DJ, The USGA, and Green Speeds

The conclusion of the US Open at Oakmont was a stirring finish to a great tournament.  First, we had Dustin Johnson winning his first major.  We also had a bizarre rules fiasco going on during the final round.  And then we had some of the most treacherous greens on the planet.

Before we get into that let’s look at the golf course.  Oakmont is my favorite inland course I’ve played in the United States.  I’ve walked Augusta, but I have never seen Pine Valley, so I can’t judge those right now.  Cypress Point is my favorite US course, but it is hard for any course to compete with that setting of ocean, dunes, and woodlands.  They could play the US Open at Oakmont every year and I’d be happy with that.

DJ

Dustin went out and won this tournament.  He played great the whole week and bounced back from any bad holes.  I think he learned a lot from last year’s lost to Spieth.  He kept in the moment, even when the rules infraction was brought up on the twelfth tee.

I don’t know if anyone would have picked DJ to win a US Open at a course like Oakmont.  Tight fairways and fast greens.  He can bomb it out there, but most thought he wouldn’t be able to keep it in play.  It just shows that with talent like that, you can always put it together for one week.  He did that.

The USGA

I waited an extra day before writing this to see more reaction on the ruling put in place for DJ’s ball moving on the fifth green.  I’m now glad I did.  We have heard many pundits reaction, fan reaction, and now even the USGA reacted again.  Their latest stance was that the ruling they made was correct, but they should have enforced it right away instead of waiting until the end of the round.

I can agree with that.  Why have all of this hanging out there for all the golfers.  What I don’t agree with is that the movement of the ball warranted a penalty.  Yes, he soled his club on the side of the ball.  So how does that cause the ball to move backwards?  I think it was more a result of the course conditions.  I'm sure everyone is glad it didn't impact the final result.

Green Speeds

Oakmont is known for fast greens.  They are some of the best around.  When I played there you were put in awe with the slopes and speed.  You do get used to the speed, but you are putting defensive all day.  The saying is true that when putting at Oakmont, you worry about your second putt before you hit the first one.

But are we at a point where speeds are getting out of control.  Nicklaus said when he won there the speeds were 10 and that was fast.  In 2007 there were at 12.  This year they tried to get them to 14.  If you are triple cutting and rolling each green to achieve a speed, you may be letting your ego to protect par get the best of you.  I hope we are not heading down a slippery slope on these speeds. (Pardon the pun.)

I think these speeds and conditions are what caused DJ’s ball to move.  When you have them that smooth and fast there is not much there to keep your ball in place.  I’m surprised it didn’t happen more out there.  Perhaps if it hadn’t rained on Thursday.

In conclusion, it turned out to be a great US Open.  We had many in contention at the end, most of whom have not won a major.  It came down to the guy that kept his head.  My only regret was that the rain impacted the play of the course.  It would have been a lot of fun seeing these golfers play on firm and fast Oakmont.  Maybe that will happen when they return in 2025.