Phil On Playing Bethpage's 7th As A Three-Shotter

Brendan Prunty gives us a sneak preview of the Barclays big debut at Bethpage Black and notes one key change to the PGA Tour plans for the 7th hole compared to the USGA's U.S. Open setup.

During the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens, the USGA played it as a 500-plus yard par-4. At the end of next month, it will play as a 550-yard-plus par-5 for The Barclays. While Mickelson continuously professed his love for the course and the New York-area galleries, the changes at the seventh were welcome news.

“I’ve always been a fan of the original designer’s interests in how a golf hole is designed to play from its inception,” Mickelson said. “As opposed to somebody else who comes in and tries to alter it for their own benefit or ego.”

Comments

[Hawkeye]

Great news to hear that they will play the hole as it was intended. Sure, it will play as an easy Par 5, but it will be a far more interesting tee shot.

[Jeff]

I know this is probably another jab at Rees Jones, but I'm not so sure "the original designer's interests" are served by Phil driving it down there 320 or so, then flipping a 7 iron up onto the green. Too bad we can't ask Tillinghast and Burbeck.

[Chris from DE]

I also enjoy Phil talking about someone's ego. Hello pot? This is the kettle.

[Seve]

Big advantage for Phil as it plays to his draw.

[Steve]

Jeff...I agree. I'm guessing the original plan was for players to hit three shots to get on the green, not two. Seems like many tour player's idea of a Par-5 is a hole they can reach with nothing more than a mid-to long Iron on their second shot.

How about this novel concept...get rid of par, just give hole distances and tell the players to make the best score they can. If is is a 520 yard hole, who cares if it is par-4 or par-5...just make your best score.

[Viz]

Having played Bethpage Black many times in the NYSO it's nothing more than a long iron into the green unless they put a new tee box even further into the woods...

[BrianS]

Leave it as a Par 5, but make the area around the green especially tricky or hard to get up and down from - make the bunkers harder, shave the banks, or whatever. Also, the fairway at the 320 mark s/b difficult - not impossible, but difficult to hit to set up for an easy second shot into the green.

[phil the author]

The "original design" had the hole playing from the far back tee box and NOT the tee box that will be used, so if Phil really wants to see Tillinghast's intent followed, they will play it all the way back as it measured 600 yards when it opened for play in 1936. Even at that distance it was first reached in two shots by Jimmy Hines in 1937 when his three-iron second shot ran over the green.

There was actually a recommendation made prior to the 2009 Open to play it two days as a long par-4 and two days as a par-5 from the original back tee...

[Steve]

If Phil wants to see it play as it was originally designed, he should use equipment from the time the course opened as well! I would pay good money to watch the current players play just one tournament using equipment from 50-100 years ago and I bet a lot of others would as well.

[Del the Funk]

Pretty sure there's been a tee-box added since the 2009 Open. phil the author, can you chime in on this?

I was there today and the course looks great, but they continue to really grind on conditions and after this Sunday the Black is closed until the tourney starts. So with a little luck, and some dry weather, hopefully they can get playing conditions similar to what was hoped for at the two US Open events.

[ol Harv]

Phil needs to have a talk with Mike Davis because that's what he does to every US OPEN venue. Comes in, decides what HE thinks needs to be altered, on some of the greatest designed courses in the world, and just does it. Phil hit the nail on the head, these guys, Davis and the architects, do it for their ego and it's a shame.

[phil the author]

ol Harv,

As one who has spoken with Mike Davis PRIOR to 2 separate US Opens about course set-up and the original architects intent including the 2009 Open at Bethpage Black, I can absolutely speak to his concern that the design intent be brought out wherever possible. He has to balance this with the host Club's desire to be the greaqtest U.S. Open test of all time (everyone of them want that title) and what can be done vs. what needs to be done regarding changes that will enable a stern but fair test.

In my opinion, that there are complaints from all sides, the purists who want not a blade of grass changed, the "my course is the toughest challenge" group who believe that a score of 20 ver par should win it by 5 shots, the "we need to recoginze how far they hit and how talented these players are" group and every other person with even a minor opinion about course architecture (such as myself), shows that he is doing it right!

One can not only not please everyone, one MUST NOT satisfy most either.

Just because recent popular ideas such as "chipping areas" and "driveable par-4s" have become the vogue, doesn't mean they should happen either. Mike has definitely tried to both meet the original architect's intent in these areas as well as utilize minor changes such as these where they can actually highlight a holes design brilliance and bring out the challenge of secondary features that normally aren't impacting the game played by the best players.

Yet he also doesn't just automatically make courses incorporate these changes especially where the original architect's design intent would go against the new feature. For example, many were putting pressure on him to create a driveable par-4 for the 2009 Open. Mike appreciated that Tillinghast not only never intended any of the holes to be driveable (other than the three's) but that he HAD designed a driveable par-4 at Bethpage, the 300-yard original 5th hole of the Blue course, the "REEF" hole. It was clear what Tilly's intent for the course was and so he refused to give in to the calls by many to create one simply for the sake of having one.

My favorite author wrote "Logistics are the assassins of ideas." This principle is so true when applied to US Open set-ups...

[Del the Funk]

phil, on Saturday we will be playing the REEF hole for the second time this week ;-) Love that hole...and pleased to say I made a 3 on Tuesday!

[George]

Let's just play every hole as a Par 1 - that should satisfy the host course. Winning scores would be unchanged, but the members will finally have something to compensate for their small male organs.