A Report Card on the USGA's 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach is the cathedral of American golf.  Its ninety-one year old design has stood the test of time and evolved into hallowed ground for the sport.  The reputation of the course is such that the USGA has made a commitment to this venue every ten years - except in the case of the 2019 Open, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the links.  The four prior Opens had identified the greatest golfers of their era as its champion. 

This Open crowned a first-time major winner, but a champion most deserving and full of potential.  It was done on a new Pebble, one that combined elements of the past and present.  Overall, the championship at Pebble Beach blended those elements very well, but also struggled in places - particularly with greens.

Pebble and the USGA's Mike Davis were not above reproach this past weekend when it came to executing the Open.  Most notably (and audibly), Tiger Woods criticized the poa annua greens at Pebble.  He called them "terrible" and was so critical that it drew a public response from the USGA.

The poa greens held up fairly well throughout the week, but as the tournament wore on, they got worse.  Without water from nature or the hose, the greens grew bumpy earlier in the day and spotty in appearance.  The pattern of the spots was mesmerizing and provided an interesting view into the speed of the putting surfaces through the weekend.  The bumps, though, made holing putts outside of twenty feet nearly impossible on Sunday.  In large part, that had to do with the battle for survival on Sunday.  Players needed birdies, but could not make them, leading to three-putts.  The crowds, TV, and the players would have preferred them.

The brown spots mixed with the green created some serious issues for shotmaking.  The bounces that players got on their approach shots were determined on a number of greens by whether or not the shot hit brown or green pastures.  Yes, there is only so much that any crew can do with poa in a high-traffic championship with little water, but this did detract from some of the bite that quality ballstrikers could take out of Pebble.  In one sense, though, that should have encouraged players to engage Pebble more like a links course than a typical US Open layout.

Some of Arnold Palmer's bunkering changes were seen as unnatural or unnecessary.  Mike Davis said repeatedly that he was trying to restore much of the course's bunkering to Depression-era conditions.  In that regard, he was successful in presenting a "restored" Pebble.

The tee boxes led to a number of creative opportunities through the tournament.  Deeming the fourth hole as the now-annual drivable par 4 was brilliant.  Its risk-reward proposition helped to doom the chances of Dustin Johnson, but made for great strategy.  Having seven play under 100 yards was brilliant and gutsy.  The lengthening at 9 and 10 turned out to make sense in combination with the large, but hard-to-hold landing areas.  Leaving the closing three holes basically alone compared to the annual PGA Tour stop was a good decision.

Fourteen was a nightmare.  Yes, my initial thoughts indicated support for the way the hole was played, and that support remains.  What would an Open be without a controversial hole?  Still, the green of this par 5 needs to be expanded three yards behind where it is today to create a more palatable landing area for wedge shots to a firm green.  The chipping area to the left can stay.  There should be a penalty for unbridled aggression that is not executed well by the player.  That one aberration can not overly detract from an otherwise great effort. 

In the end, the player most in control over every shot - the contemplative McDowell - won the championship because he handled the course best of all in the field.  That is the mark of a true champion.

Mike Davis and his team were able to present (again) a test that maximizes player forethought into each shot, while balancing scoring opportunities and thrills for the galleries.  In 2019, though, the USGA may have to sacrifice some of the speed that it created during the weekend in order to allow players to showcase their putting and shotmaking skills.