US Open

[augolf1716 21,216]

Painful Tiger 4 bogeys on first 6 holes.

[augolf1716 21,216]

Duffner did well

yep 2 under really good start for Duf. Let see how he does with an afternoon teen time. Fingers crossed

[AU64 10,122]

Painful Tiger 4 bogeys on first 6 holes.

Headed for a round of 80 + .....once he loses patience....(which may have already happened) he sometimes goes through the motions. But saved a par so maybe can turn himself around...

[augolf1716 21,216]

Blayne has a 8 on a par 4 and and a 2 on a par 4. wow

[around4ever 4,139]

I'm really surprised at the number of 5 and 4 unders. I thought 3 under would be a good round one.

[AU64 10,122]

I'm really surprised at the number of 5 and 4 unders. I thought 3 under would be a good round one.

generally morning rounds with better scores.......will be interesting to see how many of the afternoon crowd break par. Meanwhile Rickie and Tiger apparently feeding off each other.....

[Barnacle 9,064]

Watching Tiger Woods play golf is baffling to me. Swing changes aside, he's at the lowest point in his career.

That being said, this is going to be a great US Open. Course is crazy, demands alot of imagination.

[AUbritt 611]

Duf 2 under after first round. Excellent start

Yep, War Eagle! Just wish we'd gotten to see it.

Might start a thread on who plays and handicap or roundabout average score.

You mean, who among us AUFamily members plays? Like a separate golf thread for us?

yep

I say go for it!

Are you kidding me? I just got home and turned on the U.S. Open. I have played country cow pasture courses that had better grass than Chambers Bay. Are they playing what we call "winter rules", where you can move the ball from bare spots to grass? That is awful for one of the most prestigious majors on the tour.

Stenson or Kuchar are my picks.

Not much different than Pinehurst last year....and I did not care much for that either.

An hour or so ago, watched Rory miss a little 6 foot putt that bounced a couple times and then meandered around...with the last move taking it away from the cup. Just bad luck...but he did miss three of those I think. Gotta be more firm to the cup I guess.

BUT...they are all playing the same course....but just to say that I wouldn't pay $25 to play that course....big name or whatever. Just sayin'

Going to be exciting at the end I bet....some real opportunities for some double and triple boogies....and no water hazards....who would have thought that possible.

I disagree with y'all on this one. I think the course is fantastic. I understand the players are used to playing on perfectly manicured courses; but I think that's ridiculous. I LOVE seeing these guys hit 'good' shots that aren't necessarily rewarded. I LOVE seeing them hit supposedly 'good putts' that don't go in. That's golf. There are a bunch of players out there making actually good shots. I can't wait to see what things look like once the course bakes out! I just wish the players would suck it up and quit complaining!

ETA: Where do y'all think golf started? A sheep pasture is the correct answer.

[AU64 10,122]

Duf 2 under after first round. Excellent start

Yep, War Eagle! Just wish we'd gotten to see it.

Might start a thread on who plays and handicap or roundabout average score.

You mean, who among us AUFamily members plays? Like a separate golf thread for us?

yep

I say go for it!

Are you kidding me? I just got home and turned on the U.S. Open. I have played country cow pasture courses that had better grass than Chambers Bay. Are they playing what we call "winter rules", where you can move the ball from bare spots to grass? That is awful for one of the most prestigious majors on the tour.

Stenson or Kuchar are my picks.

Not much different than Pinehurst last year....and I did not care much for that either.

An hour or so ago, watched Rory miss a little 6 foot putt that bounced a couple times and then meandered around...with the last move taking it away from the cup. Just bad luck...but he did miss three of those I think. Gotta be more firm to the cup I guess.

BUT...they are all playing the same course....but just to say that I wouldn't pay $25 to play that course....big name or whatever. Just sayin'

Going to be exciting at the end I bet....some real opportunities for some double and triple boogies....and no water hazards....who would have thought that possible.

I disagree with y'all on this one. I think the course is fantastic. I understand the players are used to playing on perfectly manicured courses; but I think that's ridiculous. I LOVE seeing these guys hit 'good' shots that aren't necessarily rewarded. I LOVE seeing them hit supposedly 'good putts' that don't go in. That's golf. There are a bunch of players out there making actually good shots. I can't wait to see what things look like once the course bakes out! I just wish the players would suck it up and quit complaining!

ETA: Where do y'all think golf started? A sheep pasture is the correct answer.

to each his own....just noting that this course is not what most of us play these days....even the most rural cow pasture country club looks better than this.

I don't get an vicarious thrill watching these guys struggling with bad greens.....would be like leaving the baseball infield rough like when we were kids.....and nobody was raking out the dirt to remove the pebbles or whatever. JMO, but does not make the experience better for the players or the fans.

As for complaining...haven't noticed any of that...players generally only complain off the record, like coaches complaining about the refs....can get expensive.

All that said.....it should be interesting to see which players adapt best and handle the mental aspects of the game.

And will be interesting to see if yesterday's morning players can handle an afternoon round.

[around4ever 4,139]

Duf 2 under after first round. Excellent start

Yep, War Eagle! Just wish we'd gotten to see it.

Might start a thread on who plays and handicap or roundabout average score.

You mean, who among us AUFamily members plays? Like a separate golf thread for us?

yep

I say go for it!

Are you kidding me? I just got home and turned on the U.S. Open. I have played country cow pasture courses that had better grass than Chambers Bay. Are they playing what we call "winter rules", where you can move the ball from bare spots to grass? That is awful for one of the most prestigious majors on the tour.

Stenson or Kuchar are my picks.

Not much different than Pinehurst last year....and I did not care much for that either.

An hour or so ago, watched Rory miss a little 6 foot putt that bounced a couple times and then meandered around...with the last move taking it away from the cup. Just bad luck...but he did miss three of those I think. Gotta be more firm to the cup I guess.

BUT...they are all playing the same course....but just to say that I wouldn't pay $25 to play that course....big name or whatever. Just sayin'

Going to be exciting at the end I bet....some real opportunities for some double and triple boogies....and no water hazards....who would have thought that possible.

I disagree with y'all on this one. I think the course is fantastic. I understand the players are used to playing on perfectly manicured courses; but I think that's ridiculous. I LOVE seeing these guys hit 'good' shots that aren't necessarily rewarded. I LOVE seeing them hit supposedly 'good putts' that don't go in. That's golf. There are a bunch of players out there making actually good shots. I can't wait to see what things look like once the course bakes out! I just wish the players would suck it up and quit complaining!

ETA: Where do y'all think golf started? A sheep pasture is the correct answer.

I have no problem with the layout and design of the course and the challenges that it creates for the players. But I expect a PGA Major to have green consistent greens and fairways that don't have dirt patches or thin brown grass. I disagree, if a player hits a good shot he should be rewarded. A putt on the PGA tour should not be deflected 45 degrees by sand clumps or uneven grass.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Duf 2 under after first round. Excellent start

Yep, War Eagle! Just wish we'd gotten to see it.

Might start a thread on who plays and handicap or roundabout average score.

You mean, who among us AUFamily members plays? Like a separate golf thread for us?

yep

I say go for it!

Are you kidding me? I just got home and turned on the U.S. Open. I have played country cow pasture courses that had better grass than Chambers Bay. Are they playing what we call "winter rules", where you can move the ball from bare spots to grass? That is awful for one of the most prestigious majors on the tour.

Stenson or Kuchar are my picks.

Not much different than Pinehurst last year....and I did not care much for that either.

An hour or so ago, watched Rory miss a little 6 foot putt that bounced a couple times and then meandered around...with the last move taking it away from the cup. Just bad luck...but he did miss three of those I think. Gotta be more firm to the cup I guess.

BUT...they are all playing the same course....but just to say that I wouldn't pay $25 to play that course....big name or whatever. Just sayin'

Going to be exciting at the end I bet....some real opportunities for some double and triple boogies....and no water hazards....who would have thought that possible.

I disagree with y'all on this one. I think the course is fantastic. I understand the players are used to playing on perfectly manicured courses; but I think that's ridiculous. I LOVE seeing these guys hit 'good' shots that aren't necessarily rewarded. I LOVE seeing them hit supposedly 'good putts' that don't go in. That's golf. There are a bunch of players out there making actually good shots. I can't wait to see what things look like once the course bakes out! I just wish the players would suck it up and quit complaining!

ETA: Where do y'all think golf started? A sheep pasture is the correct answer.

I have no problem with the layout and design of the course and the challenges that it creates for the players. But I expect a PGA Major to have green consistent greens and fairways that don't have dirt patches or thin brown grass. I disagree, if a player hits a good shot he should be rewarded. A putt on the PGA tour should not be deflected 45 degrees by sand clumps or uneven grass.

My feeling is that the same fans who complain about Chambers Bay should be complaining about the Open Championship. Its fescue guys, it turns brown in hot months, its not bad, its just different. As for the greens, again it's poa anna, its just different, although I do agree that later in the day they can be very unforgiving.

Something else I've noticed, is the USGAs attention to water conservation lately. Water is a huge barrier to the future of golf. I think showing these courses, and playing them in majors is very calculated, because these are the courses that are going to survive. People's expectations need to be managed if golf is going to continue to thrive.

[SCTiger2011 1,281]

Barnacle is right. The theme at the US Open last year was all about water conservation and how "brown can be the new green." I get the sentiment and am indifferent to it from a golf standpoint, but will agree it's not aesthetically pleasing. What was more annoying yesterday afternoon was the amount of bumps caused by the growing poa annua invasion on the greens. Now I know this is often a known evil of poa annua on greens, but with proper fertilization/herbicide cycles and watering over multiple seasons, the sprouting of the seedheads can be controlled. I'm guessing with all the pressure to make the course "Open ready" and possibly too the drought in the area, the greens have been baked the past few months and this has stimulated the germination/growth process of those seedheads (the plant evolutionary principle that an annual plant will rapidly reproduce itself under stress as to keep the growing cycle repeating). That is the annoying part, because poa annua control/maintenance is basically Turf Management 101 for Golf Superintendents in college, and it appears that maintenance has failed at one of the most prestigious tournaments the US hosts.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Barnacle is right. The theme at the US Open last year was all about water conservation and how "brown can be the new green." I get the sentiment and am indifferent to it from a golf standpoint, but will agree it's not aesthetically pleasing. What was more annoying yesterday afternoon was the amount of bumps caused by the growing poa annua invasion on the greens. Now I know this is often a known evil of poa annua on greens, but with proper fertilization/herbicide cycles and watering over multiple seasons, the sprouting of the seedheads can be controlled. I'm guessing with all the pressure to make the course "Open ready" and possibly too the drought in the area, the greens have been baked the past few months and this has stimulated the germination/growth process of those seedheads (the plant evolutionary principle that an annual plant will rapidly reproduce itself under stress as to keep the growing cycle repeating). That is the annoying part, because poa annua control/maintenance is basically Turf Management 101 for Golf Superintendents in college, and it appears that maintenance has failed at one of the most prestigious tournaments the US hosts.

Very interesting from a management standpoint. Good post.

[Weegle777 78]

Oakmont was green and gorgeous, but was still murderous. A US Open venue can be lush and still Open worthy. Seems that the US Open organization wants to be the American version of the Royal and Ancient.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Oakmont was green and gorgeous, but was still murderous.

But that isn't the point.

http://www.gcsaa.org/newsroom/news/water-conservation-a-theme-at-u-s-open

[Weegle777 78]

It wouldn't bother me to see rough turned into waste bunkers. Think of the fuel and water that could be saved.

[SCTiger2011 1,281]

Small sample size but early scoring today seems higher. Chambers got rain overnight too so I'm guessing the USGA is wanting carnage early after the lowest scoring opening US OPEN round since 2003. Pin placements probably on sidehill lies on the green today. Hate this gimmicky mess. The Royal and Ancient, while I don't want our courses looking like that, does at least know the difference in a difficult course setup and a tricked up course setup.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Small sample size but early scoring today seems higher. Chambers got rain overnight too so I'm guessing the USGA is wanting carnage early after the lowest scoring opening US OPEN round since 2003. Pin placements probably on sidehill lies on the green today. Hate this gimmicky mess. The Royal and Ancient, while I don't want our courses looking like that, does at least know the difference in a difficult course setup and a tricked up course setup.

Well Lucas Glover is +10 through 7 so...

[SCTiger2011 1,281]

https://twitter.com/AlexPerryESPN/status/611930800574042116

Yikes.

[SCTiger2011 1,281]

This is playing into Spieth's hands early, I think.

[Weegle777 78]

That was hilarious! Took a left turn.

[AU64 10,122]

JMO but when the grounds keeping/greens keeping fails, you say...".this is the way we wanted it". Mixed grass on the greens, especially grass with different characteristics is not the norm. Maybe some of you know different golfers than I do...but no one I know would pay good money to play a course in the condition of Chambers Bay.

They have managed to create a mystique for the course but I play golf in the Myrtle Beach area quite a bit and any course that looked even remotely like CB would be out of business immediately.

Sure it's fun to watch these guys deal with the problems but IMO, the USGA leadership has been smoking something if they think the golfing public is going go along with their campaign for cow pasture golf. I mean, let's quit watering the turf at Jordan Hare....just let whatever comes up serve as the turf for our games....

[around4ever 4,139]

https://twitter.com/...930800574042116

Yikes.

Exactly my point about the greens. A PGA Major should not see ball movement like that on a green.

[Barnacle 9,064]

JMO but when the grounds keeping/greens keeping fails, you say...".this is the way we wanted it". Mixed grass on the greens, especially grass with different characteristics is not the norm. Maybe some of you know different golfers than I do...but no one I know would pay good money to play a course in the condition of Chambers Bay.

They have managed to create a mystique for the course but I play golf in the Myrtle Beach area quite a bit and any course that looked even remotely like CB would be out of business immediately.

Sure it's fun to watch these guys deal with the problems but IMO, the USGA leadership has been smoking something if they think the golfing public is going go along with their campaign for cow pasture golf. I mean, let's quit watering the turf at Jordan Hare....just let whatever comes up serve as the turf for our games....

Well, its like a links course, and it looks a lot like a links course. I'm not saying the greens are ideal, there's been a lot of talk about the greens, but if all the public wants are over fertilized, lush looking golf courses, then golf is going to die in the next twenty years. Its unsustainable, especially for public courses, which are already closing in droves. I don't know that I would pay big money to play Chambers Bay either, but the point is that water conservation/availability is what the USGA considers to be the biggest barrier to golf in the near future. If courses don't start adopting more sustainable solutions (see Pinehurst #2) Golf is going to lose big time in America. I don't expect that the public is going to watch this week and think to themselves, that's the kind of course I want to play, but it would be foolish for the USGA to only present pristine, Augusta National like courses to the public. We need to understand that in order for golf to continue to grow, we need to make golf affordable, and that means maintaining golf courses without using 50 million gallons of water per year.

[SCTiger2011 1,281]

So the "hype" of Chambers seems to be falling flat at the moment.