US Open at Merion Golf Club --Unofficial thread

I don't blame course setup at all for the high scores.  I blame the pros for hitting god awful shots and playing too conservatively.  It's not like Shinnecock where the greens couldn't hold wedges from the fairway, or Oakmont where half the par 4's were over 500 yards.  The fairways were soft, and balls were spinning on the greens. 
The pros decided that par was good enough, so they hit to the middle of every green and played irons off every tee.  The only two guys who seemed to have any balls at were Jason Day and Billy Horschel.  They actually took on some pins and putted aggressively. 
It's like how everyone feels they've got to hit bump and runs and putters from 60 yards off the green at the British Open.  They all do it, and often they won't come fucking close at all, but the crowd appreciates it and the announcers give them verbal BJ's for playing shots along the ground.  Then Stewart Cink wins by playing bomb and gouge and pisses all over the traditionalists.

Regardless of how one feels about PM, how can one not sympathize with that wild number of USGA Open runner-up finishes?

As for a temporarily resurgent but now hurting Tiger, it's the elbows following the knees and heels. All connecting tissue issues--tendon and ligaments. We know what turns those to toast.

I can't agree with the poster who criticizes Merion, although I do agree on some points.  Criticize the USGA all you want.

I'm all in favor of playing Opens on the traditional old eastern courses like Merion, Shinnecok Hills, Brookline, Pine Valley, Newport or even Long Island's National Golf Links of America.  As far as I'm concerned, 6400 yards is sufficient for a pure test of golf.  If the 460 cc drivers are completely removed from the competitors' hands, all the better. They don't belong in golf anyway. I'd have banned them long before square grooves or anchored putters.

Where I agree is that there's no need to trick up these classic courses as might the already demented Pete Dye experimenting with LSD.  They're classics. Follow the primary rule of golf and play them as they lie. If the players destroy the 280 standard, so what? They're supposed to be the best in the world.

Word.

Amen. Word. And that Vette is my fav year of all time.

This year's US Open was one of the best I have ever seen.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching 4 hours of it on Sunday.  I thought the final 3 finishing holes were outstanding and made for great drama.  Poor Mickelson.  He blew over that first 95 yard Par 3 with a wedge and bogeyed it.  Then he had another wedge to the 15th green and left himself a 50 foot putt.  WTF?  The guy can't even hit a 100 yard par 3 with a wedge?  

Justin Rose hit a magnificent shot into the green on the final hole.  

Luke Donald acted like a wimp after hitting that girl in the head.  he should have gotten her number and just agreed to call her later.  

I can't believe they showed Tiger shots when he was 14 over par.  That's stretching it a bit, even for the Tiger lovers sitting at home wearing their wife beater shirts who don't even play golf.  

I doubt if Billy Horschel will be wearing those blue Octopus pants again anytime soon.

Phil holing out that wedge from the rough for eagle was cool. It bought him maybe 30 minutes' worth of hope. Many of the others late coming in whined and wimped into top 10 finishes. Jason Duffner sported a final round 67 to finish high. I noticed that there were some 67's shot during the four days but none lower. 67 was three under. I don't remember exactly when the cameras were on Phil either right before he finished the 18th or right after but the sun was directly on his face and he looked exactly like "Sir" Paul McCartney looks today. Like 70 years old. Phil needs to get his hair cut and maybe some botox or something. I think that he gets makeup applied before the rounds and it looked like it all melted off by the end of Sunday's round. I didn't see Luke Donald hit that woman. But hey, when they are all standing alongside the fairways and the greens, they're gonna get hit. Goes with the turf. So when you hit one, you'd better damn well get a better position and lie than if the hittee weren't there. And then take advantage of your lucky break. Instead of worrying about it. Its not like the USGA and the club don't have liability insurance and there's got to be some 5 point print on your ticket saying that you waive all sorts of rights when you enter the grounds. 

They grow that type of crap rough at some courses here in the Mid-Atlantic region. And if you don't cut it and it rains a lot, it is almost impossible to hit out of with anything except a slashed sand wedge. So you take your medicine and pitch it out to the nearest patch of fairway and try to get your next shot close enough to make the putt. I saw a bunch of these pros trying to hit the greens and end up right back in that spinach. Greedy. Just like 95% of the rest of us hackers playing our weekend games.