Ryan Palmer On Chambers Bay Green Complexes: "Put a quarter in the machine and go for a ride."
Steve DiMeglio of USA Today talks to Ryan Palmer about his scouting trip to Chambers Bay and he's got some issues with the green complex designs.
In particular, Palmer sees issues with the contours and some of the potential hole locations.
But … "We played it soft. The greens were rolling 9s (on the Stimpmeter). If they get it rolling 10 and 12, it will be interesting," Palmer said of the massive green complexes on the course. The greens feature large mounds, plenty of bumps and are largely unpredictable and will bring luck and plenty of it into play. "Put a quarter in the machine and go for a ride.
" … The green complexes are something else. With some of the pin placements, you will see some guys play it 30 yards left, 30 yards right or 30 yards long, and next thing you know you'll have a 2 footer. Or you'll be 75 feet from the pin. … You have to spend so much time on the greens, practice rounds are going to take eight hours. Every green has like five or six greens on it."
Palmer also provided the first review of the USGA's possible use of less-than-flat areas on tee boxes.
"(Davis') idea of tee boxes on down hills, up hills and side hills is ridiculous. That's not golf. I don't care what anybody says," Palmer said. "It will get a lot of bad press from the players. It is a joke. I don't understand it. I just don't know why they would do it."
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 05:42 PM
Reader Comments (55)
This excerpt also left out his praise for the course from tee to green.
Maybe praise is too strong but he said it was very fair from tee to green which runs counter to the sensational headline of this post that was my only comment.
Why does everything have to be the same?
Let's just go Baltusrol for the gazillionith time then nobody would have their delicate sensibilities damaged.
Sorry Ben, I knew it was coming. Everything else sounds fine, but uneven teeing grounds, on purpose? Really? WTF?
Nope.... you won't find it. Once again, the US Open is designed to be a test of ALL golf skills.... from the ability to put a drive in the fairway from a less-than-perfect lie, to one's imagination that allows the truly skillful golfer to visualize out-of-the-ordinary paths to the hole, even if that's on the ground.
Open letter to Mike Davis: "Dear Mr. Davis: On Thursday morning of the 2015 US Open please wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I urge you to have several shots of tequila to put you in a surly mood -- finally tired of six weeks of griping, moaning, complaining and whining... all before the first ball is in the air. So before the first shot is struck, I ask you to stick those tees all the way back... making sure they're on the most severe slopes you can find. Jam those hole locations as close to the edge of the greens as possible or high atop the most treacherous mounds available. If these spoiled and arrogant touring professionals want to bitch, please give them something worth crying about."
Do this and we'll all enjoy the new slogan "These guys are (not very) good."
I'm with Play It Forward and Griffin: guys who understand that this is the US Open and it's NEVER been "just another tournament."
For me, it only occurs in dreams and at bad munis. That PGA Tour players are going to have to put up with it – at a major, no less – is dumb. Palmer's right. That's not golf. Tee boxes are supposed to be flat.
Can't wait to see the USGA stupidize this place. Will be like watching a Monty Python sketch
Well, it's the same course for everyone
I just try to do my best, and the good Lord willing things will turn out.
I just need to stick to my game plan.
Just happy to be here.
etc.
Go off script and get crucified for giving an honest answer. It's pretty obvious how some on this blog
have a hard time with tour pros actually being so good at this game. You guys drive red Porsches too?
#whinebecausetheyrebetterthanme
I think after the tournament that the sloped tees end up being a non issue and perhaps even allowed some great shots to be pulled off.
I'm very interested to see how this course plays for a US Open, it's certainly different.
Slanted tees are highly questionable however.
Solid ball striker, yet not a bomber, like Dufner is playing with some players who can really bomb it (Rory, Bubba, etc..) and they get to a long hole with a big fairway. Due to the pin being on the left side as well as the optimal line to stiff it is from the right side of FW...The bombers proceed to bomb the ball 310yds in the air over a bunker guarding the RH side of fairlway leaving them a easier approach. Dufner like player, doesn't normally have the clubhead speed to do THAT, but he feels the wind freshen up with him and slightly from the right, the glances to the extreme right side of the tee and sees that it is slightly more uphill and quickly tees it up there and hits a high draw that rides the wind 10yds past the bombers.
Or...he uses a 3w off a slightly downhill lie, tees it low, and rips a low runner on the next hole that's playing into the wind and runs it up next to the bombers.
Oh dear, what a mistake to make or is it just pure simple basic ignorance of the actual game of golf and its wonderful history or yet again does it show just how far removed many have come from the original game and more importantly golf course design.
For goodness sake these types of Tees were common place, it was how the game grew, how it expanded, how many towns in Scotland England were able to have their own course. Do not agree then may I suggest we look around the UK or perhaps read the article by Alfie Ward re his beloved Arbory Brae on Golf Club Atlas (http://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-with-alfie-ward-october-2005/ ). Alfie also talks about Crawford course too.
The further away we travel from to original Scottish game of golf the weak, easier the modern game becomes, which raises real questions about the quality of the modern players and the new courses over the last 70 years.
Have we forgotten, or is it because we just can't match the quality of past golfers and by seeing low scores we are fooling ourselves into believing we are even players let alone golfers.
For many in the British Isles we are lucky because many old courses still exist that off the golfer the chance to play golf, that is to play The Royal & Ancient Game of Golf.
Ignorance of our own golfing history mainly in golf course design is hurting the game of golf - i.e. penal design gone, blind Holes being removed as not liked, bunkers made easy through hard compacted sand and shallow walls and worst of all the long aerial game thanks to technology that eliminates many of the great hazards as the ball flies over them.
"(Davis') idea of tee boxes on down hills, up hills and side hills is ridiculous. That's not golf." really, Really, REALLY - what's ridiculous is making the statement in the first place - clearly someone not taking time to understand the game in the first place.
Seems to me those who counter the "sloped tees on purpose are ridiculous" comments with "Rules don't say the entire golf course must be flat" have little in terms of substance to respond with. I have yet to read any comment denoucning the sloped tees suggesting anything about the lie you get once you've hit the ball.
I am really looking forward to seeing these guys hit shots they aren't comfortable with, instead of simply pulling a wedge and hitting it straight at the pin. I enjoy watching The Open for that exact reason. Last year at Pinhurst was awesome, because it was different...we've had cookie cutter US Opens for most of my life, long rough, concrete greens, 500 yard par 4s. Why does it have to be that way every year?
Sometimes the proper play is away from the hole, let these uber-talented players figure that out. It may turn into a fiasco, but it will be facinating to watch.
This is not to say an architect with sterling credentials cannot design a course that goes against my idea of what a course should provide. But I won't be spending my time or U$D to play such a layout.
For those traditionalists who mention the beginnings of golf and uneven teeing grounds as part of the game, perhaps they would like to see a US Open on sand greens one year.
Perhaps play a few rounds at Jos Nigeria and you will see sand Greens with Tees formed by crushed termite mounds, some as high as 3 yards, and fairways that may have a couple of dozen clumps of some sort of grass in between the sand.
However, my comment related to uneven Tees - just go forth and play the higher courses in GB, you may come across quite a few - anyway what is it that makes people want to play on super smooth, super maintained courses that offer little to no resistance to the ball - has the game now gone all over to the greedy money making Pro game which in itself is so boring that it looks as false as professional wrestling.
Golf is not about pampering the player, its about bring out the courage to commit and play the shot or play safe until the courage or skill develops. Its not about easy, by removing the hazards, its about facing and overcoming (not beating) the challenges of the course, Nature of from the mind and hand of Man.
The Scorecard has become the curse of the game, everything seems to be sacrificed for the need to show lower and lower scores, yet Matchplay is way superior, but alas it does not necessitate a scorecard - it also changes the individuals whole approach to the game of golf.
Play any course from the forward tees. You'll find that so little attention is paid to them that they are almost all of them are uneven. You find a spot that works for you and hit it. I played Chambers Bay many times before I moved away from the beautiful PNW. I'm tempted to move back to Pierce County when I retire so I can play it once it week (at local rates!).
And I've hit it 30 yards left and ended up with a 2-footer......on the advice of a local caddie. Put your big boy pants on and play the course.
The US Open is about being an extremely difficult test of golf in order to identify the character of a champion. Throwing a curve ball at the players will flesh out those who don’t bring a proper perspective.
One of the main principles of the game is about playing the golf course as you find it.
Someone’s going to win this thing and it’s going to be interesting to watch those who defeat themselves.
This is going to be a fun ride.
It appears there will be plenty of hilly lies and stances once off the tee, providing opportunities for and challenges in shot making of all kinds. I'd rather see if a guy can find the fairway (or even correct part of the fairway) from a neutral lie and then have to navigate some odd slope with his approach.
To the players, if you hate it, you have no chance. Go fishing that week and enjoy yourself.
That place looks so incredible it doesn't need things like sloping tees. plenty of slope on the course anyway. On a slightly different note, I do quite like the USGA's idea of playing from different tees on different days. That upsets the mechanical, play-to-an-exact-yardage type of pro and found out Jim Furyk big time at Olympic.
However,I'll reserve full judgement until I have seen the offending tees.
The greatest ever (Jack) wouldn't moan - he'd just turn up and play the course that was presented to him to the best of his abilities. And probably win.
I believe that the modern idea of challenges differs greatly when defined in golfing terms - today the emphasis is on easy and friendly options for the player when in fact we should be seeking the normal more natural options, irrespective if they are player friendly or not.
What is this, always giving the player a chance, a break, an easy option - its golf, the game is defined by prompting the player to reach out, to rise to accepting the challenge and you want to give him a free pass on each Tee - How the game has changed in the minds of many, but alas in my humble opinion certainly not for the better - the game today is so much easier thanks to this sort of belief and the introduction of uncontrolled technology, ably assisted by aids in the format of carts and distance measuring devices.
Just where the Hell is the fun in being given such advantages before you even hit the ball - stop changing things to make your scores look good, we already know that most scores are suspect in that they are not necessary a true reflection on the skill of the player, is anyone really being fooled?