Why there are no great US Open Golf Championships

We just completed another great Open Golf Championship. (Hint: If you call it the “British Open” instead of just “The Open” you will be labeled an ignorant knave and you cannot set foot in Great Britain ever again.)

For two days over 36 holes Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson battle each other and the golf links at Royal Troon producing the greatest match in Open history since the dual in sun at Turnberry between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus.

Finally, Stenson took a two stroke lead with three holes to go to become the first Swede to win the gold medal.  (Yes, there’s a claret jug involved but the golfer gets to keep the gold medal.)

With all that excitement it occurred to me, can anyone name a great US Open golf match? For the life of me I can’t remember one.

I believe there are distinct reasons for this starting with the types of golf courses used in The Open Rota.

Without exception all of these golf courses are links style courses.  Links courses are almost always placed on the sea in the area above the mean high tide and the “useful” land. It is typically scrub land that is only good for grazing sheep. In other words, perfect for a pre-20^th century golf course.

These courses typically have three defenses; rough, pot bunkers and wind. Typically, the fairways are narrow with deep rough and pot bunkers down the sides. Pot bunkers ring most of the greens and they usually play hard and fast.

Links courses put a premium on accuracy and experience rather than distance. Like the greens, the fairways play hard and fast and you can get quite a bit of roll out with your drive. Sometime more than you want, as more often than not a drive finds a pot bunker in the fairway.  That’s why you see pros use a 2-iron or 3-wood rather than a driver.

It’s no coincidence that this year’s champion is in his forties and he just barely defeated another past champion in his late forties.

The real wildcard however is the wind and the weather. There’s always a stiff breeze by the sea and the British weather is well, British weather.  Sometimes the sole determiner of whether you compete for the championship is the weather and the luck of the draw.

All of these factor however an experienced golfer can take into account. And while the rough and the pot bunkers may be a challenge they are not unduly punitive.  If the experience golfer finds a fairway bunker or the rough on his tee shot, he can still scramble for par.

The R&A (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, governing body for British Golf) puts a premium on competition when they set up a golf course. There is the right mix of difficult holes and risk/reward holes.

The USGA on the other hand, puts a premium on a punitive golf course setup. Their goal is to protect par rather than promote great competition. They favor parkland courses with sand bunkers and deep punitive rough. The last two venues; Oakmont and Chambers Bay was ridiculously punitive.  Chamber's Bay was nothing more than a test to find the best hiker in golf while Oakmont punished even good shots from the fairway.

Punitive golf course setup does not encourage great competition it encourages cautious, defensive, and boring golf.  Until the USGA changes their tournament philosophy, we will not see great golf in the US Open.