How tough do golf's majors really need to be?
Mike Dudurich
Posted 2009-05-12
A caller to my Saturday morning radio show expressed the opinion that major championships are no longer worthy of that major word. He said he’s tired of the tap-in birdies, par 5s that are played with drivers and mid-irons and rough that is rough in name only.
The man made some valid points and prompted me to think about what he had to say in the context of the four majors each year.
Let’s start with: I’ll admit to being one of those who enjoys seeing players struggle as they make hundreds of thousands of dollars on the golf course. I have no problem with every part of a player’s game being tested to the max from the first tee to the 18th green.
Deep rough? Rock-hard greens that require the absolute perfect approach shot to hold? Fairways that look no wider than a hallway in your house?
Hey, sounds like I’m describing the U.S. Open , doesn’t it?
You’d be absolutely correct in assuming that I’m a big fan of the Open and how the United States Golf Association chooses to contest the nation’s championship.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I believe all four majors need to be death marches on which players have little or no chance to feel successful.
As a matter of fact, as much as I enjoy the grind of the Open, I have no problems with how the other three majors are set up and contested.
For example:
- The Masters. From its inception, that little annual event in Augusta, Ga. was never intended to be a grinding, “par is a good thing” tournament. Augusta National Golf Club has always rewarded shotmakers and terrorized all but the absolutely dead-on putters. The course has been lengthened, trees have been added and even a “first cut” of rough has been introduced in an effort to somewhat negate the ever-increasing skill level and strength of today’s players.
- The British Open. With rare exceptions (1999 at Carnoustie comes to mind), very little is done to the courses that host the oldest golf championship on the planet. Mother Nature, the closeness of the courses to the ocean and the links layouts themselves make those courses a real test. They are difficult to play whether the weather is good, making the courses run hard and fast or when it’s rainy and windy, presenting an entirely different set of challenges.
- The PGA Championship. The last major of the year varies from year to year. Sometimes, like last year at Valhalla in 2000, the players found the going fairly easy. Let’s put it this way, over the years there have been more double-digit under-par winners in the PGA than in any of the other majors.
This really is one of those debates to which there is no right or wrong answer. Some people like apple pie. For others, lemon meringue is the best.
If you’re one of those people who believes the best golfers in the world have it too easy in the majors, there is enough evidence to that belief to make a strong case. The gimme par 5s on Augusta’s back nine, 13 and 15, are easy pickings for them.
There won’t be many cheap par 5s, par 4s or par 3s next month when the U.S. Open makes a return to Bethpage Black on Long Island. Plenty of length, plenty of rough, plenty of difficult angles await the field of 156 that will qualify.
The bottom line from my standpoint? Today’s players are so talented, so strong that it has become very difficult to hold them down. As a guy once told me, “Put these guys out on that four-lane highway and tell them the hole is located 5 miles down the road and they’ll make birdie.”
There isn’t a golf course that these guys can’t have their way with if it isn’t set up at its most difficult. The professionals are just that, pros. They’ve worked a long time to get their game to the point where they have an answer for just about every situation.
It’s easy to understand why golf fans get somewhat frustrated by what they sometimes see on television. The pros make playing this very difficult game look very easy. But I don’t think that takes anything away from the majors.
A club professional friend of mine who recently passed away told me many times over the years that there’s a simple way for courses to fight back against this onslaught of today’s players. These guys can hit the ball a mile, can make it go left, right, up, down on demand and can spin the ball from sometimes intimidating rough.
“These places have to angle the tees, not necessarily lengthen them,” Curt Siegel, the long-time professional at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa., said many times. “Make them get on the tee and have to think about working the ball one way or another instead of just standing up there and ripping it.”
Tiger-proofing hasn’t worked as intended. It hasn’t kept the No. 1 player in the world from dominating, it’s just limited the number of players who have a chance to win.
Like it or not, these guys are good. And because they are, they’re going to tear up good courses.
For me, I enjoy watching athletes at the top of their profession doing what they do best.
Bring on Bethpage Black.
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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf.
He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com.
Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August.
The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.
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