2011 U.S. Open: How Far Will the USGA Go?

What separates the U.S. Open from the other three majors is that it’s meant to be the toughest test of golf anywhere in the world.

Wayward tee shots are meant to be the equivalent of at least a one-stroke penalty and missed greens typically result in bogeys at best.

But that hasn’t been the case in recent years. The USGA has not gone soft with their course setups, but they have certainly gone softer.

Between 1940 and 1980, the winning score at the U.S. Open was under par only 44.4 percent of the time. 

Between 1981 and 2010, the winning score has been under par an astonishing 80 percent of the time.

Technology has played a major role in the lowering of U.S. Open scores since 1980; there’s no doubt about that. After all, it’s difficult to create 8,300-yard golf courses to combat today’s modern drivers and golf balls, and it’s difficult to grow knee high rough to combat the machete-like 64-degree wedges these guys are carrying around.

But the USGA is now at a crossroads. Due to the technological advancements in equipment over the past 30 years, the USGA is on the verge of letting the Open get away from them.

In a recent interview with golf.com, Curtis Strange said the following in regards to the recent U.S. Open course setups:

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“They're different. They're different than what I grew up playing a U.S. Open. The game has changed so much to start with, so obviously you have to adjust your set-up of a golf course to the talent-level and the type of game the guys play now.

"But with that said, I'm a believer that U.S. Open set-ups should be the hardest course we play all year long. It's our Open Championship—it should be special, it should be the hardest to win, it should be the hardest test, and I don't feel as though that's been the case the last number of years.”

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So the question becomes, what is the USGA meant to do?

What can be done so that the course setups are still difficult and challenging, but a soft wind is not going to roll a stationary golf ball off the front of the green, or a great iron player will not be forced to take three strokes to get the ball back into the fairway after one wayward tee shot?

Twenty-five years ago, U.S. Open course setups were far easier. Courses needed to be long and the rough needed to be thick, end of story.

Today, the word “long” has taken on a whole new meaning, and with the irons these guys are playing, thick rough is simply not the defense it used to be.   

So what will we see next week at Congressional?

Will we see a return to the brutal, penalizing U.S. Open setups of the 50s, 60s and 70s, or will we see another kinder, gentler setup where the winning score could be four- to five-under par?

In a way you have to feel for the USGA, because everything they do to make courses more difficult is quickly overrun by technological advancements. 

But one way or another, the USGA must win back the Open. They must get back to the difficult, thorough examinations they used to put forth 30 years ago.

Right now we have the Masters, which is exciting because it presents a player with the opportunity to shoot a 30 on the back nine on Sunday and come from 5-strokes behind to win.

The Open Championship is exciting because it’s the only major played on a links style golf course.

The PGA Championship is, well the “other” major.

And the U.S. Open is...?

Perhaps this week we will get a better glimpse of which direction Mike Davis and the USGA have chosen to travel as the battle between golf course and technology continues to rage.

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