Was Shinnecock Hills a mistake by the USGA

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Given the wildly fluctuating course set-ups from day to day at the 118th U.S. Open, the United States Golf Association lucked into a great leaderboard, a back-to-back champion in Brooks Koepka and enough final-round drama to hold the critics at bay.

Still, the question hangs in the air like a Dustin Johnson 3-iron: Why can’t the USGA get it right?

Shinnecock Hills was impossibly difficult Saturday, when Ian Poulter wondered in a tweet if “Bozo set up the course,” Phil Mickelson made a mockery of the Rules of Golf by playing hockey on the 13th green and numerous players stomped their soft spikes and cried foul.

The reactionary USGA, already up to its blazer crests in bad publicity, went the other way Sunday, muzzling Shinnecock so that Tommy Fleetwood had five consecutive 3s on his card in a 63 that tied the major championship record and Rickie Fowler improved upon his third-round score by 19 shots (84-65).

“That’s the course I enjoy playing,” Fowler said.

USGA executive director Mike Davis is a smart and honorable man and a golf guy through and through. The U.S. Open is his baby, and it’s his mission to test the players without embarrassing them. He admitted the organization got it wrong Saturday. Is it so hard to straddle that line?

“You wouldn’t think so,” said Steve Stricker, “but how many times have we watched them on TV, like Mike Davis last night, saying the same thing year after year? It’s like you come to expect it when you come here.”

As a members’ course Shinnecock Hills is an absolute delight. As the site of our national championship, despite its storied history, its wind-swept beauty and its standing among the great American courses, it might be on the verge of being obsolete.

We saw it in 2004, when the USGA turned the seventh green into a miniature Sahara Desert, and we saw it again Saturday, when the course changed drastically from morning to afternoon because of a set-up that didn’t account properly for sun and wind, turning the leader board upside down.


Two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North said he had never seen a golf course change so dramatically over the course of one day. Not even in Scotland.

Some might say that’s the rub of the green, but when players who barely survive the cut are able to make up eight or 10 shots on the players who are ostensibly on top of their games, something is wrong.

“They always err on the wrong side of that line,” Stricker said of the USGA. “Today, they erred way on the safe side and yesterday they didn’t. They were across that line. I think it’s a great course to have a U.S. Open. They just set it up poorly sometimes.”

The reality is that the USGA cannot bring Shinnecock to the edge without going over it. It’s almost impossible to do given the weather on the eastern end of Long Island and the fact that the course is more than 100 years old, with a set of severely sloping greens that were not designed for modern green speeds.

Put too much water on the putting surfaces and you’re going to see a bunch of 64s and 65s. Let them dry out in the sun and wind and players will be trying not to three-putt from 10 feet.
“If the green speed goes up, the difficulty of putting goes up hyperbolically,” said short-game expert Dave Pelz. “If it’s twice as fast, it’s not twice as hard. If it’s twice as fast, it’s impossible.”
Some believe Mickelson was making a point, wrong-headed though it was, when frustration got the best of him and he jogged after his ball on the 13th green and swiped at it while it was still moving, resulting in a two-stroke penalty and a raging debate about what’s fair and foul in the gentlemanly game.

It’s nice to have gizmos that measure the firmness of the turf and moisture in the soil, but sometimes common sense must prevail.

“There’s so many pin placements out there but they choose some that, as players, we don’t even ever see in our minds,” Stricker said. “You’re like, ‘It can’t be there’ and sure as heck, it’s there.”

The bottom line is that if the USGA can’t accept a winning score of 12-under par, then Shinnecock is always going to present a massive headache.

The U.S. Open is scheduled to return in 2026. Will the folks in Far Hills, N.J., finally have figured out this place by then? Don’t hold your breath.
 
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The only mistake was the pin placements on Saturday knowing the wind and sun was going to dry the course out. But it was a big mistake since it did drastically change the way the course played and made it almost unfair with some pins(like 18 especially). The course itself is perfect for the Open. I wish they would play it here more often. Only other mistake they made was not disqualifying Phil.
 

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wabashwonders;12528870 mistake they made was not disqualifying Phil.[/QUOTE said:
^^^ This, Phil should be ASHAMED....PERIOD....

Makes you think how many others, Phil included do shit like that...:purple:.
 

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Just go back to thick bermuda roughs , narrow fairways , and fast fast greens that are green
 
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^^^ This, Phil should be ASHAMED....PERIOD....

Makes you think how many others, Phil included do shit like that...:purple:.

His actions were very unprofessional and the fact he did what he did instead of using the rules in a proper way to make an “easy” 8 instead of the 10 shows his failure to know the rules. What he should have done was allow the ball to roll out and then declared an unplayable lie, which would have allowed him to replace the ball where his original putt was and been putting for 7. 2 putt for the 8 and would have looked smart for using the rules to his advantage instead of looking like a fool.
 

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A 5 time Champ...

HE KNEW THE RULES.......

(He has won 43 events on the PGA Tour, including five major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), a PGA Championship (2005), and an Open Championship (2013). Mickelson is one of 16 players in the history of golf to win at least three of the four majors.)


he knew EXACTLY where that ball was going...

shame on him....
 

I'm from the government and I'm here to help
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a couple pin placements on Saturday were too far over the edge but otherwise it was a great set up and produced what US Opens are supposed to produce which is a completely freaking stacked leaderboard

just go through the top 10 and compare with their OWGR ... great event, great course, brought out the best players.

can't blame them for Thursday weather and both Friday and Sunday were very score-able.

the players are never happy
 

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to much overreaction here with Phil. Move on. did something out of frustration.. big deal. He was out of the tournament, didn't have an impact on the result in any kind of way..
 
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A 5 time Champ...

HE KNEW THE RULES.......

(He has won 43 events on the PGA Tour, including five major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), a PGA Championship (2005), and an Open Championship (2013). Mickelson is one of 16 players in the history of golf to win at least three of the four majors.)


he knew EXACTLY where that ball was going...

shame on him....
If he knew the rules then he would have done exactly what I said and took an unplayable lie. He DID NOT know the rules which is why he did what he did. He made a foolish mistake and just because a guy is a great golfer doesn’t mean he knows all the rules.
 

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to much overreaction here with Phil. Move on. did something out of frustration.. big deal. He was out of the tournament, didn't have an impact on the result in any kind of way..

Ok, so it's ok to CHEAT??????

Really...
 

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to much overreaction here with Phil. Move on. did something out of frustration.. big deal. He was out of the tournament, didn't have an impact on the result in any kind of way..

it sure did have a impact on the payouts with him at 48 and not DQd
 

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maybe Phil will use his payday to finally pay some of his stiff job back
 

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If he knew the rules then he would have done exactly what I said and took an unplayable lie. He DID NOT know the rules which is why he did what he did. He made a foolish mistake and just because a guy is a great golfer doesn’t mean he knows all the rules.

So wait...

you're saying he doesn't KNOW you have to wait for the ball TO STOP.....

hhmmm....interesting....
 

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Someone said to take an unplayable lie, would he have to get a rules official to confirm that?
the ball would be lying in the fairway.
 

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