Community Planner
Group: Members
Posts: 5
Member No.: 28
Joined: 13-June 07
|
| QUOTE | Devilish Oakmont went too far
Next major test beastly 'Carnasty' and British Open
Robert Thompson
National Post
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Angel Cabrera may have taken the U.S. Open, but it appears the golf course won the battle for penal, ponderous golf.
Yes, many have heralded Oakmont Country Club, site of last week's second major, as perhaps the greatest example of difficult golf in the world. It is hard to say with any certainty how many times NBC announcers Johnny Miller and Dan Hicks called holes at Oakmont "extremely challenging," "diabolical," or "the most difficult in the world."
Certainly, Oakmont's conditioning, with its lengthy lush rough and firm sloping greens, made it an extraordinarily difficult golf course. But did the extreme nature of it result in a great tournament? Was Cabrera the best golfer this past week, or was he the only one lucky enough to avoid a misstep that would have led to disaster?
Two former U.S. Open champions think the sadistic nature of the majors was pushed too far. Gone were the options for recovery that make golf exciting, replaced by the need to hack balls out of long rough from merely a few feet off the fairway.
"I just don't like the black-and-whiteness of the guaranteed one-shot penalty for hitting it in a bad spot," Geoff Ogilvy said after the tournament.
"It is on the edge of embarrassing some of the guys," Michael Campbell said. "It wasn't much fun out there, put it that way."
Neither Ogilvy nor Campbell were alone in their feelings. Phil Mickelson joked about going to watch "the carnage" on television after missing the cut.
The desire to see courses embarrass many of the best golfers in the world has been an increasing trend in recent years. Many were thrilled when the wind blew and the rain came down sideways at Muirfield Golf Club during the 2002 British Open, leading Tiger Woods to shoot a career-high 81. To some, it proved that PGA Tour players are golfers like the rest of us.
These are the same folks who probably delight in watching a fly pinned to a table to have its wings torn off. They see courses like Oakmont, or the concrete-hard greens at Augusta in April, as the great equalizers that show even Woods can struggle with the game. In truth, these courses aren't examples of equality, but of the game gone awry.
All of this is a concern for the British Open, to be held in less than a month at Carnoustie -- or "Carnasty" as it was known after the shellacking it gave golfers at the 1999 Open Championship.
I'm more than aware that Carnoustie is among the most beastly courses in existence. I've battled against it twice, putting my single-digit handicap against its strategic bunkers and the constant wind that howls across its greens. Both times I lost -- in normal conditions, with light rough. It is hard to imagine how hard it could play with knee-high rough and fairways narrowed to 15 yards. Oh, that's right, we've already witnessed that once.
The Royal and Ancient, which controls the British Open, has pledged there won't be a repeat of the eight-year-old debacle. The course will be firm, fast and a fair test, the R&A has assured the media.
Here's hoping they are right. We've seen two difficult courses set up to suck the majors of their excitement. And despite assurances the British Open won't follow, it wouldn't be surprising to see golf go three-for-three. |
This post has been edited by Jennifer Tacoma on Jun 21 2007, 02:15 PM
|
Devilish Oakmont Went Too Far
Help
Search
Members
Calendar
