Bryson Show Arrives In Vegas Talking Happy Gilmore, Drivable Fours And 48-Inch Drivers For Augusta

Another range parking lot was inundated by Bryson DeChambeau drives before he was asked to move back, begging two questions: why does the ball need to go so far and who keeps putting parking near a range.

Anyway, check out Steve DiMeglio’s entertaining compendium of clips from Bryson’s pre-Shriner’s Hospital For Children press conference, as the U.S. Open champion returns to PGA Tour action for the first time since Winged Foot.

Four par-4’s figure to get a crack, and the iron distances are befitting the desert air and elevation. And the incredible distances DeChambeau hits the ball.

“There will be holes where I’m going to try and drive them, get it up as close to the green as possible,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just fun having a 7-iron go 220. That’s unique. And 4-iron, 265. There will be holes where I had to hit 3-wood and now I’m hitting 4-iron off the tees.”

I believe this was said in a serious tone:

“I watched ‘Happy Gilmore’ a little while ago and just re-inspired me to try and hit it as far as possible,” DeChambeau said.

Bryson also provided an update on 48-inch driver testing for Augusta National and the Masters.

“I’m looking forward to trying to put in a 48-inch driver and see what that can do to the golf course and what opportunities it will present for me,” he said. “It’s going well. I think there is a lot of, I don’t know, I guess you could say advantages to having a 48-inch driver and being able to put it in play and keep it in play.

“Still need to get some things worked out, but so far it’s been pretty amazing.”

It is amazing.

Players To Get Boost Of Ahleticism As New Pro V’s Turn Up In Vegas (Again)

Because they aren’t hitting it long enough and the air isn’t thin enough to make 400 yards an expected thing, new Titleist’s are turning up at their favorite testing grounds: TPC Summerlin.

Twenty years after the first Pro V’s showed up in Vegas and instantly turned most Titleist staffers into decathletes, it’s that time of year. Sources close to absolutely no one predict the new new Pro V1’s and Pro V1x’s will be longer and, wait for it, I swear, really, like, really straighter.

Golfweek’s David Dusek reviews and previews the Pro V’s history at the Shriner’s and what can be expected as the conforming ball is put into play.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the first Titleist Pro V1 at the 2000 Invensys Classic. That week, 47 players in the field switched into the new multi-layer, urethane-covered ball, including Billy Andrade, who went on to win.

Historically, Titleist brings prototypes of the three-piece Pro V1 and the four-piece Pro V1x balls to Las Vegas to get feedback from players, then makes the balls available to consumers in late January of the following year.

The company is not providing any details regarding modifications it has made to the balls at this time, but it is likely that the balls are receiving refinements instead of significant overhauls. Why? According to Titleist, about 73 percent of all the players on the PGA Tour last season used either a Pro V1 or a Pro V1x. That number jumps to 75 percent on the European Tour and 83 percent on the LPGA Tour.

Which means, when we take 12 dimples off it and make it a few millimeters larger, it’ll still be the most popular! Right Wally?

Today In Swell Ideas: Bryson-Proofing With Progressively Scaled Rough Density

Since we apparently can’t roll back athleticism or change equipment rules to maintain the relevancy of tournament courses, cockamamie ideas surface from time to time in the name of protecting imaginary bottom lines.

Though I have to say, in twenty years of hearing what efforts golf courses must go to not to act, this falls into the extra-kooky category. Not reptiles-in-the-rough-crazy, but close.

From Rex Hoggard, reporting on a Golf Central podcast conversation with Mike Schy, Bryson DeChambeau’s longtime swing-coach, when asked how you Bryson-proof a course.

“I’ve thought through this and I think I have the answer,” Schy explained on this week’s Golf Central Podcast. “I believe the rough should be scaled so that the closer you get to the green the thicker the rough becomes. Let’s say 60 yards out the rough is 7 inches deep and as you go back [toward the tee] the rough is scaled [shorter].

So, an inch lower every 20 yards? Do you paint a line at each stage, maybe go all grid-like?

Rossie, did he just find six inch or is he still in the five inch patch? That could be huge for his chances to his this lob wedge close!

Sorry, continue…

“You could actually narrow the fairway just a little bit, scale the rough and that brings back all the old golf courses. The courses that are potentially becoming obsolete [to Tour players], like Pebble Beach.”

Takers? Anyone? Just send the bill for new mowers, fertilizer and manpower to the USGA or R&A, attention Distance Impact Fund.

Morri: The Distance Debate Is Not About Golfers, Agronomy Or Athleticism

Check out Rod Morri’s Golf Australia piece on what the distance debate is not about:

It’s not about players or athleticism or Trackman or modern coaching or ‘handcuffing’ the most talented individuals.

It’s not about which golfers might gain or lose the most in a rolled back world or whether the value of long hitting in relation to the field has changed over time.

It’s not about scoring or agronomy or making the game harder with stupid rough and penal minefields of bunkers in some futile bid to ‘protect par’. In fact, it’s not about score, full stop.
It’s not about any of those things because all of those things are about golfers and the distance debate isn’t about golfers, it’s about golf courses.

Bookmark this one for the next time you experience the inevitable hissy fit over the prospect of lost distance. Throw in Dr. MacKenzie’s quote about relativity of distance losses and you should be able to calm down the set fearful having their rights violated by increased regulation.

But be careful in your distance debates. The athleticism push of late has the marketeers now part of the discussion. They are trying to sell a product and could care less about the long term health of the sport. A surprising number have anointed themselves jocks because many of today’s top players hit the gym and fill out a shirt. Any suggestions of distance now are somehow a threat to their virility. Beware!

WSJ: “Athletes Are Conquering Distance. Sports Will Never Be the Same"

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Thanks to reader John for Ben Cohen and Joshua Robinson’s look at the long distance movement in several sports under the headline, “Athletes Are Conquering Distance. Sports Will Never Be the Same.”

The story looks at the efforts of marathoner Eliud Kipchoge to use technology to refine technique and tactics, the increase in basketball’s three-point shots, baseball fastballs and golf. Not surprisingly, the focus is on Bryson DeChambeau’s physical overhaul and the tools he has used to get longer.

It’s not just DeChambeau. The average carry distance for drives on the PGA Tour a decade ago was 268 yards. This year it was 280 yards. DeChambeau’s was 314 yards.

Darned agronomy!

Dustin Johnson’s comments on optimization were used in the context of the piece and as the primary reason golfers have outsmarted the rules.

The solution is not to make the courses longer, Johnson said, but to make them more varied. The golfers have too much sophisticated technology at their disposal for architects to play defense. Their drivers are larger and lighter. Their balls spin less and fly straighter. They can drill their mechanics to the point of perfection. “It allows people to completely optimize their golf swing and their equipment,” Johnson said.

Check out the full story here.

European Golf Course Architects Overwhelmingly Support Action On Distance

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For those new to the distance debate or only mildly interested in this neverending saga, the role of course design drives the views of most. And yet, golf architects who could profit by rapid increases we’ve seen in the last two decades, should be loving the added work and calls to deal with safety issues.

But dealing with distance in almost every decision they have to make has 95% of European Institute of Golf Course Architects voting for some form of “rollback” in the name of safety and sanity.

The July survey questions and results can be viewed here, with a link to the PDF in the righthand column. From their president summing up the results:

“We surveyed the EIGCA membership for their thoughts on a range of factors relating to increased hitting distances, forged through their experience of designing golf courses around the world. The most eye-catching result is that 95% of respondents agreed that action needs to be taken to reduce hitting distances,” says Christoph Städler, President of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects.

“The vast majority of respondents (75%) believed that increasing ball flight length and advances in equipment technology are diminishing the skill of the game which is leading to a simplification of golf course strategy. 88% of respondents considered a reduction in driving distance of between 10% and 15% would be appropriate.”

The results have been sent off to the R&A and USGA who have suspended discussions until 2021 due to the pandemic.

A few noteworthy results regarding safety, an issue often ignored or even mocked.

•90% have encountered existing courses with increased safety issues due to the increase in hitting distance

•73% have increased safety margins due to the increase in hitting distance

And regarding design issues:

•20% have almost always been tasked by clients to lengthen a course, another 37% have frequently been briefed to do so, and 32% occasionally (89% of respondents meaning this is a common requirement asked of architects)

•93% have re-designed a course, or part of a course, due to the increase in hitting distance (15% almost always, 37% frequently, 42% occasionally

Finally, besides the 95% who’d like to see some action take, they would mostly spare the amateur game:

•62% think that amateurs should be spared any regulatory effects to reduce hitting distance (21% amateurs be completely exempt + 41% that amateurs should largely be spared)

Rory On Distance: "It went on too long and too far to bring the game to where it was in the mid-90s.”

In his weekly notes column, AP’s Doug Ferguson features this quote from Rory McIlroy without attribution to the context or location:

“I think we're too far down the road to do anything drastic. It went on too long and too far to bring the game to where it was in the mid-90s.” — Rory McIlroy on what golf should do about distance.

It’s an odd one since (A) no one I’m aware of has mentioned going back to mid-90s distances, (B) it’s a contradiction of his wildly inconsistent array of past comments that have covered the gamut from pro-rollback to you-can’t-stop-the-athletes (here, here, and here for starters), (C) it’s oddly short-sighted for a player of McIlroy’s depth and past statements to say the problem is so far gone that inaction is the remedy.

Anyway, anyone know where this was said and what the context was?

Do We Really Want Young Golfers To "Pull A Bryson"?

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In wrapping up Bryson DeChambeau’s revolutionary U.S. Open win, we long time technistas have seen new dimensions added to the distance debate.

From how the game is played, to the relentless “athlete” marketing push, the debate includes fresh dimensions courtesy of Bryson’s brusque style. Just look at Cameron Champ. He is probably capable of longer drives and has a pair of nice wins along with a run at the PGA Championship to beef up his credentials. But there is something more revealing about the sight of Bryson’s weight gain in a matter of months and the violent nature of his swing.

The aesthetic of it is cringe worthy. But golf has always had aggressive lashers. There’s more to this than style.

Seeing someone combine an excessive diet with a Happy Gilmore swing is one thing, but it becomes a bit less fun when you sense injury is inevitable. But he’s a grown man and he’s entitled to do what he likes with his body. At least, within reason and under rules meant to maintain the integrity of the competition.

So about the children.

At certain ages we are able to observe and absorb tiny details that are sometimes channeled into golf swings. Or into mannerisms. Or how we practice, prepare and dress. With kids getting serious at younger ages able to access more information than ever, this is a careful way of asking: do we want kids seeing what Bryson’s doing and copying the methods to his madness?

Today’s equipment and launch monitor technology allows a talented golfer to maximize their implements to absurd driving-distance effect. All credit to Bryson, he outsmarted the system. But the rules are supposed to consider whether it is a good thing on many levels, including preventing young people from taking extreme measures to gain distance.

With that in mind, here are a few final reads regarding Bryson and the U.S. Open, starting with a reminder that any talk about rules changes must start with praise for DeChambeau. An adjustment to the rules was already in mind before he made his changes thanks to the Statement of Principles, so the next discussions should never feel like a rebuke or de-legitimization of his win.

His instructor in this transformation, Chris Como, was quoted by Doug Ferguson in this AP analysis of DeChambeau’s overhaul:

“How many people have changed their body, changed their golf swing and lost their career?” said Chris Como, who works with DeChambeau as a swing coach and speaks his language with his background in biomechanics.

True. That said, there should be a place in the rules to modify equipment to allow a player to swing hard, but return some sanity to the player-club symbiosis. Again, hats off to Bryson and you can keep your new body, but in the interest of the sport and future generations, we also need to draw a line in the sand. Or, gasp, go backwards.

In The Met Golfer magazine, Bill Fields tackled this notion with DeChambeau in mind, then reminded us of past distance talk—100 yards ago off the tee—and explained why golf has to stop fussing so much over a minor move backwards.

The circus will still be the circus, whether the high wire is fifty or five hundred feet above the floor.

Now to the headline of this post: the children. They are our future!

And in golf, our immediate present, with some undoubtedly throwing another package of bacon in the shopping cart and pricing Creatine options online.

To this point, an Eric Sondheimer Los Angeles Times story appeared in August and I asked a few folks about the ethics of posting it in this context. I ultimately chose not to because I don’t want to pick on a 16-year-old aspiring player for simply doing what you’re supposed to do: see what a leading player is doing and copying.

The lad in question is a former child star and now a good player for a legendary southern California high school. He has aspirations to get better and longer off the tee. This being 2020, you know where this is going.

When on-campus classes stopped in March, golf courses also closed, leaving the then-sophomore scrambling. His mother bought him a target to practice his chipping in the backyard. He tried hitting off a mat, but that doesn’t help for real golf. He went for runs, rode a bike and worked on building his strength while trying to keep his slender 6-foot-1, 145-pound body in shape. He can drive a ball 280 yards but says he’s been “eating a lot.”

He and his golf friends have been talking nonstop this summer about PGA sensation Bryson DeChambeau, who gained 40 pounds and has been hitting balls beyond 400 yards.

“That’s who we’re chasing in the fitness world,” he said.

Long drives with friends this summer produced, “You pulled a Bryson.”

Today’s equipment and fitting allows for players to grow-up swinging more efficiently than past generations. But at what point does skill become diminished by technology or worse, do training regimens and expensive protein diets turn golf into a pursuit of unhealthy behaviors and gluttony?

Is anyone at the highest levels concerned about the idea of encouraging teenagers to push their bodies before they’re ready? In a sport that has always been about more than just getting stronger?

To date there has been little urgency to act for any reason, including child safety. But maybe the sight of Bryson’s transformation and his promise to pursuing more weight gain will convince the regulators to better regulate. For the children.

Padraig: Bryson's Doing A Twelve-Second 100 Meters, Has Another 20 Percent In The Tank

Martin Dempster quotes Padraig Harrington in advance of this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the 2020/21 Ryder Cup Captain shared thoughts on a variety of topics. He’s also monitoring the weather that might have been this week at Whistling Straits (it’s literally as perfect as you could hope), but also chiming in on Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open victory.

“With the capabilities at the moment, I would say Bryson is swinging at about, if you compare it to 100 metres, he’d be running at 12 seconds. The human capability, he’s running 100 metres at about 12 seconds at the moment, so he’s still got another 20 per cent more in the tank in terms of human capabilities for other players to come along.

He also made this prediction about the women’s game and the speed chase:

“I actually think the biggest change could come in women’s golf. You’re going to get a woman out there playing well into the mid-170s ball speed and would be competitive on the men’s tour.”

Some Reactions To Bryson DeChambeau's U.S. Open Win And What It Means For Golf

Tim Dahlberg of AP considers what Bryson DeChambeau’s win means for state of the game discussions:

The USGA and R&A are so concerned about the impact of long hitting on the game that they issued a report earlier this year that said, in part, that advances in distance off the tee were threatening to ``undermine the core principle that the challenge of golf is about needing to demonstrate a broad range of skills to be successful.’’

Now they may have to update that report. It was done before DeChambeau added 40 pounds during the pandemic break and began swinging at every tee shot like Barry Bonds used to swing at baseballs.

It was impressive to some, worrying to others. The fact is, golf has always evolved, from the days of hickory shafted clubs and gutta percha balls to today’s big headed drivers and balls that fly far and stop fast. But the beatdown DeChambeau gave Winged Foot this week might have been a tipping point in the debate over just how far the evolution of the game is allowed to go.

Michael Clayton writes for Golf Australia about what the key takeaways will be:

The first was that this was a dominant performance and his final round one to remember.

The second is teachers all over the world will be telling kids who watched on television and dream one day of winning a great championship that they had better learn to hit the ball 330 yards through the air, because there is nothing surer than that’s what the next generation will routinely be playing against.

Ultimately, though, watching DeChambeau with a driver in his hand is no more thrilling than watching Nicklaus, Daly, Woods or, indeed Bobby Jones, drive the ball.

Indeed, his biggest influence on the game is not likely to be his driver; but his understanding of data, statistics, probabilities and how they relate to strategy and the best shot to play.

The key for architects is to work out how best to disrupt the data without resorting to trickery – because this week the winner showed trickery in the form of narrow fairways and long grass can be defeated by power.

Alistair Tait wonders what all of these 375 yard drives mean for the Old Course in 2022 and Augusta, home of the next two majors.

A line had been drawn in the sand with Woods’s record 12-shot win, and the green jackets did something about it. Remember how they supposedly Tiger-proofed the course? Do they have enough time before the world’s best arrive in November to Bryson-proof the course Bobby Jones and Dr Alister MacKenzie created?

If Jack Nicklaus played a game Jones wasn’t familiar with, then imagine how the game’s greatest amateur would view DeChambeau’s approach?

Joel Beall at GolfDigest.com on where this leaves things with the distance debate.

No conversation in golf has been as heated as distance gains, and the USGA—which governs equipment regulation in this country—threw more logs into the fire when it stated in its Distance Insights report that said gains must stop. That verdict, how the USGA came to it, and where it goes from here, can be debated. But the performance of DeChambeau and Wolff and McIlroy on a course where just two players in five previous U.S. Opens have broken par is unequivocal: There is no defense against distance.

To many, Saturday afternoon sounded the alarm. In truth, the sirens rang earlier. The East Course’s ninth hole is serving as a makeshift range this week, with a net past the green guarding a parking lot. A few players have soared their drives over the de facto fence, including DeChambeau, who ended his third-round warm-up by raining balata into courtesy cars. As he walked to the first tee, the implication was clear. This course cannot contain them.

2020 U.S. Open: Bryson By The Numbers

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From the USGA’s notes after Bryson DeChambeau’s 2020 U.S. Open win:

  • Champion Bryson DeChambeau tied for fifth in greens in regulation (46), despite tying for 26th in fairways hit (23). 

  • DeChambeau’s total strokes gained of 7.90 is the fourth-highest by a champion since 1960. Johnny Miller (10.77 in 1963), Arnold Palmer (9.29 in 1960) and Jack Nicklaus(8.19 in 1967) were higher.

  • This was just the third time since 2000 that the champion was the only player in red figures (Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2002).

If the fairways hit number stood out, it was historic but also not that far off from a couple of recent wins.

From Ryan Herrington at GolfDigest.com:

Consider this: Since 1981, no U.S. Open winner had hit fewer than 27 fairways, according to Golf Channel. Here’s a listing of the champs with the fewest fairways hit in the last 40 years.

Angel Cabrera, 2007, Oakmont, 27 (ranked 48th for the week in accuracy)

Tiger Woods, 2008, Torrey Pines, 30 (ranked 56th)

Webb Simpson, 2012, Olympic Club, 31 (ranked 13th)

Scott Simpson, 1987, Olympic Club, 31 (ranked 42nd)

Interestingly, while DeChambeau hit the fewest fairways compared to the four others, he ranked T-26 for the field on the week, which is the second to Webb Simpson.

As for the rest of his game, the short game performance isn’t getting enough attention. For four rounds at Winged Foot:

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In other number news, Bryson’s eyeing the 48-inch driver for November’s Masters with 360-370 average yard drives in mind, writes GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard.

Also, 245 is in play if he can get to the gym and his arteries can take it. From Bill Pennington’s New York Times game story:

DeChambeau is 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds — he gained 40 pounds this winter in an attempt to swing more forcefully — but on Sunday evening he was asked if he wanted to become bigger before the Masters.

“Yeah, I think I can get to 245; it’s going to be a lot of working out,” he answered.

Xander On Bryson "Exposing" Sport: "It's no longer sort of a touchy-feely game."

Xander Schauffele off a fourth-straight excellent U.S. Open performance, sounds conflicted about where things are headed as he saw Bryson DeChambeau overpower Winged Foot.

Q. What are your thoughts on Bryson just in general and what he's done in transforming his body?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, he's a man of his word. I said it last night, if there's anyone that I was worried about, it was him. Everyone talked about hitting fairways out here. It's not about hitting fairways. It's about hitting on the correct side of the hole and hitting it far so you can kind of hit a wedge instead of a 6 iron out of the rough. Yeah, he's sort of trending in the new direction of golf, and he said he wanted to do everything he's doing, and yeah, happy for him. He's playing unbelievable.

This answer was especially fascinating:

Q. Going back to what you said before about Bryson,do you feel like he's revolutionizing the game?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No. If you look at just people that have dominated, it's always been distance. Obviously, Tiger had the mix of touch and feel and everything. If you look back at he was sort of the first guy to really hit it far with those clubs. Jack hit is really far as well. All the greats hit it pretty far for the most part. It's no longer sort of a touchy-feely game. The only way to make a golf course really hard is to firm up the greens and grow the rough. It's going to make it hard for everyone, and you'd rather be the guy in the rough with a lob wedge than with an 8 iron or 7 iron. Revolutionize? Maybe he's just exposing our game in terms of, if he keeps hitting it further and further, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to win many more U.S. Opens.

And there is launch angle golf in a nutshell.

The Importance Of Hitting U.S. Open Fairways Isn't What It Used To Be

Lee westwood after round 3

Lee westwood after round 3

Think about all the effort put into juicing the roughs with fertilizer, fine tuning the lines a bit to make the players lay up so the ball doesn’t have to be regulated and the excitement at seeing them punished!

Not happening. At least, not for the 2020 U.S. Open leaders.

The most stout rough we’ve seen in some time is not meaning a darned thing at Winged Foot, as Matthew Wolff takes a two stroke lead into Sunday. Two, also happens to be the number of fairways hit in a 65 that featured two very makeable birdie misses. Wolff has hit 12 fairways after three rounds leaving him tied for 58th. The bottom portion of the fairways hit ranking:

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In second place sits Bryson DeChambeau, whose found 17 of 32 fairways, placing him T31 in that category.

To recap: the top two players hit 5/28 fairways but 23/36 greens Saturday.

Yes, two players with a legit shot Sunday are hitting fairways and they may still flip the narrative if 57% is a number that affirms your faith in tee ball accuracy:

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Digging into the course stats, note how just four holes saw a higher fairway hit percentage than green in regulation. The other ten driving holes saw higher GIR’s than balls in the fairway, with some showing a huge discrepancy indicating that the short grass means only so much.

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Also note how small the cost of rough was Saturday, with only four holes having it cost a half stroke or slightly more.

Third round leader Patrick Reed’s ballstriking struggles did finally catch up to him, so there is that for those wanting to insist there is great relevance in hitting fairways.

But the distance numbers suggest launch angle golf is working and there is no reason to do anything but bomb away. A staggering 38 players are averaging over 310 yards through three rounds with only 7 players averaging under 300.

The 310-and-up club, led 15 players averaging over 322 yards for the week on the measuring holes.

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While it should be a fun final round to watch, this week reminds those who’ve forgotten the previous bomb-and-gouge era that juiced rough still does not discourage the strategy. Still, it is stunning to watch the approach work so well on a course rigged to diffuse such an approach.

The madness of it all was summed up at the NBC telecast’s end when Roger Maltbie was asked by Dan Hicks about Bryson DeChambeau’s attacking style.

“Every part of me wants to not like this, that you just reduce the game to power and the fairway becomes less important, especially at a U.S. Open because historically, that’s just not the way it’s been done,” Maltbie said. “But this is impressive and (DeChambeau is) convincing me that he’s not wrong in the way that he’s assessed how to play the game now.”

Paul Azinger then offered this assessment.

“What are you going to do if you want to neutralize these guys, or if you want to make them accurate? Is power going to trump accuracy in this great game? The answer, it seems, is yes…one single club has made the difference, and it’s the driver.”

We Need A Deeper Range: U.S. Open Fencing Getting Mid-Week Expansion!?

Despite years of planning and the USGA’s extensive data on distance, it appears Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open driving range work will force a Tuesday evening change to Winged Foot’s temporary fencing.

I’ve independently confirmed from two sources the veracity of Brendan Porath’s Tuesday Tweet based on an email to members.

The temporary range was not deep enough for today’s triathletes who’ve been armed with launch monitors, plant-based diets and conforming non-conforming equipment. And now the fence must move.

If you know anything about the USGA, you’re aware of the planning, refinement and expense that goes into a U.S. Open site preparation. Rarely does something like this happen. They’ve done this before.

But if there is any greater lunacy indicator on the rapidly expanding carry distances in elite golf, this might be it.

If there is better evidence of being totally outsmarted by players, equipment makers and technology, this might be the capper.

My sources say cars on the other side of the fence were in danger, a situation many golf courses have had to address at great cost and all to not tweak the rules or bifurcate them.

In the message to members, the club’s U.S. Open Chairman reported DeChambeau was the primary inspiration for moving the fence and range tee markers back. Cars, he said, were in danger. And not just the ones randomly parked on course as advertisements, but real courtesy cars.

Maybe this will do it?

Men vs. Women's Pro Golf: "Hit and Run vs. Home Run Derby"

Andy Johnson wins the analogy award for summing the contrast between last weekend’s AIG Women’s Open at Troon and the slugfest at TPC Boston, aka the Northern Trust won by eleven by Dustin Johnson.

During the 2020 Women’s Open, played at a windy, 6,632-yard Royal Troon, we saw just that. Cunning and shotmaking came to the forefront. The competitors’ typical trajectories and spin rates brought slopes on and around the greens into play. Fronting bunkers were intimidating, often prompting players to aim away from a pin if they had a poor angle.

As a diehard golf fan, I felt how a diehard baseball fan must feel during the postseason. In playoff baseball games, the margins are slim, and the most successful teams manufacture runs in nuanced ways: hit and runs, safety squeezes, pitch-outs. Similarly, the Women’s Open highlighted precise driving, well-struck long irons, varied short-game play, and patience. This is the kind of stuff that tragics love and obsess over. And in golf, despite advances in equipment, the intricacies we crave can still be found in women’s tournaments because the scale of the players’ games fits the scale of the venues.

At the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust, on the other hand, those scales were completely mismatched.

Matt Brown offered a similar look from Down Under (thus, the “Monday morning” references to the final round). He lamented how “boring” the Northern Trust final round was, but appreciated how Bryson DeChambeau has brought the distance discussion to the table. And this:

At the same time the TPC Boston was giving up birdies like they were jellybeans, across the Atlantic, the world's best women's players were having a hell of a time at Royal Troon.

With 65-kilometre-per-hour winds ripping off the Firth of Clyde on Scotland's west coast, this classic 140-year-old links was baring its teeth. The leader after the first two rounds was Swede Dani Holmqvist.
She shot rounds of 70 and 71 to be 1-under, the only player in red figures.

The cut was set at 9-over par. Three golfers had rounds of over 80 in the first two days and still played the weekend.

And it was glorious to watch.

Great to see World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb on board too (above).