Winged Foot West Course

[tiderider]

this is a magnificent looking course ... a unique combination of terrain, room to lengthen and sub air controlled greens ... the par threes are outstanding, imo ... and the greens look very difficult, almost raised/elevated due to the back/front slope and bunkering on the sides ... 

 

 

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/us-open-2020-why-winged-foot-is-special

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/winged-foot-golf-club-greens-interactive (this is kind of neat; get to see some putts and the severe slope that they take)

 

https://golf.com/travel/gil-hanse-winged-foot-tour/ 

[clp34vmp]

I've played it many times, though unfortunately not for a long, long time. I'd love to get another crack at it after the recent restoration. I agree it looks phenomenal right now. Very excited to watch this week. I was last there during the US Amateur Four-ball in 2016 - when my avatar photo was taken - and was really looking forward to being there for Open week this year....oh well. It's definitely the hardest course that I've ever played. I love Bethpage Black, but if I had to shoot a good score I'd play it over Winged Foot West any day because the greens at Winged Foot are just absolutely brutal. For an erratic putter like me they're the stuff of nightmares.

[MattyO1984]

It looks absolutely sensational. If someone asked me to think of a stereotypical US Open course, this is what I would come up with in my head.

[DFS PFD]

Wow how many 450+ par 4's are there? Course looks phenomenal, just the length combined with the rough with tough greens could get out of hand...

[Hankshank]

Remember, if fuzzy, 2006. As i remember it, last 4-5 holes(the really interesting ones)had the Pinehurst/Firestone plague: only long par fours in the woods, no water, ravines. Everyone says: a good test of golf. I don’t know. Courses like that has sigificantly less risk-reward, compared to eg Augusta 10-16. I like brain, i like to see players really having a hard time deciding which shot to take. I am not saying there is no such factor, Phil made decisions on 18, remember it well. And greens need exact approaches. But I dont remember catastrophy holes like Amen corner. Just difficult but obvious shots all the time. And mostly pars or bogeys. 

 

Then again, I dont exactly remember it as Pinehurst boring. And it was a long time ago. Holes have probably changed. Looks like a DJ course on the video above
 

Edited September 15, 2020 by Hankshank

[TMoakley1547]

A beautiful, extremely difficult looking golf course. Looks well worth its top 100 in the world ranking. I do find the rectangular shape of alot of the greens to be visually off-putting.

[ebk]

I remember 1974 US Open.  The course won.

[Hankshank]

Swap in/out? 6-9 do have some variation. 15-18 are just long par fours.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Hankshank

[tiderider]

1 hour ago, Hankshank said:

Swap in/out? 6-9 do have some variation. 15-18 are just long par fours.

what's wrong with a finish of long, demanding par 4s? ... this is golf's toughest test ... a longish, demanding par 4 is the best test ... got to hit a good drive, a good mid/short iron and a solid putt just to get a par ... that's US Open golf! ... 

Edited September 16, 2020 by tiderider

[smashdn]

23 minutes ago, tiderider said:

what's wrong with a finish of long, demanding par 4s? ... this is golf's toughest test ... a longish, demanding par 4 is the best test ... got to hit a good drive, a good mid/short iron and a solid putt just to get a par ... that's US Open golf! ... 

 

Hopefully, they set it up where there is a decision hole in that last 3-4 holes where aggressive play executed well might yield a birdie.  That could be huge and potentially create a lot of excitement and drama to close.

[Oliver Klozoff]

Played it twice. 

 

The first time I was impressed with the club, which truly is a golfing club.  I loved the greens, but I thought it was boring off the tee.  Shot 74 from one tee up (~6900) and putted lights out. 

 

Three years later I played it again, and changed my opinion.  It's simply a wonderful golf course.  Very hard.  But I learned my lesson the first time.  There are a lot of turns in the fairway at about 275.  So hitting driver put me just through the fairways in my first visit.  This time I hit more 3-woods.  I assume from the tips the pros will do the same thing.  There are no weak holes.  Some great green complexes.  Some wonderful holes like 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, and 18.  #15 is my favorite hole.  The green complex is so cool.  #1 also has an interesting green but too bad we won't see it much on TV. 

 

FWIW, the East course has more interesting greens.  But the West is truly a US Open layout.

[tiderider]

10 hours ago, Oliver Klozoff said:

Played it twice. 

 

The first time I was impressed with the club, which truly is a golfing club.  I loved the greens, but I thought it was boring off the tee.  Shot 74 from one tee up (~6900) and putted lights out. 

 

Three years later I played it again, and changed my opinion.  It's simply a wonderful golf course.  Very hard.  But I learned my lesson the first time.  There are a lot of turns in the fairway at about 275.  So hitting driver put me just through the fairways in my first visit.  This time I hit more 3-woods.  I assume from the tips the pros will do the same thing.  There are no weak holes.  Some great green complexes.  Some wonderful holes like 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, and 18.  #15 is my favorite hole.  The green complex is so cool.  #1 also has an interesting green but too bad we won't see it much on TV. 

 

FWIW, the East course has more interesting greens.  But the West is truly a US Open layout.

would be something to be a member of a club with two world class/ranked courses ... sunningdale and wf are about it, i think ... 

[freowho]

13 hours ago, Oliver Klozoff said:

Played it twice. 

 

The first time I was impressed with the club, which truly is a golfing club.  I loved the greens, but I thought it was boring off the tee.  Shot 74 from one tee up (~6900) and putted lights out. 

 

Three years later I played it again, and changed my opinion.  It's simply a wonderful golf course.  Very hard.  But I learned my lesson the first time.  There are a lot of turns in the fairway at about 275.  So hitting driver put me just through the fairways in my first visit.  This time I hit more 3-woods.  I assume from the tips the pros will do the same thing.  There are no weak holes.  Some great green complexes.  Some wonderful holes like 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, and 18.  #15 is my favorite hole.  The green complex is so cool.  #1 also has an interesting green but too bad we won't see it much on TV. 

 

FWIW, the East course has more interesting greens.  But the West is truly a US Open layout.

Good post.

I think as armchair experts we get sucked in by the "postcard" golf courses like Augusta and Pebble Beach that look magnificent on the TV. I love the postcard golf course as much as anyone but I still find the best golf to play is on gently undulating land where the interest is subtle and the walk is enjoyable. As you said it took you the second game to understand what the hole was asking. A good hole encourages you to play shots without making it obvious where the trouble is. 

[Cousin]

The tiers on some of those greens are crazy. Also the shapes of the greens are very different. Squared off with huge entries at the front from the fairway. Excited for the show!  
 

Also- are those bunkers 50 yards short of the greens on the par 3s called the members’ bunkers??

[farmer]

A little OT, but without spectators, I get a better sense of how the course flows.  There's been some great views that would have been blocked by spectators.

[tiderider]

not off topic at all ... another good point, in a long line of many, of how golfers enjoy viewing golf on tv without those annoying things called "fans" ... i'm sure there will be a net gain from having fans back, but have said and continue to say that if you polled golfers anonymously, the majority would prefer no fans, unless it's augusta/the memorial/maybe arnie's place ... 

[tiderider]

 

[Titleist99]

On 9/15/2020 at 4:23 PM, MattyO1984 said:

It looks absolutely sensational. If someone asked me to think of a stereotypical US Open course, this is what I would come up with in my head.

And that clubhouse is majestic! Made from stones and bricks from the excavation of material during the creation of the golf course.

[Shriner]

1 hour ago, tiderider said:

not off topic at all ... another good point, in a long line of many, of how golfers enjoy viewing golf on tv without those annoying things called "fans" ... i'm sure there will be a net gain from having fans back, but have said and continue to say that if you polled golfers anonymously, the majority would prefer no fans, unless it's augusta/the memorial/maybe arnie's place ... 

This is the one sport I am enjoying during the pandemic.  Baseball, basketball and now football; all lack energy without fans to the point I can't watch.  Golf is the opposite for me...no lucky bounces off of fans, no trampled down grass for good lies for horrible shots and no interference with noise.  Amazing experience...

[Shriner]

1 hour ago, Titleist99 said:

And that clubhouse is majestic! Made from stones and bricks from the excavation of material during the creation of the golf course.

 

Agreed.  Absolutely gorgeous clubhouse...would love to walk through there just once.

[elwhippy]

Our group chat last night had nothing but praise for the course and the classy clubhouse. This is my idea of an upscale club. 

[farmer]

13 hours ago, Shriner said:

This is the one sport I am enjoying during the pandemic.  Baseball, basketball and now football; all lack energy without fans to the point I can't watch.  Golf is the opposite for me...no lucky bounces off of fans, no trampled down grass for good lies for horrible shots and no interference with noise.  Amazing experience...

Watching just now, BdC had a chop out from an area where the fans would have beaten down the grass.

[James the Hogan Fan]

On 9/17/2020 at 4:59 AM, tiderider said:

would be something to be a member of a club with two world class/ranked courses ... sunningdale and wf are about it, i think ... 

Baltusrol meets the definition doesn't it? Olympic comes close but the Ocean course isn't ranked. Hosted the 4-ball though.

[tiderider]

20 minutes ago, James the Hogan Fan said:

Baltusrol meets the definition doesn't it? Olympic comes close but the Ocean course isn't ranked. Hosted the 4-ball though.

not 'world ranked' ... probably not even ranked in the US (both) ... i'm sure they are very nice courses, tho ... both sunningdale courses are ranked in every top 100 ranking, for the most part ... wf east might ranked in only several/a few top 100 ...