The USGA's Merion Problem

When the USGA awarded Merion the 2013 U.S. Open, most of the discussion centered around logistics and the financial hit the organization would take when playing at such an intimate venue.

But in light of Congressional's low scoring brought on by soft conditions that could just as easily be seen at Merion, I'm having a hard time envisioning how a course 5-600 yards shorter than Congressional has much chance of providing a challenge short of silly rough and absurd narrowness. After all, Congressional played a very short 7400 yards even with pretty soft landing areas.

To be more blunt: I just don't see how a U.S. Open is going to work at Merion unless equipment rules have been changed by 2013. And we know that's not going to happen!

Comments

[JRP]

X2

[JPB]

Going to Merion in 2013 is a joke, plain and simple. Times change and Merion is no longer a U.S. Open venue. I hope someone shoots 20 under.

[rose]

Even though it is much longer than the number reflected on the card, Merion is certainly not going to pose a distance challenge, with the possible exceptions that 2 and 4 could play as three shot holes for most of the pros (2 with a new tee and OB hard right and 4 especially given the blind downhill second with water fronting and nothing good happening if you are long) 5 and 6 will be reasonably long as will 14 (from the new back tee) and 18 especially if a new tee goes back up on the hill behind the current back marker. The massive difference between Merion and Congressional, however, are the greens. At Congressional, provided the player was in the correct quadrant (and even if they weren't) putting was made easier by a lack of internal slope in each quadrant and the very true A1/A4 surface. At Merion it is possible to have a 3 foot putt with massive break due to the relatively severe slopes. Add in the grain that is so successfully cultivated and uneven lies in the fairway (unlike most Congressional fairways) and there are some protections. 10 is very vulnerable but at 7, 10, 11 and 15, you will likely see players throttle back for fear of OB or other hazards.
The winning score will be well under par but the golf will be very entertaining.

Oh yeah, the rough at Merion is tougher for member play than the rough at Congressional was for the open.

[Papa Bing]

@JBP - no it's not a joke. it's called history and tradition. Merion will be just fine. yes some players will putt off some greens. and the greens will be much scarier than CCC. and so will the rough. I for one am looking forward to seeing another Open at Merion. it has much more sex appeal than CCC

[otey]

It's hard not agree. Which means we need to get over low scoring in the US Open.

It will be the world we live in until there is a rollback of the ball.

[RM]

It has proven time and again that distance alone is no deterrent to today's players, so then why can't the converse be true? If you really do have to go to 8000+ yards to make a difference these days, then why can't Merion provide a good challenge when it has everything you need except for distance? One things for sure though, even if the winning score goes well into double digits under par, it will look much different than what we saw last week at Congressional. Honestly, of all the great and intriguing future venues, I am most excited about Merion. It is going to be a joy to watch.

[jjshaka]

Southern Hills held up well and its about the same length I think.
Nice high rough ( not graduated) and narrow fairways will help- I hope it works out.

[Chris from DE]

I also disagree with Geoff. Merion presents a different challenge than CCC. CCC was a bombers paradise. Long holes, low rough and little slope on greens. Merion will be a shotmakers paradise. You'll see lots of 3 irons and 5 woods off tees because yes, the rough will be severe. It has to be and that's the way it's meant to be played. That will leave comparable approaches into greens. Plus, we're talking about MERION. One of the finest, most historic courses in the country. It should host U.S. Opens. Also, don't forget that Merion's greens are not 2 years old. They will be much firmer, even with the humidity. I belong to a club 20 miles from Merion and our greens have the ability to be rock solid in 85 degree 80% humidity weather. I'm excited to see this course challenge the world's best. 5 under wins.

[Jay Townsend]

Once again:

The ball needs to be brought back to only fly 265 with a 117 MPH clubhead speed. This will bring back the historical significance of the old courses.

[sir real]

JPB,
-20 at Merion.....NO CHANCE!

Congressional with hit and sit , easy putting greens and a joke for rough ain't no Merion. Mr Davis himself admitted they did not have the greens dry enough going into the week this U.S. Open and 2 year-old, tender greens robbed the event of any intrigue there at Congo.

If it's even close to firm that week, tee-to-green, Merion will be a stiff test. If the set-up's where it should be, even some rain, short of deluges, should make for a memorable week. It won't be easy and you can bet the rough will be haymaker dense...but that's what a classic, inland Open... stateside, should be.

[Merion Guy]

Merion is pretty firm right now, no reason why it won't be in 2013 at this time. I think it will stay in the -6 to -8 range for the winner since, unlike Congressional, distance is not the issue when playing Merion. 16, 17, and 18 alone will keep scores at bay and will get back some of the stokes that the course will give up between 6 and 10.

The thing that Merion has that Congressional does not is the potential for train wreck holes.

[JRP]

The Open will be grea at Merion though...we just need to throw out the concept of par because if it consumes us, the setup will become a joke.

[Mark]

I think as long as they are able to have the greens hard and fast, Merion will hold it's own. Pebble played right at 7000 yards (when played all the way back) and Merion will play 6800+. Pebble's defense was small hard and fast greens. I think the finish at Merion will be very strong for these guys...14 and 15 with OB at the left edge of the fairway....the quarry at 16/17 and then 18. If nothing else, anyone standing in the 18th fairway needing a par will have to look at the Hogan plaque and think, I am up to THAT? Hopefully they wont be walking by the Hogan plaque to their drive 40 yards ahead of it.

Having been at the Walker Cup at Merion, I would be more concerned with the logistics. I know they are limiting the crowds but even still, tees and greens are so close together...especially in the first 10-11 holes. Moving people and players around...players waiting for others to putt or drive on the nearby hole.oor for fans to be quiet on the adjacent green. Seems like it may be a recipe for even slower play.

[Adam Clayman]

Move the damn thing off of Fathers day!

Golf is a global, non-sexist sport. Get off the sexist attitude from the 50's and move the event to a date when the chances mother nature has a say. Hot, humid, with no wind, sounds like June in Philly. Maybe not this year but, typically isn't that the weather pattern?

[Seitz]

**'I'm having a hard time envisioning how a course 5-600 yards shorter than Congressional has much chance of providing a challenge short of silly rough and absurd narrowness.**

That's because you're not being creative enough! No par fives! A couple 290 yard par threes! Sure, it may be a par 68, but no one ever sees that number on TV. All the viewing public cares about are single digits next to the minuses (and hopefully only two or three of those), and double digits next to the pluses.

Also yeah, get ready for silly rough and absurd narrowness.

[Jeff Smith]

The last time the Amateur was at Merion, players were hitting five or six clubs less than what Hogan had into that green.

[Peter]

If Geoff knows that Merion will allow for low scores, and if we know Merion will allow low scores (whether it's -8 or -15 is no big difference relative to traditional US Open scoring), and if everyone else in golf knows it too, isn't it safe to assume that the USGA- Mike Davies is also aware of that fact, and that it knew this when it chose Merion? If so, what we may be seeing is a substantially new policy being implemented by the USGA-Mike Davis -- a policy that admits the technology genie can't or won't be put back into the bottle, and that recognizes there is not a single classic golf course left in America that can 'resist scoring' in the face of that technology (no matter how much doctoring or how tough the set-up)...and so allows for and accepts winning scores of around -10 as the new normal as the price that must be paid in order to continue the tradition, i.e. continue using some of the great old courses in the US open rotation. Someone should simply ask Mike Davis if this is so.

[Jim]

I think Merion is going to really force the players to place their tee shot in the right place for the right angle in order to get close to the hole and have a good chance at birdie. (I am assuming the greens will be firm). If a player gets in the wrong spot it can really cause some issues. Get some real rough and it should be a very good test. It will be a different test than many Open courses (Congressional, Torrey, etc) but I like the comparison to Pebble. And if the wind blows................................. My guess is we will hear a lot of players complain the course is "unfair" as I believe it can provide a good test if set-up correctly.

[Chema]

In 1981, a very soft Merion playing at 6,528 yards yielded a winning score of 273. One year earlier the winning score at 7,015-yard Baltusrol was 272. Merion has always been relatively short yet has always presented a difficult test even under soft conditions. The greens, rough and bunkering at Merion are substantially more challenging than those at Congressional.

[Geoff]

Peter,
My point is, a lot has changed since the USGA selected Merion. More than they probably could have imagined. The quality of the golf is going to be very strange no matter how firm or soft the course is. 6-irons off of several tees, a couple of par-4s driven with 3 woods or hybrids. Very few drivers. It's just not going to be like anything we've ever seen and frankly, I don't expect many people will like it based on the reaction I've seen to Congressional where a worthy champion was still produced and players at least could hit their driver.

[jjshaka]

Peter-
I think Davis probably is not adverse to mixing it up, which would be good.
I would imagine Oakmont and Pinehurst will play near Par, Olympic Club -4 to 7 and Merion may be -8 to 12.

[Troglodyte]

Thanks to the USGA letting technology overtake the fundamental challenge of classic courses, there's really little left to be done but conduct the U.S. Open on whatever venues want the revenue and the notoriety and don't mind trashing their architecture and their course.

The scoring at Congressional could not be prevented without a bizarre setup. Props to Davis for not going that route.

But low scoring in a U.S. Open can no longer be prevented unless you run into ridiculous situations like at Pebble or Shinnecock. The USGA made a bed of ridiculous distance and now they must lay their head on a pillow of low scores.

[Jim]

I think Geoff has it right on the reactions (because it will be different) but I think people will eventually find it interesting to see players wonder about going for a green (and suffer the penalty or reward for the risk taken). The second shots should be very interesting and I think we will some some very interesting action on and around the greens. Are we all too focused on drivers and not enough on second shots? There were a lot of drivers at Congressional and it was a snoozer. I do worry that the USGA takes the fairways to a too narrow place and they limit (or force) strategy. And 2 and 4 could be really interesting. It is all about the greens imo and from where you approach the pin. If you are at the wrong angle I suspect par will be a good score.

My guess is it will be similar to Pebble and I think we all enjoyed Pebble.

[Peter]

Geoff - thanks. You may well be right about all of that (including the changes being more than the USGA imagined, and the potential public reaction). But, from the outside looking in, it seems to me that in choosing Merion the USGA made a conscious decision to put 'venue tradition' ahead of 'scoring tradition', and that decision seems to be part of a new 'policy' under Mike Davis. Whether that policy is and/or will prove to be a good one or a misguided one I don't know....but it seems at least to have been a consciously-developed one.

[Cheeks]

Will 2014 be tough? We saw what they did in DC to keep the course alive for the Open. Imagine what they will have to do to keep it in shape for the Women's Open the following week. I think 2014 will be a less taxing setup as well since they cannot lose the place with the Women's Open coming to town the following week.

I think we are giving the USGA too much credit, but maybe the 2011 setup was intended to brace us for similar scoring in 2013 and 2014.

[rose]

The other thing that really differs is that at MGC, its quite easy to drive the ball through the fairways. Fairways are very firm due to sand program and the angles off the tee can provide for some wild and yes fair outcomes.

[Dsl]

Put 20 foot fences around the perimeter and bring in 10 hungry jungle cats. There, now you'll have your proper war of attrition. US Open glory will be restored!

[Ted]

Folks- I respectfully disagree with the idea that the classic courses can't hold up to today's technology. Last year at Pebble Beach was a clear example. Par won the tournament. The courses that cast the scarriest shadow are Shinnecock, Pinehurst, Winged Foot and Oakmont. Whistling Straits? It has a hyped up reputation (and aI fine course for the PGA) but I don't see the pros sweating the shots there like they do at the classics mentioned. Congressional looked less like a US Open and more like the John Deere Classic because of the greens. Period. The greens were receptive to all shots, and therefore the pros were licking their chops from the fairway and rough- easy greens take the fear out of all the shots. The US Open should make the pros take pause on EVERY shot- that simply wasn't the case this year. I'm confident on classic course Olympic next year- we'll see the return of the US Open as it should be.

[Doug]

if the fairway contouring is correct, then you put long irons in their hands on the tee, and mistakes can happen as the modern driver is much easier to hit than a long iron...

[Jim]

Philly Mick's strong 2 iron........................... Unreal how poorly he hit that. With that said the pros are good with the long irons. The run out in the fairways will be challenging.

The British Open sees a lot of irons off the tee (Tiger at Hoylake). It is the need to place it in the appropriate place for the right angle into the pin. Granted the Open has more wind but Merion will be tighter and need more precision.

[Anonie]

I played Merion last year. The set-up will not be a joke because the Members are not letting the USGA dictate changes they think are ludicrous, like softening some green contours. The green complexes are fantastic, the fairways are angled, the rough and the wild grasses are severe, and the bunkering is far more penal than anything at Congressional. The greens will be a stiff test without needing to be 14 on the meter.

[JS]

Geoff,

What has changed since the USGA selected Merion?

Wasn't that after the 2005 Amateur?

Also, what hole will someone hit a 6 iron off the tee? How about driving multiple greens with 3 wood or Hybrid? 10 is a candidate but I can't see any others...7 and 8 would be Driver candidates but highly risky and about 320 to the front edges without approaches conducive to running it on...

By my count there are 6 definite Driver tee shots (2, 4, 5, 6, 14, and 18) with a few other candidates based on the weather/firmness.

Jim

[Seitz]

**Put 20 foot fences around the perimeter and bring in 10 hungry jungle cats. There, now you'll have your proper war of attrition. US Open glory will be restored! **

Unfortunately, the cats would just gorge themselves on spectators. How about: No Ropes, No Marshalls, No Security. Spectators get to walk wherever they damn well please, whenever they damn well please. Golf at its most unpredictable.

[d.b.cooper]

I'm sort of glad Merion got the Open, but this should be the last one. It is just too short.

I was always a little disappointed Merion didn't host a Senior Open back when Nicklaus and Trevino were in their early 50s. That would have been a natural.

[CMA]

Merion will be just fine. I say they don’t change a thing, and just get the rough as thick as they can.
Congressional “failed” because they played it too safe with the rough and tried to get the greens too fast. The weather leading up to the tournament didn’t allow them to get the rough as thick as they wanted in the short time frame they gave themselves. Then they cut the greens too short in the days leading up to the tournament, and subsequently had to throw a lot of water on them just to keep them alive. The early week rain was enough to soften the greens even more, but was too late for the rough. Hence guys could hit driver all day because the rough wasn’t penal and the greens were receptive to just about anything.

[d.b.cooper]

Do you really want to grow the rough as thick as possible, slick the greens, narrow the fairways, etc, to insure Merion will be "just fine"?

I don't want to see that kind of U.S. Open anymore.

[dk67]

Why does everyone forget so quickly that Pebble Beach playing barely 7000 yards, was all the course these guys could handle? 7800 yards won't matter as long as the greens are soft and the rough is playable. IT has nothing to do with the obsolescence of courses like Merion and everything to do with the particular conditions that week. The bottom line is that the west coast provides a far better chance for the USGA to get the course exactly how it wants it than does any other location. Here in the Bay Area it's almost a guarantee that you'll get no significant rain and significant wind in May-June.

[Steve]

Merion held up pretty well at the 2005 amateur during stroke play, which is usually a fairly moderate set-up (6 rounds under par total, all just 1 under). Not that you can directly use the US Amateur to forecast scores from a US Open, but others who have held both recently (Pinehurst and Winged Foot) had similar scoring for both events. The players are better at the US Open, but set-up is more diffiuclt. So if that holds true, you may see 3 or 4 under as a "low round of the day".

[JPB]

@ d.b. cooper- Totally agree and that is why the U.S. Open world has passed Merion by. Great course, great club and a terrific place for the Walker Cup but not the U.S. Open. If they want to play a U.S. Open in Philly they should go to Aronomink.

They are only going to Merion because David Fay wanted to prove to the world that the USGA has not lost control of the equipment.

[tlavin]

It won't matter, because it's at MERION. Whenever a blue coat utters the name, MERION, a chorus of angels starts singing. The birds come out, a double rainbow appears and a strange shape in a bunker starts to resemble the Son of God.

The reaction of the mass media will be the same. Because it's MERION, the Holy Grail of East Coast Golf. If they trick it up and the cut is at -5 it won't matter a whit, because they'll be hyperventilating over MERION. The course could be soft, vulnerable and the rough could be absent and it just won't matter.

I think Bubba Watson will play in a priest outfit, because he'll be going to church at ST. MERION.