Bam, talk to us about Merion

[gh]

heard Butch Harmon on the radio w/ John Feinstein this morning and he made Merion sound like a fascinating course for the Open.

short course
par 70
only 2 par-5s, and they're out of the way on 2 and 4
long par-3s
short par-4s with narrow fairways
long par-4s with wide fairways

A weekend many fans he thinks will write off because guys aren't wailing with their drivers off every tee.


??

(ps, Feinstein must get some kind of award for having the same diphthong in his name twice and pronouncing it two different ways: fine-steen)

[KevinM]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

I'm also curious as to your opinion of how the intense rain the NE has seen over the last week will impact the typical USGA setup of hard and fast.

[bambam]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

Never played it. Left the PGA Tour in mid-1979 and the last Open there was 1981. I entered the US Open in 1971 but did not qualify for it - that was only my sophomore year in college.

Very small greens, very narrow fairways, very much an old-style golf course. I suspect with the rain they will go very low on it - too short for modern equipment and players unless they get it rock hard and have the ball rolling off the fairways and greens with the slightest mishit shot.

[gh]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

yeah, Harmon said that if it gets wet scores will plunge because many tee-shots that would otherwise end up in the rough will settle on the fairway.

[uakari]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

can you people talk about a REAL sport???????? :mrgreen:

[mcgato]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

Merion is about 1.5 miles from where I currently live. I drove by it a couple of times last week just to see what was going on. I'm expecting traffic nightmares and a general headache. I might be able to see the blimp over the course. If I'm bored this weekend, I may walk over to see what I can see.

[26mi235]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

Steve Stricker is only one back and has never won a major, although he has finished well a number of times. At 46 he plays a limited schedule but repeatedly end up in the top group of golfers -- and many do not know who he is. He was quoted as saying that the course is the longest short course (ever?). Because he is older and not big and strong, he is pressed to get up on the longer par 4s (it is only a par 70 course, so a number of the longer holes are par 4s).

Bambam, do you have any comments on this guy?

[bambam]

Re: Bam, talk to us about Merion

Steve Stricker is only one back and has never won a major, although he has finished well a number of times. At 46 he plays a limited schedule but repeatedly end up in the top group of golfers -- and many do not know who he is. He was quoted as saying that the course is the longest short course (ever?). Because he is older and not big and strong, he is pressed to get up on the longer par 4s (it is only a par 70 course, so a number of the longer holes are par 4s).

Bambam, do you have any comments on this guy?

Obviously a good player. Amazing how he overcame the slump he went into. He was a top player from 1996-1999, dropped out of the top 100 and even lost his card, and played very poorly from 2000-2006, but got back on tour, and from 2007-13 has been very solid. He's not one of the longer hitters anymore, but in his youth was pretty long, and I still think he's not that short a hitter.

Hard to see how anyone can root against Mickelson to me. Would be a great story. He's also playing mega-solid out there. His ball striking has been impressive to me. Really controlling his irons beautifully.

Tiger again showing he struggles (relatively speaking) on short, older style, tricky golf courses. He is almost unbeatable on big, modern, open courses - Torrey Pines, Bay Hill, Doral, Firestone. But not on courses like Merion. He actually rarely plays the courses on tour that are held on the older style course - never played Hilton Head, plays terribly at Riviera, played poorly at Westchester when he played there (no longer a tour course). Fortunately for him, and most of the modern, younger players who have grown up with the big ball and metal woods, more and more of the Tour courses are played on the modern style courses.