Playing the 2011 US Open at Congressional Before It Happens

It was a hot mid-afternoon at Congressional Country Club - the kind of scorching heat that only either General Sherman, Satan, or Ken Venturi could appreciate.  The heat wave that has ravaged the mid-Atlantic region highly resembled the kind of sun in which Ken Venturi nearly collapsed from heat exhaustion, then went out on a Saturday afternoon to win the 1964 US Open.

Forty-six years later, I stood on the first tee of the Blue Course at the historic suburban DC club.  I was going to have my stab at the host course for the '64, '97, and 2011 US Open.  Before hitting the tee, the USGA shared some information about the new Congressional that we would be seeing. The Blue Course at Congo will certainly be different than the two prior Opens held there. 

First, the course no longer ends on a par 3.  That was changed in 2003 when the club - in hopes of getting this 2011 Open - agreed to re-route the course so that its then 17th would close out the course.  The change has been on display in three PGA Tour events since, but has not been the cauldron for the National Open.  The course now ends on a downhill par 4 with a peninsula of water guarding the sides and back of the smallish putting surface.  The membership considered putting holes from the adjoining Gold Course into play for the Open like was done in '64 (and for the '76 PGA Championship) or even trading off with the Blue permanently. Ultimately, this move made the most long-term sense for the club.

Congo Blue will also be longer than it plays for the AT&T National or the '97 Open.  For those events, Congressional is a 7200 yard, par 70 course.  Next June, it will be 7568 yards on the scorecard and par will be 71.  Mike Davis and his staff have invented seven new tees for the Open that will add some 300 yards to the numbers on the card.  Davis says, though, that in accordance with his style as setup ace for the governing body that Congressional will almost assuredly never play that total length.

Fairways had their contours changed and the Davis-described "waviness" of them was largely eliminated.  Davis said the design characteristic was a relic of the 60s and 70s, which took Congo's stifling, deep bunkers largely out of play.  Davis will mow the fairways so that they come more into play, but not create targets overly generous for the Open.

Perhaps the biggest change, though, will go almost completely unnoticed to the naked eye.  Every green on the Blue Course was redone from the ground up.  Laser and GPS technology was used to profile each surface as it was.  The greens were then lopped off on top to allow for the installation of Subair systems.  The sand base chosen for the greens was done so by Davis' own hand to determine the best grains for firmness.  Slight - less than 2% - changes were made to the grade on certain parts of specific greens to allow for slightly softer conditions and give the Open staff and daily membership a chance to have more pin locations than ever. 

On top of the new sand and dirt, Congressional Director of Golf Course Maintenance Mike Giuffre planted a bentgrass A1-A4 hybrid.  This replaced a less reliable bentgrass that had been infiltrated by the dreaded poa annua grass.  That grass does poorly in the mid-Atlantic year round, unlike how it can work at Pebble.  Davis and his staff would have fought the greens for the Open if poa were still in the mix.

Although the influence of Davis on the greens was clearly selfish in part, the cost was incurred voluntarily by the club to improve the course. The club built a $24 million extension to its already mammoth clubhouse, so sinking whatever amount of money that they did into the course for Open prep (which they did not disclose) had to be more than worth it.

Davis was clearly nervous that the rebuild began immediately following the '09 AT&T National - just inside of two years out from the Open - but his survey of the property indicates he is pleased with where the surfaces are.  The speed is not what they want yet, but there is a plan involved to ensure the increased ferociousness of the gently undulating surfaces before next June.

Equipped with all of this information before teeing off at the Blue Course, part of my round was going to be observational - seeing what was different as a spectator of the course since Tiger's been in town with his event.  The other was simulating what the field of 156 will see in eleven months' time and hoping that I could turn in a good round on a US Open track.

My round was from the gold tees.  For me, the course was right about 6800 yards - a good test for the decent player.  The first tee is a fairly benign opening hole, just under 400 yards, but with a string of bunkers to guard on the right.  Hitting a decent tee shot with my 3 hybrid was not conservative enough.  I rolled into the next to last fairway bunker - all of which Davis will fluff up to increase the penal nature of them - with no stance at all. 

The most awkward stance I have ever had in a trap made the penalty clear behind Davis' stated strategy to mow the course to bring more hazards into play.

The second hole is an uphill par three - a common theme at Congressional save for the now tenth.  Davis said he could have extended the teeing ground back some thirty more yards, but the hole had its own merit at its current length.  With a back to front slant, and strong guard on front left and all right with bunkers, the hole stood for itself.

Davis' first new tee came into view at the third.  It was forty yards back and to the left of the AT&T National tee.  The player's view is positioned squarely on the hole's big bunkers on the right side of the fairway, creating a mini-dogleg in the process.  It was the only thing Davis could do to an otherwise easy parkland golf hole.

The fourth hole is Davis' major redo on the front side.  A new tee was created fifty yards back and right of the shaded teeing ground that holds the back tees today.  His championship tee creates a chute for the player to drive through and down the hill to a fairway not shifted left to incur more of a dogleg feel.  The green is one of the few on the course that is not well guarded by bunkering.  Though the case, the comparatively shallow green could wreak havoc on players coming in with longer irons.

The fifth hole - and its cousin the 12th - are short par 4s which dogleg hard to the left.  Five plays to an elevated green from the fairway.  Players have a fairly blind shot to the putting surface that is situated at a 45 degree angle to the player hitting iron off of the tee.  Davis is entertaining the possibility of making this his "drivable delight" by using the forward tee, but seemed reticent about it.

The difference between every tournament ever played at Congo Blue and the '11 Open is at six.  For the members, this hole is a par five.  On Tour, it's a four.  For the Open, Davis restores this hole to a five with a new tee that lengthens the hole and reinstates the risk-reward nature of the hole.  The primary selling point of the hole is a fairly contrived water feature that guards short and right of the green.  Davis will tempt players with forward tees and tight pins relative to the water to take advantage.

The par 3s at Congo Blue are run-of-the-mill.  Seven is no different.  A shaded tee box could be a respite from summer heat, but it is a simple uphill hole with a two-tier green.  Yawn.  Nothing to be done here except let players make three and move on to the eighth.  Davis did almost nothing to this hole either, the other short par 4 on the front nine.  This one is a downhill par 4 to the right.  A longer player could give it a ride.  The green is guarded on the front right by a deep bunker.  Davis will likely tuck pins behind that bunker almost everyday.

Closing out the front side is the only three shot par 5 of the trio for next June.  Davis created a tee box some 25 yards behind the current tips that aims players toward the bunkering on the right hand side.  Players will be able to go for the hole with two good shots, but the USGA will shave the area around the green to deincentivize aggression.  This hole was my only birdie of the round, something worth mentioning because it took making a windy fifty footer to do it.

Moving over to ten will be a much shorter walk than what players experienced in '95 at the US Senior Open, and completely different than the 18th that the players saw from the opposite direction two years later.  Rees Jones' new tenth hole is a downhill par three over the water featured shared with the new closing hole.  It drops into a natural amphitheater with a wide but not deep green.  The closer the tee box, the more awkward the tee shot to hole locations on the right hand side of the green.  Orienting the player will be bizarre from those closer boxes because the tees run at a 45 degree angle to the putting surface.  The hole could be a very tough start for the championship to the unlucky players that go off early on ten.

The eleventh is the opposite of six in that it plays as a par five for the membership but will be a burdensome long par 4 for the Open hopefuls.  The primary change to the hole is that Davis has had Rees Jones remove the fairway bunker about 280 yards out to the right that was perpendicular to the stream that runs all the way up the fairway.  The mowing pattern will bring errant drives to the right within rolling distance of the hazard, but a well-placed drive to the right will offer the best angle and flattest ground to the pin.  The green is long and narrow, which should afford a host of locations that will challenge players with a long iron.  Expect very few birdies at 11, but also that Tiger will love its "all in front of you" nature.

Twelve is like five - a short hole for the membership.  But, for the Open, Davis will implement (it was not even visible yet) a radical change thanks to borrowing the gold tee of the 15th hole.  The hole will play some 470 yards for the championship, bringing the dogleg back into play as a point of strategy.  The hole can be a bear with a smaller landing area and a big bunker for the player that cannot convert an optimal drive.  For a couple of rounds, Davis may move up the tee to entice aggressive drives over the corner, but the green will be difficult no matter the length.  This is probably the course's most poorly designed putting surface, with a weird crown on which a pin will likely be tucked and upset almost everyone in the field.

Then we come up the second par three of the back nine.  The thirteenth is another forgettable par 3 with almost no defense whatsoever.  Hit a six or seven iron and move on.  As I played fourteen is also how the players will see it as well.  Downhill par four to a valley, but then back uphill for the approach.  It is a simple hole, and one of few places on the course where the property line comes into play.  Go anywhere but hard left and the hole should not be too difficult.

Congo's closing four holes will truly determine the championship.  The stretch is long and tough - typical US Open selling points. 

Fifteen is presented next June with a new tee just in back of fourteen green.  It is fifty yards back and to the left from the ground today, bringing the ravine of junk grass and bunkering right into the player's view.  (See a theme with the bunkers?)  Frankly, a drive to the left side is a better bet.  It opens up an angle to tough pins that will likely sit behind the front right's three deep bunkers.  The uphill, fairly blind approach shot will give the players fits, especially when overcooking back left into an unforgiving bunker.

Unlike eleven, a bunker was added to the sixteenth hole.  It also was the one other par five that Davis considered having play as a par 4.  Instead, Davis quickly decided to add a third bunker to the cluster on the right drive zone.  The bunkers on the left will see more deposits with the mowing pattern to induce the rolls into them.  With the prevailing wind likely into the player, the hole will certainly stands its own.  Davis also intends to mow all the way around the greens so that OB could be in play on a left hand miss, trees on the right, and an almost impossible up and down off of the back.

The penultimate hole at Congo Blue is one I really don't like.  It is a downhill par four that currently has a hillside of scrawny rough between the flat driving area and the bomber's go zone below it.  Davis wants players to consider a driver off of the tee, so he will cut a "speed slot" into the hillside that would allow lengthy types to try to leave themselves with a flip wedge into the large green.  That feature might well save an otherwise awful golf hole.

A long walk awaits the players from 17 green to the new final tee.  The tee, which is some forty yards beyond the current blue tee, is right behind the gold 15th green and at the property fence.  The downhill hole had to be lengthened because Davis wanted players to have a mid iron into the green instead of the wedges that players can hit while in the AT&T National.  The hole seems daunting at 520-someodd yards, but it plays more like 460.  Teeing off through a narrow looking chute for the first 240 yards or so may seem intimidating, but it is all visual.  The fairway slants slightly to the left, but is pretty generous.

The final approach to Congo, though, is dramatic.  The peninsula of water that guards the last green (along with a bunker to the right) will pose problems for players that catch a flyer in the rough.  It would be smart for players to consider running the ball onto the green from above a la the opening hole at Oakmont.  Spectators will float in grandstands just into the water on the left, awaiting the final shots there and observing any remaining action on ten in what will probably be the best seat in the house.

I'm sure you've noticed that few shots of mine were actually mentioned in this tour.  A birdie at 9 and a nice par at the last were good enough for me.  I could have shot 80, but I shot 92.  That's what little practice and poor bunker play will do.

As someone who has the length of most PGA Tour professionals, the course will definitely carry some weight.  Nearly 7600 yards will do that.  But, Congo is a place where the tee shots really are not that intimidating.  Mike Davis did his best to make them so, and under Open pressure they probably will be more of a menace that on some idle, scorching day.

The greens ran maybe at 10 for my experience.  They will be a 14 for the Open and much more perilous.  The tiers and undulations on the putting surfaces will come alive and Davis' subtle changes to include more hole location possibilities for his staff will take advantage. 

Congo, though, offers few places for real ingenuity with teeing grounds.  There will likely not be the drivable par four that Davis has become known for in his Opens.  Maybe in part that is because he wants to stop being known as "that guy," and with the PGA Tour copying his setups on a regular basis, he needs new distinguishing marks.  

The tenor of his design goal for next June is to spotlight Congo's defenses that typically align themselves to one side of a hole or the other.  Be they bunkering, streams, or junk grass, Davis wants to challenge the player to consider taking a risk in order to leave a much more comfortable approach.  The greens will be guarded by mowing techniques that force accuracy to the inch. 

Hopefully the result will not be a Sawgrass-esque crapshoot that makes players complain and, simultaneously, that this not become the calling card for Davis 2.0. 

Five years into his lead at the helm of the National Open, Congressional posed some serious setup complications in what may be his biggest test to date.  Davis said repeatedly that it was important for the Open to be in the national's capital.  To do so, though, Davis had to take a course that is uninspiring in places and make it into a solid 18 holes.  By and large, he accomplished that - at least in vision.  The real measure, though, will be on Father's Day weekend next June.