Mirim Lee's Amazing Chip-Ins Overshadowed By The Great Wall Of Dinah

We knew trouble was looming early in the week and to no one’s suprise, the artificial wall replacing the seemingly artificial corporate chalet proved instrumental in Mirim Lee’s first major win. Or, to put it another way, likely cost Nelly Korda the ANA Inspiration.

Lead host/announcer Golf Channel’s Terry Gannon took the strongest stance against the wall—dubbed the Great Wall of Dinah by Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols. And Judy Rankin explained the purpose of the wall to maintain the 18th green tradition which helped for context but didn’t help us grasp how history would view the moment. She later added this on Twitter:

Just one more thought. Today’s players are so talented that they would find a way to deal with an island green. Do not need an assist! Only one persons opinion. Thanks so much to ANA for making golf possible this week! Great Championship! Congrats to Mirim Lee.

— Judy Rankin (@Jrprotalker) September 14, 2020

Alan Shipnuck at Golf.com was on site at the ANA Inspiration and explained the ultimate impact of the wall.

The Covid-induced move of Dinah Shore’s old tournament from April to September brought higher temperatures and a springier strain of Bermuda on the firm greens, meaning that any player who went for it on the watery, do-or-die par-5 18th had a good chance of going long.

But instead of the players’ balls trickling into the water behind the island green, the wall served as a discordant backstop, taking all the risk out of what could have been a thrilling risk-reward hole. (It’s true that in the past there has been a grandstand set about four paces further back than the wall, but with fans barred from the grounds this year there was no reason to have any clutter behind the green.) 

Lee was the first to arrive at 18, two shots behind Korda, who was in the process of making an outrageously clutch 10-footer to save par on the 17th hole. After a good tee shot Lee had 215 yards left, leaving her between clubs; 4-iron might not get there but 5-wood would come in too hot. Going with more club was a no-brainer. “Our play was to hit it into the middle of the green, let it run into the blue thing and get a free drop,” said caddie Matt Glczis. “Without that being there we probably have to lay up because none of your long clubs are going to hold the green — it’s too firm.”

While the early fall conditions heightened features, likely making the hole an auto-layup without the feature, that’s still better than this, as noted by Shipnuck:

Carlota Ciganda, Lee’s playing partner, went farther: “Without that wall, no one would go for the green,” she said. “No one.” 

I realize the argument is that there is a corporate chalet there in normal years. That’s another topic for another day regarding whether the briefcase crowd needs to be there. Simply: an island green did not play like an island green because a screen was erected. It was an inevitable problem that overshadowed a compelling final round with great skill on display.

Speaking of the skill, here Lee’s trio of chip-ins that helped her force a playoff with Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson.

Mirim Lee chipped in three times, including for eagle on the 72nd hole, on her way to a playoff victory at the @ANAinspiration 👇 pic.twitter.com/rwUNW1dAbm

— LPGA (@LPGA) September 14, 2020

Blue Wall: ANA's Bizarre Backstop Billboard

In golf architecture we have seen Mother Nature’s natural features accepted no matter how annoying. While design elements created by humans are typically met with derision.

Then we have unnatural objects accepted as part of a tournament setup: grandstands, temporary boundaries and other infrastructure. In recent years, grandstanding has become a thing at recent PGA Tour stops in Austin and Detroit, where players intentionally using unnatural objects to get a good bounce or drop.

And now, the ultimate backstopping at this week’s ANA Inspiration. The reachable par-5 18th, normally backed by a small stand for humans, features a blue tarp wall with sponsors promoted. However without fans, such an option was unnecessary and is not only stopping balls from entering the water long, but getting used as a backboard by those mulling a go at the green in two.

Ryan Lavner reports for GolfChannel.com on the player’s “surprise” at seeing the blue wall.

“I was actually thinking about what 18 would be like without the bleachers, because visually, that is just a protector for most of us,” said Madelene Sagstrom, who shot 67. “I know there’s water behind it, and I don’t think that would visually be a very nice shot to go for in two. I don’t really know the reasoning for the thing, but I’m kind of happy it’s there if I want to go for it in two, to be honest.”

First-round leader Nelly Korda said that fellow competitor Megan Khang threw a ball underneath the structure and it still rolled into the water behind the green.

“Honestly, I wish they didn’t have that wall there, because I think it would play really cool as an island green,” Korda said. “It’s, like, really close to the green this year. Usually the palm trees, you have to play around them or they come into play, but this year it’s very close to the green.”

Maybe it could go bye-bye for the weekend? This is a major, after all.

**Beth Ann Nichols at Golfweek considered the matter, offered several sharp insights from her many years on the ground in Rancho Mirage and this:

The LPGA didn’t want to comment on the wall, except to say that it’s no different than the hospitality structure. Except that it is different in that there aren’t any seats. It’s also worth noting that the lettering on the wall isn’t that big either. The scoreboard, which typically sits off the island, is now adjacent to the wall behind the green.

U.S. Open: "Is the famed West Course set up for another Massacre at Winged Foot?"

Mike Dougherty of the Rockland/Westchester Journal News stopped in at Winged Foot where the rescheduled U.S. Open is set to start next week.

The focus appears to be on winning scores and rough, which is too bad since such projections rarely end well.

There is plenty of good stuff about the agronomic shift the club had to make due to the pandemic and the tournament’s new mid-September playing.

Speaking to superintendent Steve Rabideau about the hoped for outcome of preparations, it seems a high winning score would be gratifying.

As he reached into the rough to retrieve the golf ball Tuesday, Rabideau quietly offered a familiar refrain.

“Plus-8. Plus-8. Plus 8. … That would cap a very difficult summer,” he said. “And my guys know that’s what I’ve been thinking.”

Several of them were applying fertilizer to the rough nearby.

The USGA’s Jeff Hall says the team plans to “let Winged Foot be Winged Foot,” and from the sounds of this, I hope there are plenty of marshals ready to look for balls:

"There were extra hours invested and extra cost involved for water to irrigate the rough and nurse it through a difficult summer so it’s typical Winged Foot U.S. Open rough," Hall said. "They’ve done a masterful job ensuring the rough will be a key component in the golf course setup."

It will again be graduated, but less so than in 2006.

The primary cut will be narrower and will initially top out around 3 1/2 inches, according to Hall. It will only be utilized on a select number of holes. The danger zone will be more prevalent and start the week at 5-plus inches. Even the rough under the majestic specimen trees is dense.

In case you were wondering, the length of days is addressed by Dougherty. He reports the split tee start will begin 6:50 a.m Thursday and Friday despite a sunrise just a few minutes before that. However, the field has been reduced to 144 from the tournament’s traditional 156 with finishing rounds in mind.

Olympia Fields Bites Back And It's Still Not Getting A U.S. Open Any Time Soon

Since 2003 I’d somehow forgotten what an absolute snoozer Olympia Fields can be on TV. As in, get out the hair dryer-to-deal-with-pillow-drool-dull, confirms the blogger coming off two amazing BMW Championship afternoon power naps.

That said, if par-protecting-fests-to-make-up-for-the-apparent-indignity-of-Jim-Furyk-winning-your-U.S.-Open, Olympia Fields is certainly a contrast from last week’s birdiefest. However, with a logjam of masterful venues in the queue, the USGA likely shrinking things down to a rota, several bigger name classics offering restored designs, Olympia Fields is not getting a U.S. Open anytime soon.

Dylan Dethier with some of the more extreme numbers for a regular Tour stop.

Billy Horschel says its fair, so in addition to deep naps, I’ll sleep so much better tonight.

The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein is reveling in Olympia Fields playing like a U.S. Open course, reporting on the odd USGA shot taken by 36-hole co-leader Rory McIlroy.

Asked if Olympia Fields could be a good U.S. Open venue, McIlroy said yes and added this zinger: “I think what they could do is hire the Western Golf Association to set (it) up. Yeah, this would be a wonderful test for a U.S. Open.”

The course was softened in 2003 by weather but more notably, the PGA Tour rules and agronomy staff oversees the setup this week. So I’m not entirely sure Rory’s punch landed.

Ironically, the event ushering in this whole players v. USGA was at Shinnecock Hills a year later. Not all believe that’s a coincidence.

Morikawa's 16th Hole Tee Shot Highlights Reminds Us Why We Love Risk-Reward Moments And Need More Of Them

Collin Morikawa’s second round par on Harding Park’s 16th

Words I never thought I’d type: the 16th at Harding Park for one of the more fascinating studies in day-to-day variety outside something we’d see at The Old Course. The credit goes to the PGA of America’s Kerry Haigh, Mother Nature and the players.

With regulatory malfeasance all but rendering the risk-reward par-5 extinct, the short par-4 is all we strategy-lovers have as evidence of what we’re missing. Haigh's decision to move the tees up twice, working in conjunction with the conditions and player comfort levels as they got to know the 16th, led to a fascinating four-day dispersion of plays. None moreso than Morikawa’s, whose final round eagle will go down as one of the great shots in modern major history.

As I wrote here for The Athletic, the shot got even better when we learned after the round that (A) he originally had no intention of driving the green at any point (B) he caved and drove it Friday and (C) he had to get up and down off the fringe for par in round two.

Morikawa’s memory of going for it was not a positive one. Yet in the final round moment with a chance to win a major, the carrot dangled before Morikawa was just too appealing. To witness a player succumbing to temptation and pulling off the shot, just makes his decision even more bold. That may be why his caddie double-checked about the final round play:

Memories of that shaky play might be why caddie J.J. Jakovac double-checked when Morikawa came to the 70th hole on Sunday tied for the lead. He had two options: Lay back, or try and squeeze his tee shot 278 yards to the front edge of a green framed by bunkers, rough and overhanging Monterey Cypress.

“I just had to be fully committed,” Morikawa said, “and J.J. asked me, you know, ‘Are you sure? Is this what you want to do?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, this is driver. This is perfect.’”

The tee shot stopped 7 feet 1 inches short of the hole and was the grandest of six final round eagles.

The moment reinforced the beauty of drivable par-4s and the joys of watching a player face a high-risk situation with options.

Runner-up Paul Casey:

“Brilliant shot,” he said. “I love the fact we’ve got drivable par-4s. You know I’m a big fan of the shorter hole. I love the fact that we’re given an opportunity, and then a guy like Collin steps up and shows you what’s possible on a drivable par-4. Nothing I can do except tip my hat. It was a phenomenal shot.”

With distances growing and course architecture not able to keep up, the 16th at Harding episode serves as a reminder of what we’re missing by not retaining a better balance between skill, equipment and architecture. There is nothing more rewarding than relating to the difficulty of the decision and watching a player overcome the mental and physical hurdles in a high-pressure situation. Too bad it doesn’t happen more often.

**One other point about the hole realized since posting this: a cut shot was required to work around the Cypress and to get the ideal bounce toward the flagstick. With Lake Merced on the left, the dreaded double-crosser was still possible for even the world’s best. The danger left, while only visited by a few players, added to the drama and will be why Morikawa’s peers will revere his clutch play.

Check out the 2020 dispersion of plays depending on yardage, weather and maybe player comfort levels as they got used to the unusual dogleg right short par-4. From the PGA Tour’s always magnificent ShotLink with help from volunteers.

Round 1 where no one went for the green:

ound 2 when the tees and flagstick were moved up:

Round 3, when the tees went back but some players still chose to go for the green:

Round 4 with the tees up:

Cumulative for the 2020 PGA shows a great dispersion of shots, suggesting the hole provide a rare risk-reward situation:

Morikawa’s tee shot:

This year's champion, Collin Morikawa, hit the driver incredibly this week. Check out who else hit it well in the final episode of Maximizing Efficiency powered by @ConstellationEG. pic.twitter.com/KwFN7pcpWg

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 10, 2020

Golf's First World Distance Debate Seems Silly In A Very Different Way

I opened up Mike Stachura’s Golf Digest story titled, “The distance resistance”, and couldn’t help but notice the editor’s note: “This article appeared in our latest issue, which went to print in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.”

In light of thousands of tragic deaths in just weeks, the specter of a massive economic downturn, and uncertainty about what tomorrow will bring, worrying about driving distance seems so…silly.

But more than the absurdity, reading some pre-March 2020 concerns you feel teh undercurrent of distrust of authorities (even if the R&A and USGA are seen as thinking of golf’s long-term viability). The story also hints at the marketplace’s determination to protect the right to spend $600 to pick up 6-yards, no matter the damage done.

That’s why it was a shrewd editor’s note.

Whenever a form of normalcy returns, the excessive weight given to views on distance will all seem so insignificant. Just as there will be a heightened expectation for authorities and companies to be better prepared in the future, it’s not unreasonable to think a similar sentiment will persist in sports.

While there will always be golfers eager to spend $600 on a driver merely to keep up with someone else, even more will find all of that to be of such secondary importance.

Stachura writes:

That future will be about this push and pull between maintaining a connection to golf’s past and embracing the realities of its future participants. The questions we need to ask now are: Would 400-yard drives at a tour event be a tragedy? Would this signal that golf’s connection with its historic championship venues had been severed? Will the cartoonish swing speeds of today’s long-drive competitors become the standard for tomorrow’s PGA Tour players? Would the bond between golf’s elite players and its paying customers be broken or heightened by extraordinary driving distances?

The days of worrying about the answers already seems long gone.

Shrewd editor’s note.

The “authorities” in all sectors will be expected to do what’s best for the long term good. Including in sports and in golf.

Just a few weeks time, certain values held up as vital to golf’s future now seem trivial, particularly the idea that people play golf to see how far they can hit the ball or watch golf for the distance chases.

Given that every golfer current deprived of golf just wants to be out playing again, how far their drives fly seems like an excess of negligible importance. The short and long term viability of courses was, is and will be all that matters.

A Year Out, Looks Like Captain Stricker Is Feeling More Pressure Than Captain Harrington

The 2020 Ryder Cup captain’s kicked off the year-long countdown to what will be highly anticipated matches with a joint press conference. At rainy Whistling Straits, where lousy weather kept things largely indoors and will be a factor next year, it was clear who is a bit more assured where things stand: Captain Padraig Harrington, current holders of the Ryder Cup.

As Eamon Lynch notes for Golfweek, Captain Steve Stricker still sounded a bit tied to the “task force” and it’s (sometimes) successful, (sometimes) clubby ways.

Mickelson was also on that task force. So too was Woods. The last three U.S. captains have been drawn from that small circle, and the decisions they have made — particularly Furyk’s decision to pick Mickelson — creates a perception of an old boys’ network looking after its own. Are the captain’s decisions being crowdsourced? And is the captain compromised as a result?

Stricker didn’t do much to dispel that notion in his comments Tuesday.

Of greater concern may ultimately be a venue seemingly more favorable to the Europeans than normal. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski focused on the fairly revealing presser remarks. At least, by year-out standards.

“Here at Whistling Straits, this is a much more natural golf course,” Harrington said. “I'm interested to see down the road what Steve has in store but doesn't look like you can do a lot with this golf course. As much as it was obviously designed and built there, it looks like it's just in a natural setting all its life and it's going to present its way. Even the weather could be very changeable the week of the Ryder Cup next year.

“So in many ways, this is a golf course that is just going to test the players on its own merits.”

Even Stricker, whose presence will bring an even more passionate home-state fan base to an already charged atmosphere, couldn’t help but hope the weather in about a year is a tad bit different for his team.

“Yeah, it concerns us, when we look out, and I don't know if you brought this weather today or what, but hopefully we have nice, sunny 75-degree days next year at this time,” Stricker said looking out to the lake. “But yeah, you know, when you look out here, it has the feel of -- does it not, over there in Ireland…”

“It looks like an Irish day out there, yeah,” Harrington interjected with a smile.

On Golf Central, Isenhour and I were in agreement: Captain Stricker has delicate matters to resolve in the all-important course setup department:

Rory Blasts European Tour Course Setups: “I’m sort of honestly sick of coming back over to the European Tour and shooting 15 under par and finishing 30th"

Some illuminating comments from Rory McIlroy coming off a fun week at the Alfred Dunhill Links, where, after nearly winning the pro-am with his dad, Gerry, the 30-year-old bemoaned the lack of difficulty found on European Tour setups. While he sounds a tad bitter largely with the Scottish Open setup earlier this year, this comments also speak to just how hard it is to find a course setup balance in the juiced equipment era.

From John Huggan’s GolfDigest.com report at the Dunhill:

“I’m sort of honestly sick of coming back over to the European Tour and shooting 15 under par and finishing 30th,” said McIlroy, who has played only four “regular” European Tour events (non-major and non-WGC tournaments) this season. At the Dunhill, McIlroy posted scores of 70-66-70-67 yet finished seven back of winner Victor Perez.

“I don’t think the courses are set up hard enough,” McIlroy said. “There are no penalties for bad shots. It’s tough when you come back and it’s like that. I don’t feel like good golf is regarded as well as it could be. It happened in the Scottish Open at Renaissance. I shot 13 under and finished 30th [actually T-34] again. It’s not a good test. I think if the European Tour wants to put forth a really good product, the golf courses and setups need to be tougher.”

While McIlroy sounds like he’s justifying his decision to play more in the U.S., the comments serve as a reminder that players want to be challenged and for their skill to shine. As the game becomes increasingly less interesting to play when players feel untested or fans sense a give-and-take between player and course is entirely in the player’s favor, there may be a range of consequences. The most obvious being a less interesting sport to watch.

In this case, McIlroy made clear the combination of setups and travel will keep him sticking largely to the PGA Tour.

“It’s been a great year,” McIlroy continued. “I’ve won big events and I've consistently played well. Every week I show up and I shoot good scores and play good golf. If I continue to do that, I’ll be in a good spot. I don't want to travel that much anymore. I’ve done it for 12 years. I want to have easy flights and not have to go across eight, nine time zones and have to get acclimatized. I’m happy to do what I’ve done this year.”

Internal Out Of Bounds Could Make For A Controversial Finish At Portrush

The Max Faulkner story from 1951 is usually highlighted by his play on the 16th—now the 18th—and the miraculous he played from up against a barbed wire boundary fence. That is now gone and a small, grassy berm sits in its place with OB stakes atop.

I’m a tad conflicted about this as you’ll see in this Golfweek column explaining the rationale and history behind the setup.

Bodenhamer On Setup Philosophy, Calling In Other Voices To Help USGA Get It's Groove Back

As we await the USGA’s annual news conference here at Pebble Beach, Brendan Porath’s lengthy Q&A with new course setup supervisor John Bodenhamer is a pretty revealing look at the lengths he is taking to ensure they hear all points of view.

Check it out, but this was interesting as it relates to Mike Davis, who is still involved but no longer in charge. No shortage of opinions have been sought!

We try to follow what the architect intended. I think it’s really fun to be around that with Mike. I’ve learned a lot.

As far as different, I don’t know — I think Pebble Beach will always be what Pebble Beach has been for the U.S. Open. I mean, why would we do anything different when we’ve had Nicklaus, Watson, Kite, Woods, and McDowell win, and in dramatic fashion every time. Why would we change the recipe? We’re not going to. Now look, there are a few new putting greens here, some new teeing areas, you know it’s little bit different golf course than it was in 2010 and the weather is going to be different probably and all of that. There are some differences.

The one thing that I would say that I have tried to infuse, and Mike and our team are fully supportive, is to be a little more informed with how we’re going into this U.S. Open. What I mean by that is we have Jason Gore on our staff [Gore was announced as the USGA’s first Player Relations Director in March]. A player that has won 11 times at the professional level, seven times on Tour. And he’s informing our process from a setup standpoint.

Nick Price, we’re involving Nick in what we’re doing here at Pebble Beach. Nick will be here this week. We also brought in a guy that I’ve known for a long time — a guy by the name of Casey Boyns. He’s a 37-year caddie here at Pebble Beach and a two-time California amateur champion and probably won 20 other major amateur events around California and the country. I’ve known him a long time, played golf with him years ago. He’s won two California amateurs at Pebble Beach, when he won in the 80s and 90s. But he caddies 250 to 300 times a year here and he’s done it for 37 years. There is nobody who knows this golf course better than him. We brought him out and went around the golf course with him. We showed him our plan. He knows how these greens behave in certain types of weather. He knows what the four new putting greens are behaving like. He knows what the wind will do certain times of the year. It’s fascinating and we’ve brought him in and that’s a little bit new for us.

First Impressions Of Pebble Beach's 2019 U.S. Open Setup

Latest on-site weather forecast from Thorguard…

I got out for a bit to throw golf balls around, check out the rough and assess it for Golfweek.

The course is in a great spot heading to the event and more than able to handle the surprising heat we’ve experienced Sunday and Monday.

Last year’s U.S. Amateur winner, Viktor Hovland, visited the media center and compared the setup to last summer’s event he won over Devon Bling.

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, definitely generally the rough is a lot thicker than it was last year, and a lot of the fairways are narrower. So, for example, on 4, the fairway is right of that bunker; that used to be in the middle of the fairway. And, for example, on 11, that one is basically cut in half. And there's one other one. For example, 8 is moved all the way over on the right side, where you used to have the world to the left.

But as of right now, the greens are pretty soft and on the slower side. At the Am they were fairly firm and fast. But I'm assuming they're going to become that way later in the week. So not too worried about that.

Q. More along those lines, how about things like the rough, and also can you take anything from that experience and bring it into this, or does this feel like a completely different world?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: I mean, a lot of things are different. Obviously the atmosphere and the tournament is different. But it's still the same course and you still have somewhat of the same lines off of the tees. The greens still do the same way, they still break the same ways. And I think just a couple of things here and there. Oh, yeah, I missed it in the left bunker, but that wasn't too bad in, for example, that spot that you kind of learn.

Golf.com’s Pat Ralph talked to the USGA’s John Bodenhamer about the setup he’s overseeing this year. This sums up the changes since 2010:

Both 14 and 17 were really restored to more of what the architect originally intended for it to do. So those four greens 9, 13, 14 and 17, are different and we think that the restoration of those is a great improvement. A new teeing area that was added a few years ago on number nine adds about 21 yards for that par 4 when played from the very back. The only other thing, really, that’s different is that a little bit of the fairway on number 11 has been rerouted from the right-back to the left, where it originally was. And at 14, we had a runoff left of the green that’s no longer there which is all rough again. So it’s really going back to what the U.S. Open has always been at Pebble Beach.

Be Careful What You Wish For: Tiger Longs For Old-Time U.S. Open Setups

I chuckled reading Tiger’s post-third round remarks at the Memorial longing for the old style U.S. Open setups, and criticizing the shifting of tees for variety.

It’s funny how quickly the players have forgotten how much they loathed the Meeks years and high-rough, high-luck setups with little in the way of intelligence required.

From Dylan Dethier’s Golf.com report from Dublin:

“There was a time there where it was a brutal test, and then it became kind of a tricky decision you had to make, trying to bring in more options off the tees or into the greens. The Open has changed. I thought it was just narrow fairways, hit it in the fairway or hack out, move on. Now there’s chipping areas around the greens. There’s less rough. Graduated rough. They’ve tried to make The Open different and strategically different.

“I just like it when there’s high rough and narrow fairways, and go get it, boys.”

Woods singled out Chambers Bay and Torrey Pines as places he did not like the moving of tees from round to round.

Video: A Look At Bethpage's Rough For The 2019 PGA

It’s tough, it’s dense but there are spots where you might catch a break. In this Golfweek video, I explain some of the elements players will find off the tee and around Bethpage Black’s greens for the 2019 PGA Championship:

Bermuda On Rye: Attack Of The TPC Sawgrass?

Let’s face it, cautious golf at The Players can be a bit of a snooze, and while I’m all for firm and fast most of the time, the design here lends itself better to aerial golf, encouraging aggressive play and penalizing the overzealous. With the March date’s different winds and softer ground, it seems like we will see more drivers, more risk taking and a little more fun to the proceedings.

My story for Golfweek on this and the possible dent this may put in the hopes of plodders.

Plus, Brooks Koepka added this today:

I think you're definitely going to have to have a few more drivers in hand. Going back to your question, I think it was, I hit driver, 6-iron into 7 yesterday. And I've hit 3-iron and 9-iron off that hole. So you can't hit 5- and 4-iron out of this rough and you can't play it the way you used to. You've got to be more aggressive. With it being soft it kind of widens the fairways a little bit, the ball isn't going to roll as much, so I think it definitely plays into the longer hitters' hands and you can definitely have driver out quite a bit more.

As a side note, as much as I love the chance for recoveries from the rough, this pine straw right on the 16th fairway edge looks even better…



Ignorance Is Strength Files: Slumbers Says R&A Growing Rough To Ensure Old Course Strategy

Even though we’ve seen this movie before: eliminating fairway at the Old Course to mask regulatory ineptitude, the retirement of Chief Inspector Peter Dawson seemingly put an end to that madness.

Turns out, his replacement has signed off on an enhanced rough harvesting effort to combat the surge in driving distances at the home of strategic golf, the Old Course.

Who knew there was any more rough to grow or fairway to eliminate at the Road?

While most understand the Road hole’s strategy and the visual and angle issues caused by bailing out left off the 17th tee, the R&A has begun adding more rough to “enhance” strategy by offering hack-out rough.

From John Huggan’s Golf World report after Martin Slumbers’ day with reporters this week.

“We will be looking at the course setup and there is some rough beginning to grow that will ensure the strategic nature of the Old Course remains. The importance of making sure you play the strategy properly will be enhanced. But if we get no weather, no wind and plenty of rain, we all know the links course is at the mercy of these great players. The Old Course is no different.”

Specifically, Slumbers indicated that the rough left of the 17th fairway on the iconic Road Hole will be enhanced in order to force players to the right, closer to the out-of-bounds. The grass on the bank left of the 14th fairway and right of the fifth will also be allowed to grow longer than ever before.

Also do not discount how much gorse has been allowed to remain to “defend” the course, on top of tee boxes on the neighboring courses, something Old Tom Morris worked to rid the place of and which was instrumental in the course’s increase in strategy and enjoyment.

But it’s the notion of taking a shot away from a player, or disallowing a ball to run to a disadvantageous location at the Old Course, that speaks to a special level of absurdity. Particularly given Slumbers’s suggestion that the growing effort has already begun, meaning everyday golfers will have to suffer more for one week every five to six years.

What a bleak and cynical vision for the most important and cherished links, and all so that a few people can avoid doing their job as regulators.