The Greens at Torrey …

.. are not ready for the Open. Hell, they are holding 6 irons out of the rough. That will never do. But when the USGA is done, there will be hole locations all over the place that you simply cannot attack, even from the fairway. (Back right of #15 behind the bunker comes to mind.) The USGA can set that course up so the players will shot as high as the USGA wants. [Except maybe Tiger who will shoot lower than everyone else whatever they do.]

Bill the greenskeeper said that the speed of the greens would depend on the weather; fog might play a factor in softening them. I asked Bill if he had ever been to an Open. No, he had not. I told him that he would be crying Sunday night because his greens will be on the edge of d-e-a-d. That brown tinge you see on TV is not an optical illusion. The USGA will turn off the water and, fog or no fog, the greens will be rock hard and lightening fast.

And as far as a ten handicap breaking 100, forget about it. The only thing that will keep him under 120 is that he’ll get to play before the greens are dead.

The Rough is Ruff

So anyway, if you hit it in the rough, like maybe a yard off the 25 yard wide fairway or a foot off the green, you are done. The rough is still a bit inconsistent. I had some good lies where I could easily play a 6 iron or 5 wood and some not so good lies where I had to really slash a wedge. Tried to hit a couple of 7 woods that I just popped up. One 30 yard pitch went 12 dead left into a green side bunker. Nice!

So we are talking with one of the greenskeepers (a friend of one of my playing partners) and he says the rough is just about where they want it, it just needs to be more consistent. He said they want ALL the lies to suck and they are about half way there. So they are going to feed the crap out of the rough this spring. Good luck boys.

Torrey Pines ‘08 … Tiger’s bet is safe money

I played Torrey South on Wednesday. One hot shot in our group had to play from the Blues (You know the guy, there’s always one, isn’t there?) Of course the Blues are only 7051 yards as compared to the men’s tees at 7628 (not counting the extra 60-some yards on #13).  The fairways were the best I’ve ever seen them and all about 25 yard wide. The greens were still receptive (that will change) and the rough was inconsistent but pretty nuts.  When the whackos at the USGA get done, they may not only identify the best golfer, Torrey may kill him. There is NO WAY a 10 handicap will break 100 under US Open conditions. I’m a 4.5 and I doubt I could do it (I shot 85 Wednesday from the “girls tees”). Tiger’s money is safe. (… more tomorrow … )

Better ball-striking

Bads struck the ball better than Tiger. Kicked his but. Arguably, Holmes and Stenson struck the ball better than Tiger. What did they get for it? Nada. Why? To quote Eldrick, “You have to roll the rock.”

90 feet? Are you kidding me?

I just heard that Tiger made 90 feet of putts on holes 14 thru 17 in his first round squeaker against J.B. Holmes. Are you kidding me? Have you ever measured the length of putts you make in a round? Try it sometime. I’ll bet you don’t reach 90!

It’s always been about the putting

Tiger is quite simply the best putter in the history of the game. He is un-be-lieve-able. I can see how he can perfect his stroke but how in the world can he read the greens like that? Maybe he sold his soul to the golfing devil?

Match play has always been about putting. I think it was Harvey Penick who said something like, “A good putter is a match for anyone.”  Too true.

BTW, one reason the Euros continually spank the Americans in the Ryder Cup is they are better putters.