When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
The USGA released the course info for next week's U.S. Amateur and announced that Erin Hills is the new back tee yardage champion!
RECORD YARDAGE: For the second consecutive year, the U.S. Amateur will be the longest course in USGA history. At 7,760 yards, Erin Hills surpasses the 7,742 yards played at Chambers Bay at the 2010 U.S. Amateur. Chambers Bay had overtaken the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif., which measured 7,643 yards for the 2008 U.S. Open, and 2006 U.S. Amateur host Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., which measured 7,473 yards.
And this is fun:
PAR AND YARDAGE: Erin Hills will be set up at 7,760 yards and will play to a par of 36-36–72. The companion course, Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, will be set up at 6,622 yards and will play to a par of 35-35–70.
Gene Sarazen won the 1933 PGA at the Raynor-designed Blue Mound which is a whopping 1000 yards shorter than Erin Hills, yet par is 70 to Erin Hills' 72.
Check out the yardages:
The front nines at the two courses have a 600-yard differential, but only one-shot to par difference?
Blue Mound has a 492-yard par-5, while Erin Hills has four par-4s over 490.
The back nine at Erin Hills weighs in a 3,939, with a 675-yard finishing hole.
Now, recently the USGA's Mike Davis has been known to not ever come close to setting up a course to its maximum yardage and he's to be commended for that.
However, in the Tee It Forward era, we see a second consecutive year of a record-length golf. Granted, 7700 yards falls withing the Tee It Forward guidelines for a PGA Tour player. However, this confirmation of today's driving distance acumen is worth noting since both the USGA ("stabilized") and R&A ("surrounded") insist average distances haven't spiked since 2003.
If the that whole virtual reality looking thing in Atlanta is too EA Sports for you, don't forget they've reached match play at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Donald Ross's ultra cool Rhode Island Country Club. Besides being one of the really neat places in the game with a pure golf spirit, great USGA championship history and beautiful setting, it provides a welcome contrast to Atlanta Athletic Club.
Sean Martin on Tom Watson, asked today at the Greenbrier about the resurgence in amateur golf, with Watson all but pointing out the absurdity of labeling many of today's amateurs...amateurs.
Joe Chemycz with the lowdown on amateurs in the first two spots of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational heading into Sunday and a third in the top ten.
LSU's John Peterson birdied three of his final five holes and maintained his lead after three rounds at Ohio State University's Scarlet Course. Peterson's 14-under 199 total is one shot better than college rival Harris English of Georgia, who carded a bogey-free 68.
"We had our college stuff on and it was just the two of us out there together. It really didn't feel like a professional tournament," said English, dressed in his red Bulldog shirt. "We were joking on the range that we thought our college coaches were going to show up at some point, and they still might."
You may recall amateur Russell Henley won earlier this year on his home collegiate course.
It was reported last week by Tim Twentyman of the Detroit News and now the USGA makes it official:
OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB SELECTED AS SITE OF 2016 U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Far Hills, N.J. (July 20) – Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship are Aug. 15-21, 2016.
The North and South Courses will be used for stroke-play qualifying and the South Course will be used for match play.
“The USGA is very excited to return to Oakland Hills for the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship,” said Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., chairman of the USGA championship committee. “To have the opportunity to conduct the U.S. Amateur, our oldest championship, at a club that has hosted six U.S. Opens is truly special. Many historic golf moments have occurred at Oakland Hills and we expect the 2016 U.S. Amateur will add to that history.”
The 2016 championship will be the second U.S. Amateur and 11th USGA championship to be hosted by the club. The 2002 U.S. Amateur, won by Ricky Barnes over Hunter Mahan, was the most recent USGA championship at the historic layout designed by Donald Ross.
Oh before you get upset that I'm stating the obvious--Tiger's a gimp with his clubs collecting dust and niece Cheyenne is on course to possibly win a USGA event--but it still had to be said. If nothing else, to speak to Cheyenne Woods' continued stellar play.
I've been hearing from reader Rob Matre about amateur Russell Henley, winner of Sunday's Stadion Classic on the Nationwide Tour over his home course at the University of Georgia. Rob posted a gallery of images from Sunday's round.
From an unbylined AP story on the win:
“I can’t even feel my arms,” Henley said. “I was nervous all day. I don’t know how long it will take to sink in. Eight months? Nine months? A couple days? I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”
The three-time All-America selection finished at 12-under 272 on the University of Georgia Golf Course.
If you want to experience what golf highlights were like in the silent era, here's a B-roll with graphics of the final round in Athens.
Russell Henley is tied for the lead with Troy Kelly on his home college course in Athens, Georgia.
...I'm sorry, I meant the U.S. Amateur is moving starting in 2012 to accommodate the fall academic calendar.
USGA CHANGES FUTURE DATES OF U.S. AMATEUR AND U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Far Hills, N.J. (March 9) – Beginning in 2012, the United States Golf Association will shift its schedule for future U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships to help avoid conflicts between the competitive golf season and the fall academic calendar.
“Starting in 2012, our goal, for the most part, will be to end the Women’s Amateur on the second Sunday in August and the U.S. Amateur on the third Sunday in August,” said Jeff Hall, USGA managing director of Rules and Competitions. “Our intent is to give a large majority of the players who are still students a chance to compete in the national amateur championship and begin their fall class schedules on time.”
The 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., was originally scheduled for Aug. 20-26. It will now be played Aug. 13-19. The 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., will be conducted Aug. 12-18. In some instances, the final day of the U.S. Amateur will not fall on the third Sunday in August.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
