Didn’t get to watch a moment yesterday - Dad’s Day and all that stuff.
But I really enjoyed what I saw on Fri-Sat.
I’m definitely in the camp that enjoys a week when the pros aren’t able to beat up on a course.
Boy, I would have liked to see Lefty get a start on another couple of majors.
But Rose has been super solid for some time - this may vault him into the highest echelon.
He seems like a really nice guy as well.
So what is it that makes a course like this so tough?
I’m trying to get my mind around what this course has that Chicago courses like Medinah, Olympia Fields, and Cog Hill lack.
It seems like they are not able to make tohse courses tough enough to challenge todays players.
Yet this 6900 yarder plays like a beast!
What is it?
Are the greens that tough?
Its not all that hard to keep the rough mower in the shed!
I walked the course on the last Practice Round, with a member of Merion who knows the course, and then attended Friday when they were actually playing.
This course is a BEAST. They moved back the tees to specific distances, where there is no option for a driver. The narrow sloping fairways, deep rough, and bunkers necessitate an exact club and placement, and any error is generally a 1-stroke penalty.
Once you get on the greens, they are often 20’ from highest to lowest elevation, with 3 tiers, and as fast as linoleum.
Simply put, there is no margin for error, little option for bump-and-run, and placing a shot on a green with a low iron makes it hard to hold… similarly, on those few shots where they hit a low iron, the back-spin they use makes it hard to place the ball with any accuracy.
