[Daryl]

The USGA may finally see the light. I hope course designers follow suit. So many of the really penal courses these days employ what I call exponential penalty golf. If you miss a little, you pay a lot. Not only is that unfair to the better ball strikers, but it makes for miserable times for the higher handicap folks. There is skill and strategy involved in hoisting one out of reasonable rough over a hazard to get to the green. That skill and strategy becomes irrelevant if that same miss puts you OB, in the lake, or in rough over your knees.

However, what I call "reverse discrimination" seems to be a US Open policy. If you can drive the ball on to the fairway, you receive a 75 yard bonus roll. Fred Funk should average 325 yards Driving Distance this week.