Tiger preps at Oakmont
 

Check it out: http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/new...v=ap&type=lgns

The par 3 8th hole is 288yds??? What the hell is becoming of our game? We have officially entered the ridiculous in my opinion.

I agree! unless downhill / downwind....
Why not leave it at 221 or239 or something and make the bunkering/green interesting....

A par three should be a distance that all the pros can hit with a club that can reasonably be expectedto stay on the green!!!


And with US open rough and speedy greens too... Tiger better watch out they don't stick a windmill in front of the hole.. crazy!

That IS dumb.....

That's freakin stupid.....

Can they try any harder to eliminate half of the field....?

It ain't hurtin the "bomb and gougERS" that's for sure....

Homer on POWER
 

GOOD GOLF IS POWER GOLF. Homer Kelley.

Bring on the 288 yard hole. Could be one of the more interesting holes come Sunday.

See the Tomasello Video Chapter 5 on POWER.

DG

Come on ! I'm all for power but this seems like another stupid U.S. Open ploy for protecting the "lowest scoring major ".I seem to remember a lot of U.S. pros complaining about CARNOUSTIE-wasn't it davis love who said "it got the champion it deserved"- what ! Justin Leonard was the only American who could hit it straight! So don't reward accuracy ,reward luck and bye ,bye Fred Funk!-oh, and Justin Leonard ,Luuuuke,Brian Gay .A SHAME
Actully I bet Brian is one of the few who could hit that green with driver--maybe not a bad idea after all!

It would be interesting to see what John Riegger has got to say about this as he is one of the more qualified to answer .

John Riegger On the Coming Test At Oakmont
 

I had lunch today with John in Atlanta -- he stayed over after his great closing 66 yesterday and solo 9th place finish at Jennings Mill -- and talked with him tonight by phone in Richmond. I told him about the thread, and he told me he played the course in its Open set-up last fall. He remarked how Johnny Miller's 63 in 1973 was one of the great rounds of all time and predicted that, if things stay the way they are now, the winning score in this year's U.S. Open would be +5.

He said that the USGA purpose behind the 288-yard par 3 (he said it can play to 305!) was that they wanted a "true fairway wood" test. And they also wanted a true 3-shot par 5...which they apparently have achieved by lengthening the 12th -- already the toughest par 5 on the course -- to 700+ yards.

The USGA has made the once great US Open not only my least favorite Major, but one of my least favorite tournaments within the year.

I understand the true fairway wood test part; it makes sense. But 288 is a bit long for a fairway wood shot for a lot of the pros, unless it's downhill. Isn't the average driving distance on tour like 289?

Accuracy with Driver
 

To me the long par 3 makes sense :salut: .....let Brian's accuracy with the driver off the tee rule the day.

DG

Too hard or too easy
 

If the very same hole were called a "Par 4" we would all say the hole is too easy; but hust because the USGA put "Par 3" on the score card we think it is too hard.:rolleyes:

The lowest number of strokes will win the US Open regardless of what par the USGA assign to any particular hole.

Some other links on Tigers trip:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_504098.html

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_504224.html

I have played there twice---first time in the summer of 1973, about 6 weeks after Johnny Miller's US Open win, and about 8 yeras ago. If I remember correctly the par 3 8th hole does play slightly downhill. If you go to the 2 pictures posted on the "venue from above" thread, check out the picture on the right. The 8th green is just below the 2 bridges that cross over the PA Turnpike. Look back towards the right and you will see the tee sitting in the middle of some dormant grass. I played it at about 200+ yards way back when. Wish I could hit a high draw 3 wood to the center of a 288 yard green!

In some respects, what is the difference if there is a 400 yard par 3? All the players that complained about Carnoustie were basically out of the tournament before it started. If your mind is too weak to handle the challenge then don't enter. It's the FREAKING US OPEN, I think it should reward the most mentally tough player. If you look at some of the most difficult US Open venues you find some of the most mentally tough players in history, as it should be!

Great shots should be rewarded and mediocre shots punished.

288 yards
 

Might not be an issue at all.

I am pretty sure there are a few sub-300 yards par 4's on tour. Does not matter much if they start saying that all those are par 3's.

ZJ won the Masters by lay up on all par 5's. A layup of 200 yards on a 288 yard par 3 sounds like a pretty good idea.

I haven't seen how the hole is designed... If it required a 270 yards carry over water it'll be a huge factor, but if it is more of the opposite I do not think it'll be a factor at all.

Will look out for it.

There are a couple short holes on this course, also. #2 is 340 yards and #17 is 313 yards - very short by today's standards. I expect we'll see several players try to drive those greens.

Here's the design of the 8th
http://www.oakmont-countryclub.org/d...ID=1042&hole=8

I TAKE IT ALL BACK- that hole looks easy!
Seriously,I bet it is played from the blue tees if there is any doubt the short guys can't make it.
Maybe the logic is that the short par 4's will "balance "the scores.:confused1 :pumpkin:
Thanks for the pics Ben

#2 and #17 are "short", but both are uphill. Back in 1994 several of the pros drove #17.

Thanks for the link, bam. I have to say that I really like the design. I guess any pro will be able to carry the bunker, but the additional req that the shot have to be on target to avoid the same bunker left or any bunker right is a great feature.

As the green is said to be not very undulated: If the pin or wind is not too severe I expect to see a few birdies, 25% bogeys, a majority of pars, but not many double bogeys or "other".

I need a link to a bookie who has the odds. :)

what percentage of the field ( about 140 players??) will hit the green in regulation? Most pros are in the 60-70% range for GIR... they are hitting maybe 5-sw on average maybe?

So GIR for this 288 yard hole is going to be about 50% if played near full length... so if half the field hit the green and 2 putt then about half ( 65) will get par....maybe 5 birdies per round from those who hit the green...

the half that miss the green ... about 50%( 35 players ) will end in sand...50 % ( 35 players ) in rough /fringe...

if the green is relatively flat...the "sand saves" and "scrambling" stats might be a bit better eg. 55% and 60-65% respectively...being generous!!

so those 35 in sand .... maybe 20 get up and down for par...15 make bogey +...

and those 35 in rough/fringe maybe 23 make par and 12 make bogey +.....

so of 140 players...

100-110 pars
5 birdies
20-30 bogeys
double or worse 5-10

score average = about 3.3...

hmm... i reckon nearer 3.4 +...

as you have guessed i am not a bookie or statistitian.... probably bent stats law to my own way of thinking.... but this is my prediction!!

More thoughts
 

Read this today, an account of Tiger's recent visit.

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/new...v=ap&type=lgns

In reading this thread I need to comment on the purpose of my original post. It was not to disparage the US Open or USGA set up, it was more a commentary on how far technology has taken the game. Some will argue we've gone too far.

At my club we have three par 3's that play over 200 yds. Our 16th hole plays 238yds to the center of the green and 245yds to the back. When we get a north Texas wind blowin' it plays 265yds. For us rank-amateurs that is one tough ass hole! We have guys hitting driver but our long hitters are still hitting irons. So I kind of get it when the USGA sets up a 288yd par 3. The tour players are not often tested with long irons and fairway woods.

All in all I say, they all play the same course so it really doesn't matter. You play against the course and the conditions and lowest score wins, be it 63 or 75.