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.

Don’t design around trees

In yet another example of why not to design a golf hole around a tree, Augusta National loses the iconic Eisenhower tree.  The tree that President Eisenhower constantly complained about, thus giving it its name, was severely damage by the ice storms in the south last week.  The tree was also the incident where Tiger Woods injured his knee in the pine straw in 2011 and missed four months and two majors.

Many will say that the tree is an important part of Augusta’s history.  I don’t know of any other tree that when you say it’s name, people know what, and where you are talking about.  Yes, it was a majestic tree, and it is always sad to lose a tree of this stature, as long as it doesn’t interfere with turf conditions.  But truth be told, the tree has had no significant impact on playing the golf hole, minus Tiger’s knee, since the concern over distance.

I always tell clients not to design a hole around a tree, because you never know if that tree will be there tomorrow.  This is living proof!  A storm, or a disease, can wipe out your signature tree.  Then you are left with a golf hole that could be void of strategy. 

What can you do about it?

 

I remember the Eisenhower tree situation being brought up in the past.  The Club has always had this tree, and others, wired for protection against lightening damage.  I’m sure they thought this day would come.  In fact, they had already planted a new tree past Ike’s tree in preparation.  That tree may poise the same problems for future tournaments like Ike’s tree did in the days before the new ball.

So, if you have a tree that you would hate to lose put a plan in place should, and when, that day happens.  It could include looking at other hazards to put strategy back into the golf hole.  That way your not in a panic when the day comes.

To see photos and a thread about Ike’s tree, go to GolfClubAtlas.com

The Polar Vortex and Golf

It’s -8 degrees as I write this blog and it’s not supposed to get above zero for the next 36 hours or so.  A Polar Vortex, they call it.  A term I’ve never heard in my 49 years on Earth, and we’ve had temperatures this cold before.  This year it has not only happened once, but this is the second time.  You’ve probably heard or said this before, “But it’s starting to get old”.  However, there may be a bright side to all of this cold weather and it’s impact on golf.

It’s only January 27 and next week the Groundhog will tell us we still have six more weeks of winter.  Fitting since the Spring Equinox is March 20.  So that means we may still have a long ways to go before winter’s over.  More days to stay inside, which means more days of cabin fever.  So my prediction is that by the time the snow melts, the grass greens up, and golf courses in the Midwest open, people will be stumbling over each other to get outdoors.

Therefore, I think golf courses will see an influx of play in April and May.  It may even be bigger then any other spring.  No matter the temperatures, people will just want to be outdoors.  It’s a good thing our course superintendents have had the long winter to get their equipment ready and recharge the batteries.  More golfers means more people to work around to get the course back in shape.  But I don’t think they’ll mind, they’ll just be glad to be outdoors themselves.
 
I hope this prediction comes true and this cold winter doesn’t mean another hot summer like 2012.  We could use a break with some normal temperatures.  I know I’m looking forward to getting back out on the course.