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  1. #1
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    2015 US Golf Open

    The USGA is at it again, trying to make the course as tough as possible, but involving Robert Trent Jones Jnr??? He has been the subject of player criticism before.
    South African golfer Charl Schwartzel breaks ranks to slam US Open course Chambers Bay
    UNIVERSITY PLACE, Washington: Charl Schwartzel clearly did not receive the memo from Jack Nicklaus warning the players not to moan about this controversial US Open layout.

    But the 2011 Masters champion's tirade on the man-made "links" could just be what the rest are thinking. When asked for his impressions about the course, Schwartzel replied: "Ummm, not sure. Is it a golf course?"

    Certainly, America's national championship has never seen anything quite like it. Built on a gravel pit only eight years ago, Robert Trent Jones's creation has a wondrous setting on the Puget Sound, a sea inlet in the Pacific North West.
    Yet while it definitely has the "wow" factor, Schwartzel is clearly of the opinion it has the "ow" factor as well.
    "I think it's a course that involves a hell of a lot of luck," Schwartzel said. "You don't only win by luck of course; you need to hit good shots.

    But most guys aren't of the mindset to be able to shoot the scores you're going to see here and remain focused.
    "I think you will see a tournament won in over par, especially if it stays like this. If you get off on the wrong foot on Thursday, the hardest thing is going to be to accept what is going to happen out there."

    If the wicked bounces off the incredible mounds and undulations will be one distraction and the vast elevation changes which actually define it from a classic British links another, Schwartzel feels the putting surfaces will cause most headaches.

    "You play a golf course like Muirfield Village [which hosted the Memorial two weeks ago] and you've got the most perfect putting surfaces you could ask for and then you come to the US Open and you've got surfaces that a good putt doesn't really matter," the South African said.

    "They roll so badly that a good putt misses and a bad one goes in. That's the most difficult part for us. You practise and a good putt goes in the hole, so you're going to have to work on accepting what is going to happen out there. You'll just have to be mentally stronger, I suppose."

    Of course, Nicklaus would claim that the "mentally strong" would never utter anything so negative.

    Last week, the 18-time major champion said: "When they said, I don't like the course, I checked him off. Oh, the fairways are too narrow? Check him off. The fairways are too sloppy? Check him off. The greens are too fast? Check him off. It's not supposed to suit your game. You are supposed to suit your game to the golf course."

    While this might make sense, Schwartzel is only being honest and the whispers from the locker room do suggest he is not alone in his worries.

    Ian Poulter, who played Chambers Bay for the first time yesterday, said last month that reports back from the pros who made early visits suggested it was set to be "a complete farce".

    Quirky it most definitely is. The first will be a par four one day and a par five the next, with the 18th flipping to keep the course a par 70.

    The course could be as long as 7,900 yards or as short as 7,200, with the par-three 15th varying between 246 and 123 yards.

    The ninth will either be played downhill or uphill and, if all this is not wacky enough, then it is difficult to tell where the greens begin and end.

    Little white dots signify the boundaries of the greens, meaning that players will constantly be asking whether they can mark their balls.

    That will only add to the lengths of the rounds, which some are predicting will take six hours plus.

    It is an understatement to call this a challenging walk and with the dramatic elevations the fear is someone out there, fan, player, caddie, media member or official, could get hurt.

    What does seem certain is that plenty of players' pride will be wounded.

    Jason Day, the world No.10, believes the number of golfing casualties is in the hands of the USGA executive director, Mike Davis. "The course is on the edge now," Day said.

    "It's amazing - there's a lot of pitch and undulation on the greens and you even have to have imagination to see where the greens are with the little white dots defining their boundaries. They're gonna get quick, but I'm hoping the USGA don't lose them."

    The bumpy fescue greens must not be allowed to become too quick, although a warm spell has given the layout a brown links look. Davis must be generous with the set-up.

    After Tiger Woods's run of form he will obviously be hoping for some mercy.

    Woods is limiting his practice sessions here this week to nine holes. "You feel like you've played 18 after you've played nine, anyway, because every hole seems to be uphill," he said. "And I don't want to walk eight miles each day."

    Telegraph, London

  2. #2
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    Leaderboard

    Jordan Spieth -5
    Patrick Reed -5
    Branden Grace -4
    Dustin Johnson -4

    20 of the last 25 winners have come from the first five at the cut. However the cut was +5 and in the old days anybody who was within 10 shots of the leader made the cut anyway.

    My pick is Spieth, he has the game for the course but Patrick reed has proven staying power. That will be needed on the worst greens since Shinnacock NY, they are a bloody disgrace.

    Also Cyrille's favourite golfer made the cut

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    I think it's a fookin' fabulous lay-out.

    They must be mentally and physically fooked when they finish their last hole.

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    Quote Originally Posted by charleyboy
    I think it's a fookin' fabulous lay-out.
    Yes it is very picturesque...the designer Robert Trent-Jones Jnr is good at courses like that...pity he didn't consider that you cannot grow British links grasses on NW American greens...they are a bloody disgrace...the great Jack Nicklaus told the pros not to complain because it is the same course for everybody...which is true...but the greens are still a bloody disgrace...my local club greens are better than that...it will hamper players who rely on a good putting game but reward players who are good shot makers and can get it close...and of course tough bastards who can ignore shit greens...such as Patrick Reed...my pick still is Spieth

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    ^The greens are fescue according to what I have read. Poa Annua has crept in giving them a blotchy appearance. This happens to a lot of greens on the west coast. Are British links courses fescue? I assumed they were bent grass.

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    The greens are pathetic.

    They're more guesswork than skill.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Humbert
    Poa Annua has crept in giving them a blotchy appearance.
    When Poa is mixed with other grasses it is hard to get it flat

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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    The greens are pathetic.

    They're more guesswork than skill.
    Perfectly put, slow-mo replays of putts show the balls are spending plenty of time off the ground jumping and turning in all sorts of direction. Whoever wins this will be the guy who had the most GIR's and then the most luck, not the guy who's the best putter that started his putts on the right line at the right pace.

    We can go down the road of "it's the same for everyone" but it must be killing the guys who hit the perfect putt when their ball is dead on line then takes a jump to the left/right a few inches from the hole...

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    Thailand Expat Storekeeper's Avatar
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    Sitting here and watching this and I'm just amazed at how brown the course is ... Not representing the "Evergreen State" well at all.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Storekeeper
    I'm just amazed at how brown the course is .
    That's because its a "pasture," not a golf course.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx
    We can go down the road of "it's the same for everyone"
    That was Jack Nicklaus saying that...I think the USGA dragged him in for a bit of support...to be fair that was his mantra so his opinion is clearly honest...but that does not excuse the USGA for making such a stuff up...they have known about these greens for years and have been burying their heads in the sand...I don't know how much input Robert Trent Jones Jnr had into the makeup of the greens...my guess is quote a lot and he never was an environmentalist...he still believes he can change any environment...I remember the World Cup of Golf in Auckland years ago...he designed the course...Gulf Harbour...he must have visited it on a calm day...and then plonked pearly white bunkers all over the place and tried to turn it into a Mississipi delta course...the world pros were disgusted and Greg Turner the NZ pro got the job of telling the press what a horrible design it was...Trent Jones showed what an arrogant wanker he was by organising a photo op with Greg and giving him an autographed copy of his book on how to design golf courses...what a wanker...I honestly couldn't believe it when I heard he designed Chambers Bay

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    Leaderboard:

    Four at four under... Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Branden Grace and Jordan Spieth...one would expect the winner to come from that group...if Jason Day can hang in he will be a genuine crowd favourite because he is obviously quite ill....I still favour Spieth

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    Fookin brilliant!

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    One of the most amazing finishes to a major ever.

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    Go Jason Day

    Finished ninth

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    Quote Originally Posted by bobo746
    Jason Day
    Fantastic performance...he has to win one soon
    Quote Originally Posted by pickel
    One of the most amazing finishes to a major ever.
    yes...but the greens helped cause it...but a fair finish.

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    So, who won?...Bunch of jackasses...

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    Quote Originally Posted by BaitongBoy View Post
    So, who won?...Bunch of jackasses...
    Bruce told us Spieth was going to win all along.

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    Spieth won...he is the youngest to win both a US Masters and a US Open...but the interesting thing is the runners up...Louis Oustheizen, Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott...Scott and Oustheizen are not only also major winners but also recognised shot makers...as is Johnson...so the importance of shot making on that course was really important...and Spieth being a Masters winner means he can put as well...so although the course didn't suit putters it showed Spieth as a genuine all round talent...plus Ian Poulter vented his views on the greens
    English golfer Ian Poulter slams US Open greens at Chambers Bay as "disgraceful" | Stuff.co.nz
    "I look forward to congratulating the 2015 US Open Champion very soon, I simply didn't play well enough to be remotely close. This is not sour grapes or moaning or any of that crap. It simply the truth. Mike Davis the head of the @USGA unfortunately hasn't spoke the truth about the conditions of the greens. I feel very sorry for the hundreds of greens staff who spent countless hours leading into this week and this week doing there best to have it the best they could and I thank them for that. But look at the picture. This was the surface we had to putt on. It is disgraceful that the @USGA hasn't apologized about the greens they simply have said. "we are thrilled the course condition this week". It wasn't a bad golf course, In fact it played well and was playable. What wasn't playable were the green surfaces. If this was a regular PGA tour event lots of players would have withdrawn and gone home on Wednesday, but players won't do that for a major. They were simply the worst most disgraceful surface I have ever seen on any tour in all the years I have played. The US Open deserves better than that. And the extra money that they have earn't this year from @FoxSports, they could easily have relayed the greens so we could have had perfect surfaces. Simply not good enough and deeply disappointing for a tournament of this magnitude. I don't like it when people lie on camera to try and save face. And to all you fans that paid good money to try and watch us play golf but couldn't see anything on most holes because it wasn't possible to stand on huge slopes or see around stands, I apologize and I'm sorry you wasted your money traveling to be disappointed. I hope we all learn something moving forward to not have these problems in the future. Happy Fathers Day."

    What Poulter was getting at was not only the greens but the course layout...it is great for TV...probably the best I have seen...but terrible for the crowds...who were better staying home and watching it on widescreen TV...golf needs crowds for the atmosphere...like he said they need to learn from this.

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    Well I'm surprised Johnson three putted at the end there when he had a great -and hugely unexpected - chance to go into another day.

    But having got him at 20's e/w I'll take my winnings and treat myself.



    Well done Jordan, but the Grand Slam, I don't think so as much as it would be nice.

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    Watching live from the US Open...the USGA admits the greens were not up to standard and the crowd experience has to be addressed....but they will be going back to Chambers Bay...maybe as early as 2025.

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