Forums

I gotta say...

• Imbroglio 26 Posts

  Fri, Nov 12 2010 11:44 AM

  ...the greens at Oakmont are F***ed up, especially on Very Fast.  I can't even imagine how ridiculous they must be on the even faster speeds.

  One of the most fundamental principles of good course design is to reward a good shot and punish a bad one.  Henry Fownes, the designer of Oakmont, evidently took that to mean, reward only a near-perfect shot, and punish anything less by making it bounce and roll far, far away to a point that no longer represents even remotely the general quality of that approach shot.

  Oakmont tends to reject average-to-good approach shots with similar results as even very poor ones.  Say what you want about the legend, legacy and history of Oakmont, but that's flawed course design, pure and simple.

• speedyschic 948 Posts

  Fri, Nov 12 2010 12:50 PM

  I feel your pain but I also think that if a "good" approach shot does not end up near the pin, take note of what happened and apply it to your next shot so you can end up near the pin. 

• borntobesting 9,700 Posts

  Fri, Nov 12 2010 12:57 PM

  Imbroglio:

  ...the greens at Oakmont are F***ed up, especially on Very Fast.  I can't even imagine how ridiculous they must be on the even faster speeds.

  One of the most fundamental principles of good course design is to reward a good shot and punish a bad one.  Henry Fownes, the designer of Oakmont, evidently took that to mean, reward only a near-perfect shot, and punish anything less by making it bounce and roll far, far away to a point that no longer represents even remotely the general quality of that approach shot.

  Oakmont tends to reject average-to-good approach shots with similar results as even very poor ones.  Say what you want about the legend, legacy and history of Oakmont, but that's flawed course design, pure and simple.

  I don't think it was the designer. I believe the owners of Oakmont are the culprits. They do advertise that they have the fastest greens anywhere. 

• Imbroglio 26 Posts

  Fri, Nov 12 2010 1:14 PM

  "borntobesting" said...

  I don't think it was the designer. I believe the owners of Oakmont are the culprits. They do advertise that they have the fastest greens anywhere. 

  That's a fair point.  In the early 1900's when this course was built, they had neither the technology nor the fetish for making greens as unnecessarily fast as they do nowadays.

  Today it seems that a course is sneered at if it doesn't do everything in it's power to make it greens as diabolically fast as possible, with no regard for the speeds the designer had in mind when he contoured them.  It's all about stimp meter readings, who has the highest course rating, and the reputation for being the toughest.  

  Unfortunately, this mentality turns greens like the ones at Oakmont into a miniature golf course...all they need is a windmill.

   

• mrp1 2 Posts

  Fri, Nov 12 2010 6:20 PM

  WGT tries to be as authentic as possible with the courses they choose.There is a reason that Oakmont is called the toughest test in golf

• Yappy22 733 Posts

  Fri, Nov 12 2010 7:42 PM

  Ya gotta DING the meter a lot at OAKMONT and the greens are a tad touchy. But I really like it Can't wait for RG's to start there, will proabley loose a fortune.LOL

• danohi50 1,020 Posts

  Sat, Nov 13 2010 5:13 AM

  Its a great course..Id love to see some other courses reproduced from "The Golden Age" of Golf Course design. Bring on Merion, Pine Valley, Carnousty, Muirfield,and hundreds of other gems.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Nov 13 2010 5:39 AM

  Imbroglio:

  ...the greens at Oakmont are F***ed up, especially on Very Fast.  I can't even imagine how ridiculous they must be on the even faster speeds.

  LOL-The Open this year had them at warp speed~Championship~ and was that ever a riot. You know hole #2-the one with the green that slopes towards the tee? 3 feet above the hole easily turned into a 25-50 foot return if you missed.  :-D

• SweetiePie 4,925 Posts

  Sat, Nov 13 2010 10:29 AM

  mrp1:

  WGT tries to be as authentic as possible with the courses they choose.There is a reason that Oakmont is called the toughest test in golf

  It  makes Johnny Miller's 63 look very good