U.S. Open 2020: David Feherty expects 'a lot of whining' next week at Winged Foot

[John K.]

Not sure if this article has been discussed yet.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/david-feherty-us-open-conditions-winged-foot

 

I'd like to see tighter, more penalizing fairways everywhere on tour.  

I don't care if the winning scoring is -10 or +10; I just enjoy seeing pros struggle a bit.   

[ebk]

Whining by players, or announcers?  Or both??

[jdowning111]

The announcers will be crying when DeShampoo misses the cut trying to play his mad scientist version of golf......

[Scotty1140]

Good I love the variety. I enjoy the contrast of a -30 birdie fest one week, then a month later a bloodbath. 

[widow-maker]

It's the US Open.  Of course there's going to be whining... by the players, the press, the fans... that's what makes it a great event.  People care enough to be outraged.  Contrast that to the weekly events that don't get much comment from anybody.  The US Open moves the needle.  

[ATLgopher]

At least we won’t have to hear Bruce complain 

[Ronnie Mundt]

Players will whine. Phil will strike a moving ball because he’s an idiot. But at the end of the day, the course is king and the players won’t have anyone to blame but themselves. This isn’t a Chambers Bay situation where the course is sh!t. Winged Foot is as pure a golf course as it gets; a parkland classic in the rota along with the other USO gems. Can’t wait to watch and see guys shoot some really high numbers.

[bscinstnct]

Here’s a video of the rough. That’s some very shaggy pile

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/TWlegion/status/1304182076426670085

 

 

[EMA1]

Hell yes. I thought Pebble last year was a bit easy and intentionally so due to the criticism they received the year before.

 

[wildcatden]

Everyone will whine because they miss Joe Buck.

[r0scoe]

9 hours ago, wildcatden said:

Everyone will whine because they miss Joe Buck.

Nobody misses Joe Buck including his wife

[iBanesto]

 

Let them whine. I want to see the pros struggle!

[smashdn]

11 hours ago, Ronnie Mundt said:

Players will whine. Phil will strike a moving ball because he’s an idiot. But at the end of the day, the course is king and the players won’t have anyone to blame but themselves. This isn’t a Chambers Bay situation where the course is sh!t. Winged Foot is as pure a golf course as it gets; a parkland classic in the rota along with the other USO gems. Can’t wait to watch and see guys shoot some really high numbers.

 

There's a lot of irony in your post.

[davep043]

Feherty isn't exactly going out on a limb, is he?  Players always whine when conditions are tough.  My personal prediction is that a rather vocal group of WRXers will whine that the USGA has completely botched the course set-up "just like they always do".

[TMoakley1547]

I dont get why the players whine about the setup. Each and every one of them are playing the same golf course. If its too tough for some of them, they could always just take the week off and let someone else play who might actually appreciate the opportunity.

Edited September 11, 2020 by TMoakley1547

[smashdn]

39 minutes ago, TMoakley1547 said:

I dont get why the players whine about the setup. Each and every one of them are playing the same golf course. If its too tough for some of them, they could always just take the week off and let someone else play who might actually appreciate the opportunity.

 

That was the Nicklaus mindset regarding how much of the field he didn't really have to beat because they beat themselves just upon seeing the conditions.

[bscinstnct]

[manku]

Can someone explain what makes Winged Foot so great...aside from it's history and proximity to NYC...great conditioning and long rough does not a course make.

 

I've been watching the flyover videos...and every hole looks the same.  In fact, thinking back to 1984 (first PGA even I ever watched on TV) and 2006 opens, as well as the PGA, I can't recall a single hole as being memorable.   Compare that to the some others on eastern Long Island, or even places like Yale GC or Connecticut GC which are dramatic and varied.  Even a muni like Bethpage I could describe a handful of holes ?

 

Or is it a case of just a tough, straightforward test that can handle the crowds easily?

 

 

[Sean2]

19 hours ago, John K. said:

Not sure if this article has been discussed yet.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/david-feherty-us-open-conditions-winged-foot

 

I'd like to see tighter, more penalizing fairways everywhere on tour.  

I don't care if the winning scoring is -10 or +10; I just enjoy seeing pros struggle a bit.   

I agree. I find bomb and gouge golf boring. These guys are professionals and should hit fairways more often than not, and if they don't hit a fairway there should be a consequence. 

 

Players whining about course conditions reminds me of an interview I saw once with Nicklaus. He was referring to a US Open he played in and the number of players who were complaining about the course. He said when he teed it up on day one, he figured he had only 20 guys to beat. 

[TLUBulldogGolf]

12 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

Here’s a video of the rough. That’s some very shaggy pile

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/TWlegion/status/1304182076426670085

 

 

 

Wonder how many balls will be lost due to no crowds, potentially fewer spotters (not sure if that will be the case).

[thatsmybikepunk]

Phil...at Winged Foot...hold on tight!

[ATLgopher]

2 hours ago, davep043 said:

Feherty isn't exactly going out on a limb, is he?  Players always whine when conditions are tough.  My personal prediction is that a rather vocal group of WRXers will whine that the USGA has completely botched the course set-up "just like they always do".

Nailed it. Can’t wait to hear from our resident super intendents 

[DFS PFD]

Seems all pro sports have become nothing but whining, had enough of it for say... a lifetime? 

[QuigleyDU]

4 hours ago, manku said:

Can someone explain what makes Winged Foot so great...aside from it's history and proximity to NYC...great conditioning and long rough does not a course make.

 

I've been watching the flyover videos...and every hole looks the same.  In fact, thinking back to 1984 (first PGA even I ever watched on TV) and 2006 opens, as well as the PGA, I can't recall a single hole as being memorable.   Compare that to the some others on eastern Long Island, or even places like Yale GC or Connecticut GC which are dramatic and varied.  Even a muni like Bethpage I could describe a handful of holes ?

 

Or is it a case of just a tough, straightforward test that can handle the crowds easily?

 

 

 

 

I think you summed it up with your last thought.  Looking that this the course is not particularly interesting. There could be something that makes it special that cant be seen from space though. I have never been there so I wont judge too much. 

 

[Shilgy]

6 hours ago, manku said:

Can someone explain what makes Winged Foot so great...aside from it's history and proximity to NYC...great conditioning and long rough does not a course make.

 

I've been watching the flyover videos...and every hole looks the same.  In fact, thinking back to 1984 (first PGA even I ever watched on TV) and 2006 opens, as well as the PGA, I can't recall a single hole as being memorable.   Compare that to the some others on eastern Long Island, or even places like Yale GC or Connecticut GC which are dramatic and varied.  Even a muni like Bethpage I could describe a handful of holes ?

 

Or is it a case of just a tough, straightforward test that can handle the crowds easily?

 

 

I have read it is the green complexes that truly make the course great.

 

Personally, aka in my opinion, the pros do not whine because the course setup is difficult. They do whine when the course is taken over the edge, like at Shinnecock every d*mn time. When that happens quality is not rewarded. If a great shot is not rewarded it is not a good test. Anyone can set up a course to make the scores go up. Winged Foot, and Olympia Fields a few weeks ago, can be set up in a difficult but fair manner.

[widow-maker]

21 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

I have read it is the green complexes that truly make the course great.

 

Personally, aka in my opinion, the pros do not whine because the course setup is difficult. They do whine when the course is taken over the edge, like at Shinnecock every d*mn time. When that happens quality is not rewarded. If a great shot is not rewarded it is not a good test. Anyone can set up a course to make the scores go up. Winged Foot, and Olympia Fields a few weeks ago, can be set up in a difficult but fair manner.

There's a lot of "rub of the green" on links courses where a good shot gets a bad bounce and you end up in an unplayable lie.  It's been a part of golf since the beginnings of the game.  Everybody who plays in a US Open knows exactly what the USGA is going to do.  You either deal with it or succumb to it.  But it's not their intention to set the course up fairly.  Their intention is to find the best golfer and they believe that the harshest conditions will identify that golfer.  

[Golfingfanatic]

Pretty good look at the greens in this video by the Fried Egg. That first green looks insane.

 

[manku]

Thanks for the video...greens look crazy.   Are all the members single digits?

 

Course looks lovely (always shoot at twilight or dawn!), but I still have to say every hole looks the same!

 

Should be entertaining....looks like no rain is forecast, so course should be firm and fast.

 

[Shilgy]

1 hour ago, widow-maker said:

There's a lot of "rub of the green" on links courses where a good shot gets a bad bounce and you end up in an unplayable lie.  It's been a part of golf since the beginnings of the game.  Everybody who plays in a US Open knows exactly what the USGA is going to do.  You either deal with it or succumb to it.  But it's not their intention to set the course up fairly.  Their intention is to find the best golfer and they believe that the harshest conditions will identify that golfer.  

Yes, I agree links golf is that way. Is a  typical US course designed to play that way though? I think not. Hard is one thing. Silly is another. Do you believe Shinnecock was a good way to identify the best player? Like I posted before anyone can make a course difficult. Links courses still identify the best player. I was at Portrush and it was crazy hard...but great shots were rewarded. The times the US version have essentially lost the course were not good setups. If you enjoy that version of the game you are entitled to your opinion and we can just disagree. 

[widow-maker]

39 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

Yes, I agree links golf is that way. Is a  typical US course designed to play that way though? I think not. Hard is one thing. Silly is another. Do you believe Shinnecock was a good way to identify the best player? Like I posted before anyone can make a course difficult. Links courses still identify the best player. I was at Portrush and it was crazy hard...but great shots were rewarded. The times the US version have essentially lost the course were not good setups. If you enjoy that version of the game you are entitled to your opinion and we can just disagree. 

 

US Open courses are not typical US course designs.  They aren't meant to be easy.  You don't see green complexes at most US courses that rival what you see at Winged Foot, Oakmont, Shinnecock.  They are not trying to give us a "fair" test of golf.  They want the course to be right on the edge of chaos.  But in the course of doing that, 

 it sometimes crosses over the edge.... like Shinnecock.  It becomes survival of the fittest.  That's the US Open.  Why should they change something that is so richly imbued in American golf lore?  Are there people who don't like it?  Sure.  But they don't care.  It's been a huge success because it's a one of it's kind event.  If they made it more like any other tournament, it wouldn't be the US Open.  It's charm is in it's wickedness.   As much as people complain about it, ratings would suggest that they don't stop watching.  It's like gawking at a car accident.  It's the anti-Masters.  And there's nothing wrong with that because they all face the same adversity.