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Very disappointed in Merion...

• JimbeauC 5,835 Posts

  Sat, Apr 14 2018 2:56 PM

  I always figured that it might be the easiest way to end up with more birds than par. Seems I bird or bogey darned near every hole. 

  :^)

• TyMacni 1,573 Posts

  Sun, Apr 15 2018 2:02 AM

   Can't say one way or the other if I've noticed any changes, but it is definitely a "different" course.

  Merion may, arguably, be the most challenging course on WGT. Forget the 325yd plus driving, the strategy and precision required to be successful is elevated to a very high level.  Considering this, in real life many of today's players could probably play without a driver.

  I live 10 miles from Merion. I is quite unique in size and location. Nestled in Ardmore, Pa, it is only 126 acres. The next time you play a round, take a look at some of the beautiful Ardmore homes that surround it. Also notice how close it is to boarders. Ardmore Ave runs parallel to, and only a few yards away from the Par 5 2nd Hole. At a latter dogleg hole, a drive of about 260yds will leave the course and land in the street..

  An excerpt from Wkipedia    layout covers only 126 acres (0.51 km2) of land, a very small area for a golf course. It was ranked 5th in Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" in 2015, and Jack Nicklaus has said of Merion East, "Acre for acre, it may be the best test of golf in the world."
  

  Check out the full Wikipedia article for an interesting and informative history from the 1740 farm, and farmhouse which is now Merion's Club House, to the 1896 Merion Cricket/Golf Club, the design and addition of the East Course in 1912, the tournaments, players, and highlights, to the present day.
  

• MainzMan 9,591 Posts

  Sun, Apr 15 2018 9:06 AM

  JimbeauC:

  I always figured that it might be the easiest way to end up with more birds than par.

  Oh man, that was one of my biggest milestones here.  Seeing those 2 numbers get closer and closer to each other and then the number of birdies going ahead of number of pars.

  It was a nice feeling :  )

• el3n1 4,502 Posts

  Mon, Apr 16 2018 1:42 PM

  @TyMacni  thanks for sharing this, I will look up the additional info as well...if I remember may come back and link it.  

  I haven't been playing nearly as long as most who can speak to "qualitative" changes with the course, but I can say that while the course doesn't annoy me as much as some there are a couple nuances that can make it more challenging...yet, you still  see absurdly low scores being shot on the course so like all the other courses on WGT it can't be a complete mystery and low scores continue to be shot there...

  when I observe that...I have to ask myself how can I play the course better rather than just blame the course as being the problem.  It can also be much smarter to miss in a spot below the hole rather than leave yourself a very difficult putt on champ greens. 

  Just because some of the other courses allow you to attack the pin on nearly every hole doesn't mean that is how it should be on every course.  

   

• MainzMan 9,591 Posts

  Tue, Apr 17 2018 11:18 AM

  el3n1:

  Just because some of the other courses allow you to attack the pin on nearly every hole doesn't mean that is how it should be on every course.  

  Spot on there.  Merion really requires you to play to the best area of the green, not necessarily try to fly to the hole and stop dead.  There are a few holes where you should leave a longish birdie putt and be satisfied with par.  Going for the pin every time can very easily lead to bogeys and a depressing score.

  Don't forget that luck sometimes also plays a role in hitting a good score.  A missed ding that still leaves an easy birdie putt or sinks said putt.  I sometimes get the feeling WGT is just on my side and whatever I do I'll make birdie.  I have to admit this almost never happens at Merion though, I think they turned the good luck factor way down there : )

• el3n1 4,502 Posts

  Tue, Apr 17 2018 4:36 PM

  MainzMan:

  Don't forget that luck sometimes also plays a role in hitting a good score. 

  I completely agree in my case.  There are those out there can "expect" good scores, but I still don't know my club/ball combination that well that sometimes I have to make good educated guesses and hope it works out.  Which brings me to your other point...

  MainzMan:

    I sometimes get the feeling WGT is just on my side and whatever I do I'll make birdie. 

  I have felt this way at times too and it is almost like you can sense when you are having one of those rounds.  At times, I can also sense when the opposite is going on as if VEM or something kicked in and the game seems to be far more difficult than normal...No matter how well I play the putts are not going to fall or the shots are going to be just off enough to leave me difficult putts. 

  MainzMan:

  I have to admit this almost never happens at Merion though, I think they turned the good luck factor way down there : )

  I definitely felt that way during the VT event when it was held on Merion...it seemed to play exceptionally hard then.  Yet, when I played one of our CC tournaments on T12 greens and moderate winds for practice, it felt like a different course.  It was the same course but it felt like night and day's difference in how it played.    

• kavvz 2,195 Posts

  Tue, Apr 17 2018 8:07 PM

  I recall the final round in that VT @ Merion was 14 greens and high winds.  Ridiculously hard.  Think I shot 66 and was happy with it.  Some of the top level players shot low 60's IIRC when they were low-ish to mid 50's for round 1.

• MYTHofPANDORA 53 Posts

  Wed, Apr 18 2018 7:19 PM

  US Open at Merion  

  Sunday, June 16, 2013

  Phil Mickelson three-putted the third and fifth holes for double bogeys, but took back the lead with an eagle on the 10th. Justin Rose responded with birdies on the 12th and 13th. A bogey by Mickelson on the 13th gave Rose the lead.^[20]

  Through 16 holes, Rose had five birdies and five bogeys and a one-shot lead over Mickelson. He managed par on the challenging final two holes, finishing with an even-par 70 for a 281 (+1) overall. Mickelson narrowly missed a birdie putt on the 16th that would have tied Rose and did not threaten to birdie either of the final two holes. A missed long par putt on 18 dropped him to +3 overall and into a tie with Jason Day for second place.^[20]

  For Rose, it was his first major title.^[21] He completed the tournament without any double bogeys. On his win, Rose commented "It feels fantastic. I committed myself to the process this week. I committed myself to putting a strategy in place that I hoped would work in five-to-10 years in delivering major championships ... it's a moment where you can look back and think childhood dreams have come true."^[20] He was the first English player to win the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970, and the first to win any major since Nick Faldo won the 1996 Masters. Rose, who entered the tournament ranked fifth in the world, moved up to third as a result of the win.^[20]

  For Mickelson, it was his sixth runner-up finish at the U.S. Open,^[22][23] an event record. He has never won the event and called the loss heartbreaking: "this is tough to swallow after coming so close ... I felt like this was as good an opportunity I could ask for and to not get it ... it hurts."^[20]

  Mahan was tied for the lead as late as the 14th hole before going +4 on the last four holes and dropping into a four-way tie for fourth, four strokes back.^[20] Jason Dufner shot a 67 (−3) despite a triple-bogey on 15 to tie Mahan, Horschel, and Ernie Els.^[20] Hideki Matsuyama also shot a 67 with six birdies to finish in a tie for tenth. Schwartzel started the day one shot back, but a 78 dropped him outside the top 10.

  Shawn Stefani recorded the first-ever hole-in-one during a U.S. Open at Merion, acing the 229-yard (209 m) 17th. His 4-iron tee shot bounced off the slope left of the green and rolled a considerable distance into the cup.^[24] The scoring average for the fourth round was 74.05.^[13]

• duffputt 314 Posts

  Thu, Apr 19 2018 5:36 AM

  One thing HAS changed about a year ago. The trees on first and tenth hole are "gone". U cant hit them anymore. That means U can go directly at flag on no 10 with way more eagles to come

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Apr 19 2018 5:39 AM

  duffputt:

  One thing HAS changed about a year ago. The trees on first and tenth hole are "gone". U cant hit them anymore. That means U can go directly at flag on no 10 with way more eagles to come

  Thank you for posting this, I thought it was my imagination. Being able to carry the trap off the first tee is a lot easier than it used to be and I can't remember the last time I hit the tree off of 10.  :-)