"This redesign by Mr. Jones needs to be redesigned"

In considering how the setup impacted the PGA Championship, we get a couple of different perspectives. Carlos Monarrez says the high scores maintained the Monster's place in the game and makes this prediction, apparently having not heard that Oakmont and Erin Hills are likely the next to U.S. Open venues.

As far as a regular men's major, the earliest spot open in the rotation is the 2014 PGA Championship or the 2016 U.S. Open. If I were a betting man, I would think the '16 Open would be a great fit for Oakland Hills.

Oakland Hills -- essentially at the behest of former the USGA's former competitions director -- went through a renovation and proved itself more than capable of hosting a U.S. Open. It hosted the 2002 U.S. Amateur, which is generally a requisite before getting an Open. And 2016 will mark the 20-year anniversary of Oakland Hills' last Open as well as the centennial anniversary of the club.

So nice to know Tom Meeks was recommending renovations.

Bob Verdi writes about the setup for Golf World and offers this from Steve Elkington:

Elkington is allergic to grass, and the greens at Riviera CC in '95 were as brown as a UPS truck. "This redesign by Mr. Jones needs to be redesigned," quoth Elkington. "It's way too hard. Some of what went on out there with the setup made no sense. I'm a big PGA of America guy, but this week, it was like things happened too fast for them, and they lost control of an event where players are historically allowed to play."

Comments

[Papa Bing]

Why the sarcastic remark about Tom Meeks? Some sort of personal vendetta?
FYI - He's retired.

[Matty]

Retirement exempts Meeks from scrutiny? The guy was awful at his job. Just look at the U.S. Open since he left. I can attest to his talents as he made suggestions to my home course that the board thankfully ignored. It might have cost us a USGA event.

Geoff rails on too much about Dawson at the R&A jacking around with rota courses, because Meeks was far more dangerous.

[Four-putt]

Steve Elkington. Now there's a great source, a guy who's played in four of the last 12 majors with three MCs and a T39. Or three of the last ten PGAs.

Ian Poulter began crabbiong before the event started, and talked himself right out of a shot at the title.

Players at Oakland Hills had trouble with the firmness, speed and contours of the greens and the length of the rough.

If they didn't like the bunkers, too bad. Last time I checked, they were still supposed to be hazards, no matter what style edges.

The greens are the original Ross putting surfaces. Not touched by RTJ Sr.

Rees Jones' work at Oakland Hills never touched the Ross greens, either, nor did it have anything to do with how high Kerry Haigh set the rough.

Typical player whining -- find someone or something else to blame.

Same thing happened at Oak Hill. Medinah played the opposite, and the golf architecture "experts" ripped the course. The members at Oakland Hills go the other direction, and they get ripped, too.

The players liked the setup at Torrey Pines, yet it got ripped, too.

Sense a pattern here?

4p

[Eddie Ahearn]

What professional golf needs is a true players' championship.

By that I mean that active players on the TOUR handle all aspects of the event, the 'outside the ropes' logistics, the course setup, the rulings during play etc. etc.

They would, undoubtedly, complain about every aspect of the event even then.

[Four-putt]

Eddie --

I would like most to see players act as their own rules officials.

If they each proposed a "proper" course setup. you'd end up with 144 different "ideal" setup concepts.

4p

[Dave G.]

The very narrow fairways while challanging the players accuracy certainly does not do the Donald Ross design justice as Peter Kostis pointed out during Sundays telecast. The various angles of play as intended by the architect never really come into play.

Dave G.