting to believe the USGA did not have to trick up Erin Hills because it allowed this type of competition in its natural state. Where older courses hosting the US Open require some type of equalization to prevent shutting out one type of player over another.

 

In addition, I think TV distorted your perception. Maybe you were getting too much interference? Try getting a long enough extension cord to let the antenna sit on top of the bridge, rather than underneath it with you...

 

 

- A mediocre, stretched out muni course that played like a downhill driving range with a green at the end of it.

- The greens were a joke with very few real hazards protecting them

- Fair as in totally negating skill and turning the tournament into a putting contest.

 

You're in homer land. $260 for Erin Hills? No one with more brains than money would ever waste their dollars on this piece of crap. There's courses within 60 miles of every person on this forum that are nicer than Erin Hills for 1/4 of the price. The general public turned on the TV to see a US Open, they got a very watered down British Open course with few hazards and no wind. They shut their TVs off. Worst. Open. Ever.

 

Yet you watched every minute.

 

Did you go to bed then wake up so you could post the same nonsense another 100 times today. WE GET IT.

[bscinstnct]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

 

Fowler seemed a bit off after his Thursday round. He was playing relatively conservatively and leaving himself some long second shots to the green. Had a bad stretch of three straight bogeys on Friday which he never seemed to completely recover from. I think he wins a major fairly soon since he routinely gets himself into position in Majors - just needs to find the magic on Sunday.

I agree. Rickie had a plan and it was a good one to get him to Sunday but then he stuck with it too much when it was clear he needed to be much more aggressive on the back nine.

Told my wife at the turn he needed to shoot at least a 32 to have a shot - turns out even that would have come up one stroke short however had he posted it Brooks might have had bit more pressure on him - Hideki's -12 didn't really do the job presurewise.

 

Yup. It's like he kept expecting people around him to succumb to the pressure and his conservative play would pay off. Any other US Open and it works TBH.

 

Bingo. Erin Hills is nothing but a stretched out pitch and putt to the pros. Fowler had no chance if he was waiting for the leaders to come back to him. He needed to be taking advantage of the cheap a** layout.

 

 

 

"It was actually kind of hard, bro"

 

 

[sheldonjhacker]

[sekrah]

You people showing that big names missed the cut as evidence it was a good track are totally clueless. That's evidence it was a TERRIBLE track. When the layout removes tough decisions, precision skill, and shot making, you are left with a crap shoot putting/short game contest, and many big names will be left by the road when their putter goes south. USGA decided to rely on randomness for the US Open this year.

 

s*** courses give you a Sunday leader board filled with mostly 2nd and 3rd tier pros that no one cares about.

[Potatohead]

Can we also talk about how the yardage numbers at Erin Hills seem a little bit juiced? For example, On #18 on Sat, JT had 269 to carry the right bunker off the tee. He carried it by about 10 yards and rolled out another 40-50 yards. So let's say the tee shot went 320. Then how does he only have 299 left on a 680 yard hole? Because it's a dogleg and the yardage is really "only" 620. I never heard anyone on the broadcast mention that. So when they say Koepka hit a 370 yard 3 wood on 18, and he had virtually the same yardage left as JT, the 1st words out of my mouth were "that's a lie!" It doesn't make it any less impressive to me, but it just undermines the credibility of the commentators and the coverage when they do that.

 

I noticed this too. Koepka hit it 370 and had 278 left. My math that does not equal 681.

[ex0dus]

Congressional isn't an easy course but it played easy during the US Open because of the rain. If the greens are holding guys are going to put up low numbers anywhere.

[SadTrombone]

s*** courses give you a Sunday leader board filled with mostly 2nd and 3rd tier pros that no one cares about.

 

It's the US Open, not a popularity contest. The idea is to identify the best golfer that week, and they did that.

 

Having said that, I'd agree that the course didn't have much in the way of teeth.

[hogans71]

The venue was excellent. The USGA ran a fine event. The champion was worthy. See you in Shinnecock in 2018...

 

You can lie to yourself because you're a Wisconsinite, but the truth is Erin Hills was a toilet bowl and Koepka is the US Open Putting Champion.

 

I have a very good grasp of the event, having actually attended it... So, here's how it is, Chief...

 

- Finally, the USGA allowed a great course play in its natural state rather than tricking it up;

- The greens were in incredible condition because course management did not allow open play since last fall (maybe you prefer the Chambers Bay greens?);

- The tournament provided fair competition to all types of players: lefties, righties, bombers, pickers, young, old...

 

I'm starting to believe the USGA did not have to trick up Erin Hills because it allowed this type of competition in its natural state. Where older courses hosting the US Open require some type of equalization to prevent shutting out one type of player over another.

 

In addition, I think TV distorted your perception. Maybe you were getting too much interference? Try getting a long enough extension cord to let the antenna sit on top of the bridge, rather than underneath it with you...

 

 

- A mediocre, stretched out muni course that played like a downhill driving range with a green at the end of it.

- The greens were a joke with very few real hazards protecting them

- Fair as in totally negating skill and turning the tournament into a putting contest.

 

You're in homer land. $260 for Erin Hills? No one with more brains than money would ever waste their dollars on this piece of crap. There's courses within 60 miles of every person on this forum that are nicer than Erin Hills for 1/4 of the price. The general public turned on the TV to see a US Open, they got a very watered down British Open course with few hazards and no wind. They shut their TVs off. Worst. Open. Ever.

 

You're not miserable at all- good for you!

 

Play it once before you judge- nothing mediocre about this golf course whatsoever..

[Texas1]

Well, it appears that Taylormade drivers work with pro v1x.

Wow, who'd have thought and also held up in the wind on Sunday, go figure.

 

;)

[bscinstnct]

You people showing that big names missed the cut as evidence it was a good track are totally clueless. That's evidence it was a TERRIBLE track. When the layout removes tough decisions, precision skill, and shot making, you are left with a crap shoot putting/short game contest, and many big names will be left by the road when their putter goes south. USGA decided to rely on randomness for the US Open this year.

 

s*** courses give you a Sunday leader board filled with mostly 2nd and 3rd tier pros that no one cares about.

 

 

 

"many big names will be left by the road when their putter goes south"

 

 

So, that's why 8 of the top 12 missed the cut? Because of their putting?

 

I could have sworn it was because they couldn't hit fairways and greens.

[tsecor]

I keep waiting for Fowler to become elite and just take charge of a final round in a Major, and he seems to never be able to. I really wanted to see him get his first one yesterday. I am glad to see another first time winner though.

 

Fowler seemed a bit off after his Thursday round. He was playing relatively conservatively and leaving himself some long second shots to the green. Had a bad stretch of three straight bogeys on Friday which he never seemed to completely recover from. I think he wins a major fairly soon since he routinely gets himself into position in Majors - just needs to find the magic on Sunday.

I agree. Rickie had a plan and it was a good one to get him to Sunday but then he stuck with it too much when it was clear he needed to be much more aggressive on the back nine.

Told my wife at the turn he needed to shoot at least a 32 to have a shot - turns out even that would have come up one stroke short however had he posted it Brooks might have had bit more pressure on him - Hideki's -12 didn't really do the job presurewise.

ricky is never going to win a major playing as conservative as he does.....no excitement either....

[tbowles411]

Congressional isn't an easy course but it played easy during the US Open because of the rain. If the greens are holding guys are going to put up low numbers anywhere.

This is a good point. Congo is a beast. But it rained for almost 2 weeks straight here. People said it would never come back there because the course was too easy. It's not, I assure you. But when the USGA sets it up to be a "test" and Rory basically takes advantage of his accuracy and is throwing darts on a saturated course. One guy took advantage of it. That's it. Erin Hills to me, was easiER, but not easy. You had 1,2 and 3 miss the cut by a lot on gettable days. It actually rewarded accuracy and punished the bad shot. You and Brian Harmon, a career journeyman finish T2. Brooks Koepka, a rising player outlast the field and used his power and his accuracy to win. Sinking a few bombs didn't hurt either. You have to play the course in front of you and this US Open showed anyone can be on, at any given time, regardless of the conditions.

[disco111]

IMO, the USGA was well aware of the previous debacles that accompanied previous opens and decided to be standoffish with this venue. They even went so far as to cut down some of the hay on a few holes. In doing so, again imo, they backed off to much. Erin Hills looked nice, long and lush and the first hole TV coverage had a really wonderful panoramic view.........looked like a post card from some vacation setting. But, either I'm getting too old or this was just a very boring golf tournament. I tried watching, honestly did, but fell asleep several times, either because of the commentators dull droning or lack of any real excitement. Lets see, DJ hits it over 700 yards with driver and 3 wood, Koepka hits 3 wood 370 and in truth, they were the biggies of the tournament. At least they will be what's talked about the most at the office water coolers. I'm sorry, but this was not an Open that will be remembered as a typical USGA stern test of golf. They only thing remotely stern was the high hay and I saw only a few who actually hit into it and they were able to advance the ball and a few still managed to make par. Nothing penal around the greens, except for that par 3 hole with the right side middle scooped out (I think that green will be updated). It should interesting to see what transpires next year at Shinnacock. I don't think we'll see a repeat of Erin Hills.

[sekrah]

Congressional got drenched and it was still WAY, WAY tougher than Erin Hills. Rory just had the second greatest four days of golfing the world has ever seen. It played like a normal US Open to everyone else.

[North Butte]

I was going to watch the entire final round but passed out from my drinking game of taking a shot every time Azinger said "Ryder Cup". Never even saw the final five groups tee off...