Stating The Obvious

Any observer would have to believe, that even with the best Amateurs in the world, the score for qualifying for the match play would be in the vicinity of 147, or four over the normal par for these courses. The weather on Monday and Tuesday was not particularly conducive to low scoring. There were swirling winds and intermittent rain that pecked at the contestants as they went about their collective task. The pinning positions were about the norm for a major Championship. Some were available, some less so and others that really were tucked forcing the players to play away from them. The USGA, as is their wont, kept the courses fair for all the players.

At the US Amateur in 2002 at Oakland Hills Country Club the vulnerability of the Classic Golf Course was underscored. 256 of the best Amateurs in the world arrived at this site to compete in one of the most hallowed events of golf. Monday and Tuesday were reserved for the medal rounds, the reduction of the field to 64 players to compete in the match play portion of the event. The North and South courses at Oakland Hills dressed out at 6,500 and 6,900 yards respectively. These were 13,400 yards of tough golf holes. The terrain is hilly, the rough was long and tangled, the bunkers were deep and the greens were slick. The Championship South Course, which had been described by Ben Hogan in 1953 as a monster was showing its’ teeth in a manner that only a true Championship Course could. Par for the two courses had been reduced from the normal par of 143 to a blistering 140. Three of the par five holes had been converted to par fours, yet the length of these holes had only been rolled back a grudgingly small number of yards.
		Any observer would have to believe, that even with the best Amateurs in the world, the score for qualifying for the match play would be in the vicinity of 147, or four over the normal par for these courses. The weather on Monday and Tuesday was not particularly conducive to low scoring. There were swirling winds and intermittent rain that pecked at the contestants as they went about their collective task. The pinning positions were about the norm for a major Championship. Some were available, some less so and others that really were tucked forcing the players to play away from them. The USGA, as is their wont, kept the courses fair for all the players.
A simple description of the South Course is as follows: take your average Donald Ross Golf Course that is built on hilly terrain add about 12 % more yardage, grow the rough to six inches, sprinkle the landing areas with fairway bunkers and then add three or four new bunkers to each green complex so that any hope of running the ball to the green is thwarted. Compound the difficulty by cutting and rolling the Donald Ross circa 1922 greens with all of the peaks and valleys (not to mention the dead elephants) to about eleven on the Stimpmeter. The North Course, while not as severe as the South, was also set up for Championship play. What was lacking in length was supplemented by water hazards and many copses of penal trees. Overall the North is more like a normal Ross members course with slick greens and brutal rough. On Wednesday morning there was a playoff for the last couple of spots in the match play. The playoff number was 143. The best Amateur players in the world are well-conditioned athletes. They are extremely skilled due to their youthful introduction to the game and the phenomenal teaching methods that are available to them. Many of the players attend colleges and universities throughout the US and play on golf teams year round. They play with the finest equipment available today and practice incessantly. They are talented, intelligent and schooled at all aspects of the game. All of this aside, they would not be shooting scores of this nature, if not for one significant factor. These players, like everyone else in the game are playing a golf ball that is perfect. Unlike its predecessors, the golf ball of today goes farther, flies straighter, spins better and putts flawlessly. It does not nick or cut or go out of the round. And it just goes too damned far. Twenty-five years ago, Jack W. Nicklaus called for limitations on the golf ball. He felt then and repeats today that the ball is miniaturizing great courses that we have all grown to know and love. Ninety tears ago the namesake of our Society said that the ball should be standardized and controlled so that the courses he and others were designing could remain relevant. His suggestion was that the “floater” which was lighter than the norm should have been adopted as the standard ball. As a Society that is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of Classic Golf Courses, the Donald Ross Society strongly recommends that this issue be examined and action be taken. We fully understand the difficulty that the USGA faces in rolling back golf ball performance. We empathize with the tough decision that the ruling body of the game will endure in making this move. Unfortunately, there is no other choice. The USGA is the rule maker. In every other sport that involves a ball the rule maker sets out the specifications and limits. Golf should be no different. The time has come, the charge is imperative and the future of our beloved old courses hangs in the balance.
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