Nonlinear FC wrote:
That course was just stupid. And the greens were in HORRIBLE condition. I like when the US Open challenges the players... legitimately. Not sure if you guys saw Snedeker's putt? Ball was on a decent line from about 15-20 feet out, hit ... I dunno, a pebble, divot? ... hopped into the air and veered 10 feet offline. I've never seen anything like it, even on the dog tracks I play on. And it was more that guys were putting decent lines and just being diverted 2-3 or more inches. You'd have a better chance at mini-golf courses... At least your lines are clean when you're hitting into the clown mouth.
This was my main issue. Even less for me on the condition of the greens and more the layout and design of both those and some fairways. It should be a tough test, but when you land your ball on the fairway, 40 yards away from a hazard, and the ball just rolls into it anyway, that's not a test it's a gimmick. When you've got guys hitting balls into greens and having them roll backwards and down to the hole or away from the hole because there are multiple 30 degree grades in the green, it's a gimmick.
It's hard to be mad because every golfer out there played the same course, and I think it's hard to argue the most deserving man didn't win. Spieth deserved every bit of it. I really thought Louie was going to be in it there before both Spieth and DJ made the green on 18 in 2.
The course was indeed stupid. It was too easy except for crazy bounces, rolls from the middle of the fairway into bunkers and bad greens. If it wasn't for that, the scores would have been -20. There were more than 30 eagles all week. Oosty shot -11 on the final 3 days. It wasn't challenging, it was just dumb.
Justin Rose won at Merion in 2013 with +1 and it was considered one of the best challenges in this era.
Kung Fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene..
Nonlinear FC wrote:I think Fox got a little bit screwed by that crazy ass course. A more "traditional" course would also have (likely) a lot more spotters with knowledge how and where to set up for different holes. Because I need to have a reason to hang the whole "I can't tell where the ball is going or what hole I'm on and I've been watching coverage for over 10 hours and I should know that stuff by now" aspect on something.
The commentary was just kind of there. I don't hate Joe Buck like so many, but I also don't really care for him much... He doesn't distract from the overall coverage, but he's just kind of there. Same thing with Norman... Not obnoxious, but just didn't seem to bring much.
That course was just stupid. And the greens were in HORRIBLE condition. I like when the US Open challenges the players... legitimately. Not sure if you guys saw Snedeker's putt? Ball was on a decent line from about 15-20 feet out, hit ... I dunno, a pebble, divot? ... hopped into the air and veered 10 feet offline. I've never seen anything like it, even on the dog tracks I play on. And it was more that guys were putting decent lines and just being diverted 2-3 or more inches. You'd have a better chance at mini-golf courses... At least your lines are clean when you're hitting into the clown mouth.
That hop was horrendous, but I wasn't as sour on the greens as most. I didn't think that Sneds putt went offline 10 feet, but rather just slowed down instead. I could be wrong though.
Until everything is less insane, I'm mixing weed with wine.
"Regarding quality, nothing induces more to the charm of the game than perfect putting greens. Some should be large, but the majority should be of moderate size, some flat, some hillocky, one or two at an angle; but the greatest majority should have natural undulations, some more and others less undulating. It is absolutely essential that the turf should be very fine so the ball will run perfectly true."
ALISTER MACKENZIE
"All men can stand adversity. If you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln
1) He was putting from off the green
a. I may have missed it, but I don't think the broadcast mentioned that.
b. Another example of this course being stupid. You should, at a minimum, be able to discern where the fairway, rough and green start and stop.
2) This was a sprinkler head.
a. How did Snedeker miss that in his walk thru?
b. I don't have a second point here.
3) Yes, the hop slowed the ball down... The result was that the ball tumbled down some catch basin and actually wound up almost farther away than where he started. He doubled the hole and it killed the mini-run he was on.
Conclusion - Not really an issue with the green in this instance, I guess. Also have to put some of this on Snedeker... Was the sprinkler hidden somehow?
You can lead a horse to fish, but you can't fish out a horse.
Why would there be a sprinkler head right there? Defined greens or not, the sprinkler head's on what is pretty clearly a putting surface. It's like 15 feet from the hole!
Rex wrote:Why would there be a sprinkler head right there? Defined greens or not, the sprinkler head's on what is pretty clearly a putting surface. It's like 15 feet from the hole!
Many if not most courses put sprinklers in the fringe areas of greens.
"All men can stand adversity. If you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln
degenerasian wrote:The course was indeed stupid. It was too easy except for crazy bounces, rolls from the middle of the fairway into bunkers and bad greens. If it wasn't for that, the scores would have been -20. There were more than 30 eagles all week. Oosty shot -11 on the final 3 days. It wasn't challenging, it was just dumb.
Justin Rose won at Merion in 2013 with +1 and it was considered one of the best challenges in this era.
Merion 2013 was probably my favorite major of the past five years or so. This Open was great for drama, but not without its issues as have been pointed out.
BUT, there were a lot of guys making putts on that back nine. Just not a whole lot of the guys who were saddled with the pressure. That bomb by Spieth late on 16 (or was it 15?) was about the only putt a guy with a chance made. Oosthuizen was on fire with his irons so his putts were much closer.
Hold on, I'm trying to see if Jack London ever gets this fire built or not.
