2017 US Open- Erin Hills

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
It is Open week.

I don't know too much about the golf course. From what I've read, it will play around 7,800 yards. Four par 5's, and this is the first par 72 in an Open in 25 years. Rough deep as hell, but that's how the USGA rolls. Not sure what other tricks Mike Davis has in store for the tournament.

Lefty intends on WDing to attend his daughters high school graduation. He hasn't done so yet. The USGA graciously gave him a late tee time on Thursday (3:20 est). Apparently he would need about a 4 hour delay on Thursday to make things work and there is the possibility of rain and Thunderstorms in the forecast.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
For me, that's driver, put on a tee again and hit another driver, then a 3-wood and I may be there. If I played a hole like that in a US Open set up, I think I'd be happy with a 12.

On the card, the shortest par 5 is 594.
 

Zomp

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Aug 28, 2006
13,942
The Slums of Shaolin
I think sometimes the USGA is too focused on "ITS THE US OPEN NOBODY UNDER PAR!!!!1!!!" and it makes for a shitty viewing experience.

Take 18 for example. Nobody is hitting that thing in 2. But if they move the tee up and give guys a chance it could make for great theater.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
Gotta wonder if it'll get to the point where officials advise taking provisionals any time the ball flies into the fescue. I can imagine Thursday / Friday being painfully slow if guys are constantly going up, looking for their ball, not finding it, and going back to the previous spot to take a penalty and play on.
 

Average Reds

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 24, 2007
35,330
Southwestern CT
It's worth remembering that each hole will be heavily staffed with marshals to help find wayward drives. They'll find almost every ball.

Edit: going to revise my opinion after seeing a few more videos. There may be more than a few provisionals played this week ...
 
Last edited:

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
I think sometimes the USGA is too focused on "ITS THE US OPEN NOBODY UNDER PAR!!!!1!!!" and it makes for a shitty viewing experience.

Take 18 for example. Nobody is hitting that thing in 2. But if they move the tee up and give guys a chance it could make for great theater.
Yeah, this has a feeling similar to Chambers Bay that they basically built the course to be as hard as possible and directly to host an Open. Then they ended up moving tees up and the players bitched all week about the conditions.
 

HoyaSoxa

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,252
Needham, Mass
So I guess Kevin Na won't be on my DK team this week. That fescue looks brutal, but what isn't clear is how tight the fairways are. In other words, how bad a shot do you need to hit to get that penalty? The pictures I have seen are certainly more attractive than what we saw at Chambers Bay - so long as the greens are good (and I have not heard any complaints) it should be a fair test.
 

Freddy Linn

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
9,151
Where it rains. No, seriously.
So I guess Kevin Na won't be on my DK team this week. That fescue looks brutal, but what isn't clear is how tight the fairways are. In other words, how bad a shot do you need to hit to get that penalty? The pictures I have seen are certainly more attractive than what we saw at Chambers Bay - so long as the greens are good (and I have not heard any complaints) it should be a fair test.
Chambers Bay is a links course. Erin Hills isn't. Yes, they both have long fescue rough, but Chambers has fescue greens and Erin Hills has bentgrass. I wouldn't try to compare them based on looks because they aren't going to look similar under any conditions, by design.
 

Byrdbrain

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
8,588
If you can find the ball.
Yeah it will be interesting to see how many "lost balls" will need to be taken from there and if people play a provisional every time they hit in the fescue. I assume most of that will be "inside the ropes" so it isn't like you'll have a bunch of fans in there able to look. If you, your caddie and a couple marshals can't find it then back to the tee you go.
 

HoyaSoxa

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,252
Needham, Mass
Chambers Bay is a links course. Erin Hills isn't. Yes, they both have long fescue rough, but Chambers has fescue greens and Erin Hills has bentgrass. I wouldn't try to compare them based on looks because they aren't going to look similar under any conditions, by design.
Yeah, I mostly made the Chambers Bay comparison in response to Papelbon's Poutine, but the difference in the turf on the greens is a real distinction. And not to be too pedantic (ok, being completely pedantic), neither course is a "true links" and both have some links-like features that make them quite different from a parkland course.

I wonder whether the better comparison for tee to green might be something like Carnoustie, which has the most brutal rough of any of the Open rota, or at least it did in 1999 when Lawrie, Leonard and (who could forget?) Van de Velde led the way at +6. Of course that track was playing 7300 yards or so and Par 71.
 
Last edited:

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
I think the players are good enough to avoid the fesuce. The fairways are apparently wider than a typical major, and these guys are good enough to avoid that kind of danger. Spotters and gallery being around or not, I don't think there's much of a chance of finding a ball hit in there unless it lands directly at someone's foot.
 

HoyaSoxa

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,252
Needham, Mass
Mike Davis answers my question re: width:

Davis said the fairways are considerably wider than most U.S. Open courses, thus marginalizing whatever rough exists at Erin Hills. “If you were to pace off the width and compare it to, say, a Winged Foot or Pebble Beach or Oakmont, I dare say they’re 50 percent wider – and in some cases they’re easily double the width,” he said.
Some other useful info in there re: set-up (e.g. they don't think the greens will be crazy-fast). It certainly doesn't sound like the USGA wants it to be diabolical.
 

doldmoose34

impregnated Melissa Theuriau
SoSH Member
To the players in this weeks open, I feel your pain, the 'Walk is Hudrzan Fry design and it was borderline unfair when it opened 20 years ago. Now it's just the best place to have a 'cap from

I tried to attach the picture of my bag tag that says Hudrzan Fry but couldn't get it to go... at a tournament a couple years ago a guy said that's a great tag how much was it? He almost shit when I said $1100... it's for passholders
 
Last edited:
I think it was Geoff Shackelford who pointed out that having a links course for the US Open quite noticeably tilts the normal balance with regard to the types of golf courses played each year in the majors. I love links golf and wide-open courses with few or no trees, but I also like the traditional inland courses as well and think it's a shame (now that the PGA tends to be held on more modern courses) when a year goes by without a major at a course like Oakmont or Winged Foot or Merion.

In fact, just for fun, here's my ranking of the courses on which the US Open has been played since 1980, the sole criteria being how much I've enjoyed watching US Opens played at them under the now-typical USGA course setup (with courses I've played myself marked with an asterisk):

1. Shinnecock Hills*
2. Merion*
3. Oakmont
4. The Country Club*
5. Pebble Beach*
6. Winged Foot
7. Pinehurst No. 2
8. Olympic Club*
9. Torrey Pines
10. Bethpage Black*
11. Chambers Bay (would be lower if I factored the horrible putting surfaces into the equation)
12. Oakland Hills
13. Baltusrol
14. Oak Hill
15. Medinah
16. Hazeltine National
17. Congressional
18. Olympia Fields
19. Southern Hills

I think I'm clearly biased toward the courses I've played - e.g., TCC would probably be lower if I'd not played the course 50+ times - but I'm intrigued in compiling this list to discover how much I've actually preferred some of the more modern courses like Torrey and even Chambers Bay as set up by Mike Davis relative to the traditional parkland courses as set up more back in the 80s and 90s. Say what you will about Davis, but I find he manages to make the US Open courses incredibly watchable nearly every year, even when the golfers themselves don't oblige (e.g., when Kaymer blew everyone away at Pinehurst a few years ago).

Incidentally, the next time the US Open will be played at a course not on the above list will be 2023, when Los Angeles CC will host its first major - and before then we get Shinny, Pebble, Winged Foot, Torrey and a return to Brookline. Good times.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
I think the players are good enough to avoid the fesuce. The fairways are apparently wider than a typical major, and these guys are good enough to avoid that kind of danger. Spotters and gallery being around or not, I don't think there's much of a chance of finding a ball hit in there unless it lands directly at someone's foot.
That is where I feel. I never get the complaint about the fescue, or rough at an open, unless it is unfair. I seem to remember some holes at Olympic, where it was basically impossible to put a ball on a fairway, well in that case having brutal rough is unfair.

But I am with Rory, if you are a pro and can't hit a 60 yard wide fairway you deserve to lose a stroke or two

One of my biggest frustrations with golf as a golf fan is player one hits a nice shots, it catches a bad hop, and ends up with a terrible lie in the rough a foot off the fairway. Player 2 hits a brutal hook and misses the fairway by 60 yards, (or 20, etc), and ends up with a perfect lie and an easy attack to the green. I know it is just part of the luck of the game, but the game should reward great shots, and Punish poor shots
 

johnmd20

mad dog
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 30, 2003
61,996
New York City
I'm a little surprised at Phil Mickelson's decision here. If he was 34, it would make some sense, but he's going to be 47 years old on Friday. This could literally be his last chance to win an Open, although his last chance is probably already behind him. That, above all else, is probably why he's skipping it.

I remember plenty about my high school graduation but the one thing I cannot remember is where my parents fit into it. I wanted to party and hang out with my friends and stay up all night and maybe get some alone time with my girlfriend.

This whole thing about "Phil needs a 4 hour delay to play," is also pretty ridiculous. Thanks for the drama Phil. So you're not withdrawing but you're not playing, unless it rains? Just play the tourney. I even wonder about what his daughter thinks. Does she want this hanging over her head?

Anyway, old man yells at cloud. I get it. I'm still baffled. It's a high school graduation, not potentially life ending surgery.
 

BrotherMouzone

New Member
Aug 2, 2010
141
I'm a little surprised at Phil Mickelson's decision here. If he was 34, it would make some sense, but he's going to be 47 years old on Friday. This could literally be his last chance to win an Open, although his last chance is probably already behind him. That, above all else, is probably why he's skipping it.

I remember plenty about my high school graduation but the one thing I cannot remember is where my parents fit into it. I wanted to party and hang out with my friends and stay up all night and maybe get some alone time with my girlfriend.

This whole thing about "Phil needs a 4 hour delay to play," is also pretty ridiculous. Thanks for the drama Phil. So you're not withdrawing but you're not playing, unless it rains? Just play the tourney. I even wonder about what his daughter thinks. Does she want this hanging over her head?

Anyway, old man yells at cloud. I get it. I'm still baffled. It's a high school graduation, not potentially life ending surgery.
She's speaking at the commencement. If it was me and my kid was speaking at a graduation, I sure as hell wouldn't miss it for a work-related thing, despite what someone on a message board tells me what I should do.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
I think it was Merion, but Mickelson almost missed one for a middle school graduation. He took a red eye across the country and landed something like 45 minutes before his tee time. I can't blame the guy for this, he clearly values these family events, and his daughter is giving a speech. I wouldn't want to miss that. My only issue is if he's keeping a spot away from an alternate on the off chance he gets the delay he needs. I'm not sure how the alternates work in majors though.

Erin Hills is an unknown for Phil. Next 2 years are Shinnecock and Pebble. He'll have a crack at those 2.
 

HoyaSoxa

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,252
Needham, Mass
I think Phil should go to his daughter's graduation - that is what I would do in his situation. I don't think he should be making the graduation all about him, and I don't think his daughter or anyone else should be feeling under pressure to get the thing done so that he can make a tee time - pull the plug on this one, let the alternate play, give him Bones as his caddy, then rent out the nicest restaurant in San Diego for a huge party in honor of his daughter and her classmates. Phil is gonna FIGJAM, and I have come to love him for it most of the time, but "putting family first" and actually being considerate of how this will make his daughter feel are not the same thing.

I notice that Rory and Day have both been outspoken in saying they want the course to play tough and saying that players who complain about the conditions can be counted out. Who knows what they actually think about the course, but at least that bit of Nicklaus wisdom has gotten through to them.
 

Clears Cleaver

Lil' Bill
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2001
11,370
His daughter is valedictorian or similar, right? She's giving a speech. He should be there. That's very big moment for her.

I think the only time these players should complain is if the greens are too hard or fast to play competitively
 

Average Reds

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 24, 2007
35,330
Southwestern CT
His daughter is valedictorian or similar, right? She's giving a speech. He should be there. That's very big moment for her.

I think the only time these players should complain is if the greens are too hard or fast to play competitively
As Hoya said, he should go to graduation and there shouldn't be any "look at me" conversations about hopping on a plane to try and make his tee time. It's maddeningly selfish no matter how you slice it.

As far as the course is concerned, its the US Open. Not supposed to be easy.
 

steveluck7

Member
SoSH Member
May 10, 2007
3,994
Burrillville, RI
... there shouldn't be any "look at me" conversations about hopping on a plane to try and make his tee time...
It's all "look at me." If it wasn't, he would have WD when he found out the date conflict. This is all about his image. He'll be talked about all day on Thursday.
"Of course this group is playing one short as Phil is missing out to attend his daughter's high school graduation"
 

Sliceboy

New Member
Aug 19, 2016
21
Fantastic that the USGA is trotting out another new course; the winning score could be anywhere between even par to -10 depending on the wind / weather. My only complaint is that the short drivers are already at a disadvantage from the first tee on Thursday. My DK squad is full of long hitters...Jon Rahm, Jason "Please don't faint" Day, Gary Woodland, Thomas "Dark horse" Pieters, etc. I honestly don't understand how Rahm hits is so far with such a short back swing.
 

The Needler

New Member
Dec 7, 2016
1,803
What surprises me is that Phil doesn't have enough juice or foresight to have had the school schedule this thing for a day earlier. It's not like Phil didn't know the U.S. Open start date years in advance.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
It's all "look at me." If it wasn't, he would have WD when he found out the date conflict. This is all about his image. He'll be talked about all day on Thursday.
"Of course this group is playing one short as Phil is missing out to attend his daughter's high school graduation"
If he doesn't make it, I assume the alternate plays, no?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
I'm a little surprised at Phil Mickelson's decision here. If he was 34, it would make some sense, but he's going to be 47 years old on Friday. This could literally be his last chance to win an Open, although his last chance is probably already behind him. That, above all else, is probably why he's skipping it.
This was my take away as well, although I disagree with your conclusion that it's a form of concession. I think he's legit that family oriented, but I still question the call because of what you say here - he only has so many legit chances left.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
What surprises me is that Phil doesn't have enough juice or foresight to have had the school schedule this thing for a day earlier. It's not like Phil didn't know the U.S. Open start date years in advance.
That was my reaction. I would have though that Phil could have kicked in a hefty donation to the school 6 months ago to help defray any costs
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
USGA announced a new rules and review process this year in response to the DJ and Women's Open fiasco last year. Can't wait to see this get bungled.

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/19636840/usga-adds-video-stations-chief-referee-speed-open-rulings

There's one head official that apparently has the authority to make a decision on the spot. They have added 4 review stations on the course equipped with tablets. Finally, they've done away with having walking officials with each group. They're going to station 2-3 officials on each hole (except par 3's).

In my opinion, the on course officials should have the authority to make decisions on the spot. This seems like any problems that arise are going to be decided on by this head official. There is still video review which isn't going to expedite the process
 

ezemerson

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 19, 2013
1,541
I am envisioning a Doug Mirabelli situation for Mickelson tomorrow where he shows up just in time for his tee time
 

Average Reds

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 24, 2007
35,330
Southwestern CT
So when does Phil hold the press conference to declare that while he knows his chances at a US Open are diminishing, he doesn't regret his decision because his family is the most important part of his life? Gotta be this weekend, right?
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
So I searched the TV guide. Is this event seriously not televised until the 6-9 window tonight? Did I miss something?
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
So I searched the TV guide. Is this event seriously not televised until the 6-9 window tonight? Did I miss something?
FS1 at 11am.

There are featured groups on the US Open app. They just started. Rahm/Fowler/Hideki and then Spieth/DJ/Kaymer.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Rahm's first 2 drives went into the fescue. Found both and he was able to advance the ball out of there but made bogey on both holes.