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Gary Player on Chambers Bay: 'One of the worst golf courses I've ever seen'

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  • Fire_Marshall_Bill
    Fire_Marshall_Bill Member Posts: 26,113 Standard Supporter
    Tequilla said:

    So you're saying that the US Open doesn't have brown every year?

    Yes, this year's Open was more brown than normal. But if you go back and look at Pinehurst last year or really any recent US Open that wasn't influenced by rain, you'll find a browning out on every course.

    I've watched enough over the years to say with some authority that this course was way more brown than most. I don't remember any at the one in Philly.
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  • Fire_Marshall_Bill
    Fire_Marshall_Bill Member Posts: 26,113 Standard Supporter
    Q for golf superiority guys: Can Sahalee host a US Open? I know they had the PGA in the late 90s and were supposed to have it again. I know the USO has more prestige (higher standards?). Are there other courses in that area that are capable?

    Keep responses under 600 words..you know who you are...
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  • ThomasFremont
    ThomasFremont Member Posts: 13,325
    Fire_Marshall_Bill said:

    Q for golf superiority guys: Can Sahalee host a US Open? I know they had the PGA in the late 90s and were supposed to have it again. I know the USO has more prestige (higher standards?). Are there other courses in that area that are capable?

    Keep responses under 600 words..you know who you are...

    Tumble Creek

    Newcastle

    Washington National

    No idea if/how any of them would work logistically. I don't think any of them are TUFF enough for the US Open. Maybe the PGA Championship though. At least they all have tress and look like the PNW.
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  • puppylove_sugarsteel
    puppylove_sugarsteel Member Posts: 9,133
    edited June 2015
    I thought this was Gary Payton talking. When I looked closer and realized it was a Gary Player quote I tuned out. Who cares what he thinks
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  • Tequilla
    Tequilla Member Posts: 20,223
    Fire_Marshall_Bill said:

    Tequilla said:

    So you're saying that the US Open doesn't have brown every year?

    Yes, this year's Open was more brown than normal. But if you go back and look at Pinehurst last year or really any recent US Open that wasn't influenced by rain, you'll find a browning out on every course.

    I've watched enough over the years to say with some authority that this course was way more brown than most. I don't remember any at the one in Philly.
    No doubt ... the fescue definitely goes a long way here. The further you get off the fairways, that long fescue gets brown in a hurry. Anybody that plays regularly at the Home Course would know what I'm talking about.

    One of the reasons that Merion stayed so green was because they had an abundance of rain the week of the Open that caused some weather delays during the tournament. As a general rule, the USGA pretty much stops watering the course during the tournament comparatively to normal ... any water they apply is to just make sure that the course doesn't get out of hands. They are very much on record as saying this.
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  • Tequilla
    Tequilla Member Posts: 20,223
    Fire_Marshall_Bill said:

    Q for golf superiority guys: Can Sahalee host a US Open? I know they had the PGA in the late 90s and were supposed to have it again. I know the USO has more prestige (higher standards?). Are there other courses in that area that are capable?

    Keep responses under 600 words..you know who you are...

    I've never been to Sahalee so it would be hard for me to comment. Given that the PGA hasn't come back since they were here makes me think that it wasn't the best of sites. Other thing that comes into play is that it is a private facility and a lot of times the members don't want to go down the path of essentially closing the course down in preparation of the event that is needed.
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  • Tequilla
    Tequilla Member Posts: 20,223
    ThomasFremont said:

    Fire_Marshall_Bill said:

    Q for golf superiority guys: Can Sahalee host a US Open? I know they had the PGA in the late 90s and were supposed to have it again. I know the USO has more prestige (higher standards?). Are there other courses in that area that are capable?

    Keep responses under 600 words..you know who you are...

    Tumble Creek

    Newcastle

    Washington National

    No idea if/how any of them would work logistically. I don't think any of them are TUFF enough for the US Open. Maybe the PGA Championship though. At least they all have tress and look like the PNW.
    Tumble Creek regularly hosts qualifiers for USGA events (sectional qualifying this year) ... too far out of the way without a lodging infrastructure IMO to be able to host.

    I haven't played Newcastle so it's hard for me to say whether or not it is up to par for a USGA event.

    Washington National is probably best for college level events. It's not an easy course (probably too easy for the professionals though). Biggest marks against it is that it is built in areas around a housing complex with a design that isn't the most fan friendly.

    Gold Mountain's Olympic Course has hosted some USGA events. It's probably like Tumble Creek in the sense that it is too far out of the way without the underlying infrastructure to host a major championship. It's definitely in the Top 3-5 courses in the area.

    The Home Course hosted a USGA championship last year, local qualifying for the US Open this year, and was a companion course to Chambers when it hosted the US Amateur in 2010. It's a solid course and could very easily test some of the better players (it's regularly used as a qualifying course). The course is generally fairly open and could handle probably a medium sized event. However, given its proximity to Chambers, there's no way it would be selected ahead of Chambers for a US Open.

    Of all the courses I've played in the greater Seattle area, there's no question that Chambers is the best by far. I'll play TPC Snoqualmie Ridge later this summer and it hosts a Senior's event. From what I know about the course, I don't think it has the teeth to be a USGA site.

    It's important to remember that the USGA generally wants a winning score for the US Open to be somewhere around par and for it not to turn into a birdie fest. When evaluating the merits of a course for a USGA event, the course needs to have a number of holes where par is considered a very good score.
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