2018 United States Open

[aabcuue]

Are there any drivable par 4's this year?

 

13th Road Hole par4 374yd.

Shortest par4.

[ray9898]

This is great golf. I love watching the players being challenged in ways they don't see week to week. It brings risk/reward into the mix instead of just firing at flags without a second thought.

[aabcuue]

Nothing says golf like a bunch of grown men on their hands and knees looking for a ball in the "cabbage" 20 feet from the fairway.

 

Some cuppy lies in mid thigh fescue, you can be 6" away and not see the ball.

 

fescue goes over and around the ball covering it. Then a chop out will be lucky to get 30-40yds with a full swing.

[aabcuue]

DJ gets a free drop in trampled down grass all because he couldn't find it until Beem stepped on it? Wow. That's good luck.

 

Its interference from outside agency.

free drop to nearest estimated location of orginal spot.

 

Did DJ just save 2 strokes because he was in the featured group with a bunch of camera's tracking?

 

Nope. The marshal knew exactly where it went in.

 

This is supposed to happen @every tournament.

[Hankshank]

On the scandinavian telecast both Stenson and Alex was interviewed. They didn’t say it was unfair. Brutally hard with greeens as slippery as you get. And basically only one place on every green where you can land your approaches. But apart from the pin placement at 14 they found it ok. Naturally, a big advantage for the guys in the morning, but golf was never fair.

[Hankshank]

This is great golf. I love watching the players being challenged in ways they don't see week to week. It brings risk/reward into the mix instead of just firing at flags without a second thought.

Agree but the greens got too slippery in the afternoon. More moisture needed today. yesterday it only got ridiculous.

[jmvargas]

wow!..there sure are a lot of armchair and monday morning quarterbacking golf superintendents around here!!..

 

get over it guys...they are all playing the same course--and nobody can control the weather..

 

i--for one--will enjoy what is surely going to be an unpredictable and exciting last day!!

[BlackDiamondPar5]

wow!..there sure are a lot of armchair and monday morning quarterbacking golf superintendents around here!!..

 

get over it guys...they are all playing the same course--and nobody can control the weather..

 

i--for one--will enjoy what is surely going to be an unpredictable and exciting last day!!

Friday was awesome, Saturday a disaster. Davis even admitted. If they want Saturday conditions they should just play on pavement in a mall parking lot.

[raynorfan1]

I don’t understand why the USGA cannot do a better job of controlling the moisture on the greens. It’s extremely easy to instrument every green and to know the exact moisture content of the subsurface. They can/could use that data to front load the greens at the beginning of a day so they don’t become questionable like they did on Saturday afternoon. And yes, I know you can’t 100% predict the weather but you can provide a margin or error in subsurface moisture where conditions don’t get out of balance from morning to afternoon.

 

I think it’s really difficult in that environment to get right. The course is so exposed to the wind and sun that the greens are going to lose a lot of moisture over the course of the day.

 

I’m not sure it’s possible to get the green speeds as fast as they want them and have them remain at the same level of difficulty all day. They’re just pushing the greens too hard to dictate scoring. Why the USGA can’t figure out what every super in the private club world knows is beyond me.

[jerebear21]

Brooksie and dustie had no complaints. I want a playoff with those two bad boys end of today.

 

2:02 p.m.: Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose

2:13 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka

2:24 p.m.: Tony Finau, Daniel Berger

 

Don't think finau or berger can handle the pressure down the stretch. They got 4 major champs breathing down their neck. Enjoy the show.

[TheLarch]

I was on the way to Henderson, KY yesterday when traffic came to a stop on the parkway. After a while things began moving and we saw there had been a wreck up ahead. As I passed by the scene of the accident I thought to myself "This il like watching the US Open at Shinnecoxk".

[Fade to Black]

Would be awesome if Rose or Finau take it home!

[jerebear21]

phil and fowler on the feature group on the US open website. Let's see how this course play this morning.

[buckeyefl]

Justin Leonard calling out Phil. Good for him for having the guts to speak his mind. Trevor saying he could/should have disqualified himself. USGA backing down and I wonder if it would be the case if it was someone else, more importantly, if they hadn't have completely screwed the pooch on set-up.

[warfelg]

Justin Leonard calling out Phil. Good for him for having the guts to speak his mind. Trevor saying he could/should have disqualified himself. USGA backing down and I wonder if it would be the case if it was someone else, more importantly, if they hadn't have completely screwed the pooch on set-up.

 

Honestly that last part never crossed my mind of the "man we screwed up with that course set up so we'll let it slide". But then, IMO, the USGA screwed with the integrity of the event by letting it slide by doing so.

 

Just amazes me in the mud pit the ladies played in they didn't allow lift clean and place to integrity reasons, but in this situation they could have let something slide because they messed up.

[buckeyefl]

This is great golf. I love watching the players being challenged in ways they don't see week to week. It brings risk/reward into the mix instead of just firing at flags without a second thought.

 

Challenge? Risk and reward? That wasn't remotely what was happening yesterday but not surprised some of you see it that way as far too many golfers are gluttons for punishment and will play setups far beyond their ability and cone away talking about how great the course was that day.

[tgoodspe1991]

Complain all ya want about how ridiculous and unplayable the course is.

 

It's the same for every guy in the field.

 

 

No, it's not. That's the essence of the problem. Berger and Finau played a different course than DJ and the others who finished late.

 

Berger literally went on record to say he's going home to watch because he knew what the course was about to turn into. It was significantly, and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY softer in the morning than what the afternoon groups faced.

 

The "same golf course" argument is just plain incorrect. If you tee off at 6:30am with morning dew on the course, fairways that are soft and muddy from sprinklers, is it the exact same course than if you teed off at 3:00pm after it's been dry and windy all day? No, it's not. So stop saying it is.

[bladehunter]

Complain all ya want about how ridiculous and unplayable the course is.

 

It's the same for every guy in the field.

 

 

No, it's not. That's the essence of the problem. Berger and Finau played a different course than DJ and the others who finished late.

 

Berger literally went on record to say he's going home to watch because he knew what the course was about to turn into. It was significantly, and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY softer in the morning than what the afternoon groups faced.

 

The "same golf course" argument is just plain incorrect. If you tee off at 6:30am with morning dew on the course, fairways that are soft and muddy from sprinklers, is it the exact same course than if you teed off at 3:00pm after it's been dry and windy all day? No, it's not. So stop saying it is.

 

Exactly. To repeat that again is to label yourself an idiot. It’s simply untrue. You’d have to be blind to not see two 66 in the morning vs a handful of 75 and ups in the afternoon as “ they all play the same course “. Absolutely a falsehood at this point.

 

And no it isn’t the same as any Pga early late scenario. Not close. It’s actually closer to having the morning wave play front tees and the afternoon play 1k yards more. Or maybe two separate courses. One long and fast and one short and soft. Not same same

[jmvargas]

Complain all ya want about how ridiculous and unplayable the course is.

 

It's the same for every guy in the field.

 

 

No, it's not. That's the essence of the problem. Berger and Finau played a different course than DJ and the others who finished late.

 

Berger literally went on record to say he's going home to watch because he knew what the course was about to turn into. It was significantly, and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY softer in the morning than what the afternoon groups faced.

 

The "same golf course" argument is just plain incorrect. If you tee off at 6:30am with morning dew on the course, fairways that are soft and muddy from sprinklers, is it the exact same course than if you teed off at 3:00pm after it's been dry and windy all day? No, it's not. So stop saying it is.

 

Exactly. To repeat that again is to label yourself an idiot. It's simply untrue. You'd have to be blind to not see two 66 in the morning vs a handful of 75 and ups in the afternoon as " they all play the same course ". Absolutely a falsehood at this point.

 

And no it isn't the same as any Pga early late scenario. Not close. It's actually closer to having the morning wave play front tees and the afternoon play 1k yards more. Or maybe two separate courses. One long and fast and one short and soft. Not same same

 

 

 

these arguments are pointless..

 

no one can control the weather and there is the luck of the draw...unless you want them to play "shotgun" tee-off times.

[warfelg]

Complain all ya want about how ridiculous and unplayable the course is.

 

It's the same for every guy in the field.

 

 

No, it's not. That's the essence of the problem. Berger and Finau played a different course than DJ and the others who finished late.

 

Berger literally went on record to say he's going home to watch because he knew what the course was about to turn into. It was significantly, and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY softer in the morning than what the afternoon groups faced.

 

The "same golf course" argument is just plain incorrect. If you tee off at 6:30am with morning dew on the course, fairways that are soft and muddy from sprinklers, is it the exact same course than if you teed off at 3:00pm after it's been dry and windy all day? No, it's not. So stop saying it is.

 

Being a member of the PGA PAT tour (not too proud of that) I can very much attest that course changes. Playing 36 in one day really let’s you see that. In the morning you get longer clubs into the greens (softer fairways) but those shots stick. Come afternoon that ball rolls out in the fairway but react differently on the greens. Green speed changes as the grass go through the day. The rough even changes.

 

I think if people looped the same course in the same day they would see a little more how course conditions can change through the day.

 

Complain all ya want about how ridiculous and unplayable the course is.

 

It's the same for every guy in the field.

 

 

No, it's not. That's the essence of the problem. Berger and Finau played a different course than DJ and the others who finished late.

 

Berger literally went on record to say he's going home to watch because he knew what the course was about to turn into. It was significantly, and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY softer in the morning than what the afternoon groups faced.

 

The "same golf course" argument is just plain incorrect. If you tee off at 6:30am with morning dew on the course, fairways that are soft and muddy from sprinklers, is it the exact same course than if you teed off at 3:00pm after it's been dry and windy all day? No, it's not. So stop saying it is.

 

Being a member of the PGA PAT tour (not too proud of that) I can very much attest that course changes. Playing 36 in one day really let’s you see that. In the morning you get longer clubs into the greens (softer fairways) but those shots stick. Come afternoon that ball rolls out in the fairway but react differently on the greens. Green speed changes as the grass go through the day. The rough even changes.

 

I think if people looped the same course in the same day they would see a little more how course conditions can change through the day.

[puttfordoux]

Had it been an unheralded player with a four-shot lead shoot a 77 and not Johnson, we may have been talking more about the player's nerves than the course setup. But we forget that Johnson still shares the lead. Finau and Berger may have been brought into the fray today, but will they be there at the end?

[warfelg]

Had it been an unheralded player with a four-shot lead shoot a 77 and not Johnson, we may have been talking more about the player's nerves than the course setup. But we forget that Johnson still shares the lead. Finau and Berger may have been brought into the fray today, but will they be there at the end?

 

Disagree because it was everyone that faded and not one guy.

[JaNelson38]

In looking at the pin sheets today and seeing the pictures of the course that don't look any better than yesterday despite tons of water, I don't see how scoring is any better today than yesterday.

[bladehunter]

In looking at the pin sheets today and seeing the pictures of the course that don't look any better than yesterday despite tons of water, I don't see how scoring is any better today than yesterday.

 

 

For sure it will be the same. Mike Davis lies throighhis dentures this morning on GC. I predict that they totally loose a few greens today. Brian Gay All the way !

[BNGL]

Question for the people out there: Was Rory right? Does the USGA think the players are better than they actually are?

I would up vote this if I could. This tournament grounds them. I imagine Shinnecock members are very proud right now as I would be.

 

Only the dumb members would be proud of the course right now. Any course could produce high scores if that is the goal and this event is doing a pretty poor job of representing the qualities that make the course great.

 

I’m lucky enough to have several members at my club in Florida that are also members of shinnecock, (and staying with one of them in the hamptons this week and been walking the property each day) and they are all loving this. They knew this was coming last summer after Koepka went low. They all have said, that won’t happen at shinnecock. It’s not.

 

 

[warfelg]

And I get a lot of people want to say that the course setup didn't force bad shots, but sometimes that sneaks into your head. Yea they should be mentally strong but sometimes it happens. You hit 5 what you think are good shots and they end up with crap results that starts to slip in there. You can't help it. Yes they need to be mentally tough, but they get the pressure of good shots aren't good enough, great shots are just good, and you feel the need to be perfect to get a score....and you get mistakes you wouldn't normally make.

[BNGL]

In looking at the pin sheets today and seeing the pictures of the course that don't look any better than yesterday despite tons of water, I don't see how scoring is any better today than yesterday.

 

 

For sure it will be the same. Mike Davis lies throighhis dentures this morning on GC. I predict that they totally loose a few greens today. Brian Gay All the way !

 

I’ve had a couple interactions with him, and more than enough with people that work around him. He’s a chronic liar, and a few of the agronomists are confused about the USGA initiatives, saying one thing for clubs to do but doing another. The best leaders go by example, until something changes at the top it won’t filter down to lower levels of golf.

[jmck]

Complain all ya want about how ridiculous and unplayable the course is.

 

It's the same for every guy in the field.

 

 

No, it's not. That's the essence of the problem. Berger and Finau played a different course than DJ and the others who finished late.

 

Berger literally went on record to say he's going home to watch because he knew what the course was about to turn into. It was significantly, and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY softer in the morning than what the afternoon groups faced.

 

The "same golf course" argument is just plain incorrect. If you tee off at 6:30am with morning dew on the course, fairways that are soft and muddy from sprinklers, is it the exact same course than if you teed off at 3:00pm after it's been dry and windy all day? No, it's not. So stop saying it is.

 

Exactly. To repeat that again is to label yourself an idiot. It's simply untrue. You'd have to be blind to not see two 66 in the morning vs a handful of 75 and ups in the afternoon as " they all play the same course ". Absolutely a falsehood at this point.

 

And no it isn't the same as any Pga early late scenario. Not close. It's actually closer to having the morning wave play front tees and the afternoon play 1k yards more. Or maybe two separate courses. One long and fast and one short and soft. Not same same

 

 

 

these arguments are pointless..

 

no one can control the weather and there is the luck of the draw...unless you want them to play "shotgun" tee-off times.

 

That's missing the point. The USGA set the course up on the razor edge of playability for the first group off in the morning, without the forethought to worry that some of their choices regarding green watering and pin placements would make certain holes gong shows come the afternoon. Jeez. Mike Davis had to go on the TV and apologize for screwing it up. He's the head of the USGA, on your TV, telling you exactly what they screwed up. It isn't the weather or luck of the draw.

 

Or take the PAT example above. The course plays different morning to evening, no doubt about it. But it's set up to play fairly. Might be an extra club or two in the morning, but the greens hold those shots, in the afternoon you get to use more loft but you're hitting to less receptive greens. It's a wash, difficulty-wise. It's not like the morning guys gets greens that are clinging to life while the afternoon guys get dead greens because of some choice some pinhead made.

 

If you want to talk about weather and luck of the draw, chime back in for the British Open thread. You can have the morning wave playing in 50° weather with high wind and driving rain while the afternoon wave plays in 75° with no wind and rain. That's weather and luck of the draw, and that's NOT what the USGA is doing at Shinnecock. It's all human error on the part of the USGA at Shinnecock. Again.

[hogans71]

With all the controversies that went on today I still find it a very entertaining tournament. Just think, you could be watching the British Open.

 

 

Can't wait. Second best event of the year.

[MountainGoat]

On the scandinavian telecast both Stenson and Alex was interviewed. They didn’t say it was unfair. Brutally hard with greeens as slippery as you get. And basically only one place on every green where you can land your approaches. But apart from the pin placement at 14 they found it ok. Naturally, a big advantage for the guys in the morning, but golf was never fair.

 

No, recreational golf is not fair. But, professional golf played for millions of dollars needs to be as fair as humanly possible.