What a terrific US Open !

[new2g0lf]

New drinking game,

 

Take a shot every time someone on the broadcast tells us Harmon has a chip on his shoulder.

[PGArox]

A lot of the folks being disappointed in this year's open are likely going to be disappointed a lot in the future. The days of tree lined tough guess is over. Most courses that fall into that description are removing trees as shade and no sir movement do not make for good grass growing. As for those that say the rich at Shinnecock can go play elsewhere while we enjoy their baked out course at the future open. Unlikely. Why would anyone/any club let that happen to their club again just so folks can piss and moan about the venue? The USGA is in a more realistic mode these days imo and a test does not have to be a farce.

 

Lot of truth in this, Shilgy.

[deadsolid...shank]

There seem to be an inordinate amount of yellers there today.

 

Tasers are needed.

[ronnbee]

Brooks kind of boring in interview

[tannyhoban]

Brooks kind of boring in interview

 

I'm good with that. Short.

[Guia]

There is certainly is some sour grapes in Miller's retort. However, interesting the U.S. Open was, and it was fun to watch, it was pretty much a show about power. This course did not live up to what is expected of a U.S. Open Championship.

Young guys will love the show of power, that is where the game has taken them. Older players are scratching their head about where was the difficulty expected of a U.S. Open.

What is interesting though is the attitude of the USGA. Are we seeing what is going to be the type of U.S. Open for the future, have they changed their attitude about par being a challenge?

I enjoyed the tournament but hope to never see another U.S. Open like it.

[bullie76]

Brooks kind of boring in interview

 

A little. Might need a p/r specialist to join the team to perk him up a bit for the mike. Commercials might be coming his way so need to be as polished as possible. He's not horrible btw, just need to take advantage of his new fame.

[tannyhoban]

Brooks kind of boring in interview

 

A little. Might need a p/r specialist to join the team to perk him up a bit for the mike. Commercials might be coming his way so need to be as polished as possible. He's not horrible btw, just need to take advantage of his new fame.

 

Curtis was doing the interview. Need more be said?

[Dave230]

Pretty forgettable US Open really, not to take away from Koepka, he was brilliant under pressure, but not much about the course, the finish or the general event that will last long in the memory. Apart from random players from this event showing up in various US Open scoring records.

 

Probably the least interesting one since 2014. Despite it being a good thing that they didn't ruin the course like Chambers Bay, that final round was a lot more entertaining than this one.

[doglover72]

Pretty forgettable US Open really, not to take away from Koepka, he was brilliant under pressure, but not much about the course, the finish or the general event that will last long in the memory. Apart from random players from this event showing up in various US Open scoring records.

 

Probably the least interesting one since 2014. Despite it being a good thing that they didn't ruin the course like Chambers Bay, that final round was a lot more entertaining than this one.

 

Well said

[IHFN]

One thing to also consider is that only super hard core golf fans want to see players struggle. The young kids that may be watching on Fox for the first time ever aren't going to take up the game if they watch the best players in the world play awful. What chance do they have if pros can't play good? The USGA is making US Open courses a little easier so it's not just a slop fest partly because the only way to grow the game is to show off talent.

 

The reason golf boomed in the late 90's and early 2000's wasn't just because Tiger was just a good player. He was a good player that made incredible shots and played amazing golf that got people interested in the game and set records in major tournaments. Having to make 10 foot par putts on every hole to win at +2 isn't interesting to the mass public.

[Ajit]

http://www.friedegg.co/golf-courses/erin-hills-strategic-design

 

Lots of good analysis.

[Darth Putter]

The only two things I really disliked about this US Open was the lack of superstars on the leaderboard and the the lack of a anti aircraft weapon to take out the USGA protest plane.

[johnnypro]

This Open had all the memorability of Orville Moody at Houston Champions.

If the USGA thinks Erin Hills is a great golf course, then I'm ready to stop giving them money after 35 years.

11,000 yards long and -16 wins?!?!

Why move tees up on into-the-wind holes? Why can't even the big hitters occasionally have to hit a 4 or 5 iron second shot?

How many fairways and GIR did Koepka have? The number was off the charts for an average tour event, much less a US Open.

He played great, no doubt. But the width of the fairways and the sheer size of the greens were absurd.

And the greens had more backboards and sideboards than miniature golf.

Just awful!

[MattyO1984]

I think describing this US Open as terrific is really stretching things. The course itself, was fine, it looked good and can surely only get better but in terms of high points over the course of the week, there were very few.

 

Typically, when a major is on, I have my feet up on the couch and I am watching it intently. I wasn't able to do that on Saturday night but Friday I was an in spite of having watched the entire broadcast, I genuinely have very little memory of anything that happened. The big names hardly showed up, the golf that they played was poor and uninspired. Then last night, I went to bed when the final group got through the back 9. I don't feel like I missed very much.

 

Roll on The Open at Royal Birkdale!

[Thainer]

I prefer it when the superstars win the big golf

Tournaments but good for brooks

 

This Open had all the memorability of Orville Moody at Houston Champions.

If the USGA thinks Erin Hills is a great golf course, then I'm ready to stop giving them money after 35 years.

11,000 yards long and -16 wins?!?!

Why move tees up on into-the-wind holes? Why can't even the big hitters occasionally have to hit a 4 or 5 iron second shot?

How many fairways and GIR did Koepka have? The number was off the charts for an average tour event, much less a US Open.

He played great, no doubt. But the width of the fairways and the sheer size of the greens were absurd.

And the greens had more backboards and sideboards than miniature golf.

Just awful!

 

R u Johnny miller

[KennyP]

Positives -

Brooks is a worthy champion.

Erin Hills is a decent course.

The USGA didn't screw up big time.

 

Negatives -

Course set-up wasn't great for a major.

Too many idiots yelling after every shot.

[Matchplay10033]

I love the Major's and for me the US open was always something I looked forward to. I hate to say it but this was an absolute bore of a tournament. There was no excitement or any drama leading up to the finish and that was a direct result of the way the USGA set up this event. They can talk about these massive par 5's all the want... but when its downwind... downhill....on a rock hard wide fairway... these guys can hit 3 wood iron all day and it doesn't matter. Maybe the British open will start playing on tree lined courses with tight fairways with deep rough around the greens. We will see the same type of golf in a month... Hopefully the wind will blow and make the British somewhat enjoyable.

[baaron008]

I prefer it when the superstars win the big golf

Tournaments but good for brooks

 

This Open had all the memorability of Orville Moody at Houston Champions.

If the USGA thinks Erin Hills is a great golf course, then I'm ready to stop giving them money after 35 years.

11,000 yards long and -16 wins?!?!

Why move tees up on into-the-wind holes? Why can't even the big hitters occasionally have to hit a 4 or 5 iron second shot?

How many fairways and GIR did Koepka have? The number was off the charts for an average tour event, much less a US Open.

He played great, no doubt. But the width of the fairways and the sheer size of the greens were absurd.

And the greens had more backboards and sideboards than miniature golf.

Just awful!

 

R u Johnny miller

 

I would argue that Brooks is on the verge of superstardom. He has a ton of top 5s in majors and may have turned a corner with his confidence.

[tsecor]

this was one of the worst majors in recent memory. lots of bad golf. Koepka was great, but it was not a good tournament

[hybrid25]

I thought this USO was a tad boring, lacking the excitement often times inherent to some more exciting golfers. I was happy for Koepka winning, but he's really sort of a boring personality if you ask me. Plus, I like it when the leading scores are right around even par, not 16 under. To me, the broadcast was sort of boring, lacking pizazz.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I enjoyed what I watched of the US Open, though I didn't enjoy the time difference (about 13-14 hours). One thing that stood out to me was the seeming lack of spectators. With the wide fairways and swathes of fescue, the spectators barely made it into many of the scenes.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who went what it was like actually being there. My impression from the TV was that there weren't many places to watch close up from the fairways, but there were on the tees and around some greens. Is that a fair assessment, or were the TV images misleading.

 

Oh, and Hideki Matsuyama appeared to have three cameramen following him at times. Was this normal?

[klebs01]

I was there on Saturday, which was sold out. I spent most of the day in the grandstands on 9 and could also watch the green on 18 from our seats. The grandstands were full all day and there were crowds on all the hills I could see. The preference seemed to be to find a high spot so you could watch multiple holes rather than just trying to be close for one shot.

 

The popular groups did seem to have 2-3 extra cameras with them when they came through.

[sekrah]

One thing to also consider is that only super hard core golf fans want to see players struggle. The young kids that may be watching on Fox for the first time ever aren't going to take up the game if they watch the best players in the world play awful. What chance do they have if pros can't play good? The USGA is making US Open courses a little easier so it's not just a slop fest partly because the only way to grow the game is to show off talent.

 

The reason golf boomed in the late 90's and early 2000's wasn't just because Tiger was just a good player. He was a good player that made incredible shots and played amazing golf that got people interested in the game and set records in major tournaments. Having to make 10 foot par putts on every hole to win at +2 isn't interesting to the mass public.

 

This is totally assbackwards nonsense. Watching Pros struggle to shoot par actually brings Joe Schmoe into the game and tricks them into dreaming for a minute. Watching guys hit 300 yard 3 woods in hazardless greens would make some people just want to quit the game

 

This may have been the worst US Open ever. It's pretty stunning to see golf "fans" defend the crap that the USGA put on our TV for the weekend. The ratings for this event have to be total garbage.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I was there on Saturday, which was sold out. I spent most of the day in the grandstands on 9 and could also watch the green on 18 from our seats. The grandstands were full all day and there were crowds on all the hills I could see. The preference seemed to be to find a high spot so you could watch multiple holes rather than just trying to be close for one shot.

 

The popular groups did seem to have 2-3 extra cameras with them when they came through.

 

That makes sense. When the grandstands were in the shot, they always seemed full. I guess the wide fairways and what have you just kept spectators out of the (TV) shot.

[sheldonjhacker]

[Shilgy]

I love the Major's and for me the US open was always something I looked forward to. I hate to say it but this was an absolute bore of a tournament. There was no excitement or any drama leading up to the finish and that was a direct result of the way the USGA set up this event. They can talk about these massive par 5's all the want... but when its downwind... downhill....on a rock hard wide fairway... these guys can hit 3 wood iron all day and it doesn't matter. Maybe the British open will start playing on tree lined courses with tight fairways with deep rough around the greens. We will see the same type of golf in a month... Hopefully the wind will blow and make the British somewhat enjoyable.

what tournament were you watching? Fairways were quite soft really. There were half a dozen guys with a chance to win on the final nine and one grabbed the win with stellar play.

 

Need to say it louder-like Joe does. :(

[ronnbee]

Oakmont us open was great with Dustins shot to 18

[nix]

There seem to be an inordinate amount of yellers there today.

 

Tasers are needed.

 

This seems like such an easy problem to fix

 

1. On broadcast, STOP broadcasting audio after swing, switch to audio at landing area and have a general ambient sound mic somewhere you can fade in. You could even get a directional mic which ONLY picks up club sound and ignores sound that's a couple of feet away from the mic. Then in the background have an ambient mic which picks up wind and other general noises, even crowd noise.

 

2. Remove yellers immediately from the course

 

I don't understand why no 1 is not super easy to implement. If done correctly, nobody at home would ever realize what is going on. Hell, I'd be ok with a completely faked recorded noise if it were seamless.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

There seem to be an inordinate amount of yellers there today.

 

Tasers are needed.

 

This seems like such an easy problem to fix

 

1. On broadcast, STOP broadcasting audio after swing, switch to audio at landing area and have a general ambient sound mic somewhere you can fade in. You could even get a directional mic which ONLY picks up club sound and ignores sound that's a couple of feet away from the mic. Then in the background have an ambient mic which picks up wind and other general noises, even crowd noise.

 

2. Remove yellers immediately from the course

 

I don't understand why no 1 is not super easy to implement. If done correctly, nobody at home would ever realize what is going on. Hell, I'd be ok with a completely faked recorded noise if it were seamless.

 

The broadcast I was watching seemed to be using a different version of that; whenever one of the commentators asked Curtis Strange something, the mic went silent, and they would cut away to a different shot. It was a bit weird, to be honest.