the blessing of club officials intent on turning the course into a monster, and by the time Ben Hogan walked off the 18th green with the title in hand, that was the nickname given to the layout. It was a transformational mo- ment, from ground-game golf to aerial power. And it marked the onset of a three-decade run of ultra-severe, nar- row U.S. Open setups. It also launched the career of Jones as the USGA’s unofficial go-to architect in matters of Open course preparation, including original or renovation work on 13 U.S. Open venues between 1951 and 1976. Joe Dey, who was executive direc- tor of the USGA from 1934 to 1968, both embraced and enabled Jones’ approach. “The big objective,” wrote Dey, “is to put a premium on control, on accuracy—to reward the skill that produces accuracy and thus bring out championship golf.” Dey outlined his view of a series of
carefully prescribed mowing heights for fairways, aprons and primary rough, as well as greens, collars and secondary rough, a template approach to creating punitive aerial courses. What’s also interesting is how rigidly teeing grounds were set up. Markers would be set up within a few yards of each other for every round. The intent was to avoid wear and tear, but not to create dramatic variance in length or angle for each hole. Occasionally, things got out of
hand—most famously during the 1974 “Massacre at Winged Foot,” when a combination of very long rough and unexpectedly firm, fast greens with well-sloped surfaces cre- ated a situation where players were virtually clinging for dear life. One of the closest observers of
golf championships is veteran su- perintendent Ted Horton. Today he runs an eponymous consulting firm and advises ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance. In his career he’s set up for three U.S. Opens (Winged Foot in 1974 and Pebble Beach in 1982 and 1992), as well as three other USGA championships and 26 PGA/LPGA Tour events. Horton recalls that at Winged
Foot, maintenance standards reached 48 /
NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2014
USGA Factors in U.S. Open Course Setup
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= = =
= =
= = =
= = =
Length, variation and playing characteristics of individual holes Length of overall golf course relative to total par Teeing ground locations (i.e., angles of play, variation of distance day-to-day) Fairway width and contours Fairway firmness and speed Green speed relative to percentage slopes and contours of the putting greens Putting green firmness Rough height, density and stages of severity Bunker preparation (i.e., create challenge of recovery) Green surrounds (e.g., closely mown areas vs. primary rough) Hole locations (relative difficulty, balance in location of left vs. right, front vs. back of green, anticipated wind, anticipated length of approach shot) Risk and reward options Anticipated weather conditions Pace of play
SOURCE: USGA
new levels of care that threatened to put the course over the edge. It wasn’t just the 6-inch rough that Winged Foot’s new rotary mowers maintained during a season of ideal growing conditions. In the run-up to that U.S. Open, chemical controls (subsequently banned) allowed for the control of poa annua and establishment of a very sol- id, smooth bentgrass cover on Winged Foot’s dramatically sloped greens. Innovations in mowing, particu-
larly with new grinding techniques, allowed Horton’s crew to achieve unparalleled mowing heights—1/8th of an inch. “No one had ever pinned that fast
a course at Winged Foot before,” says Horton. “You laugh at it now, but we were proud of it then.” The tone was set on the first day’s
first green. Jack Nicklaus, tapped a 20-foot downhill putt and watched in amazement as it rolled 30 feet past the hole. With maintenance standards like
that, the USGA has been careful to monitor conditions long before championship week. Staff agrono- mists, working with club officials and the home superintendent, now have a whole arsenal of measuring tech- niques at their beck and call. With sophisticated management
through verticutting, deep tyne aeri- fication, light topdressing and shade
Ben Hogan at the 1951 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.
PHOTO: USGA
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