GOLF: Senior Open course set up to be firm, fast

HAVEN, Wisconsin - Not one inch was spared. For three years, every surface of the Straits course at Whistling Straits — from slopes to pin and tee placements to the height of the rough — has been scrutinized in preparation for the first round of the U.S. Senior Open, which starts today.

Much to the players’ chagrin, nothing about the meticulous course setup can neutralize the unpredictable winds blowing off Lake Michigan.

In the time since the Straits hosted the 2004 PGA Championship, Jeff Hall, the director of rules and competition standards for the United States Golf Association, has walked the course nine times — totaling about 45 miles — closely followed by Michael Lee, the manager of golf course maintenance, and David Swift, the course superintendent.

On these walks, Hall critiqued fairway width, green speed, and rough height and worked to determine pin placement and the location of the tees, based on the subtle undulations of the turf.

“We talk about everything,” Lee said. “We stand on the first hole and we say, ‘What happens if we use this tee? What’s the landing? What would happen if we use this forward tee? Will this shot create a traffic issue? You do that on holes one through 18 and you’re just drained at the end of the day.”

On July 25, Hall will stroll The Broadmoor’s East Course in advance of the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, keeping in mind the USGA’s philosophy of what constitutes an Open-ready course.

“Firm and fast,” Hall said. “We want firm conditions, especially on the putting greens, and fast, both putting greens and fairways. What we’re trying to do is test every aspect of a golfer’s golf game. It’s the complete exam.”

This exam is tailored to 156 of the best golfers older than 50.

“It’s not intended to be what you saw at (the U.S. Open at) Oakmont and replicate that set-up,” Hall said. “All of the components of that setup are present here, but it is meant to be proportional. We’re going to test the players in the same way, but throttle it back a little bit.”

Compared with the PGA Championship setup in 2004, the Straits has been shortened by 458 yards, sand has been added to the putting greens to aid water absorption and the 18th hole has been altered.

Also, the rough style has been changed to accommodate new USGA standards.

“Starting with last year, we went to this graduated rough,” Hall said. “Simply put, the farther off line you hit it, the longer the grass.”

Green speed is measured with a device called a Stimpmeter and 12 is quite fast. That was the average green speed for the PGA Championship. That average and the fairway widths have stayed the same since the PGA Championship, which provided the framework for Lee’s planning in advance of the Senior Open. Firmness will be the same barring a torrential downpour.

The maintenance crews have had trial runs each of the past two summers, spending a week raising the course to championship quality by grooming it twice daily. The groundskeepers mow and roll the grass until the ball travels at championship speed.

By this week, the course maintenance has been rehearsed so it runs like clockwork. Hit the greens at 5 a.m., off by 7, and start again at 7 p.m., work until 9. Today, the only thing left to do is watch the weather and make the necessary adjustments to maintenance routines, Lee said.

Winner of the 1998 and 2000 U.S. Senior Opens and three U.S. Opens, University of Colorado graduate Hale Irwin says the USGA’s philosophy has remained consistent even with advances in equipment technology and fitter plus-50 players.

The USGA tournaments “still have narrow fairways, they’ve always had deep rough, quicker greens,” Irwin said. “It extracts the best player — usually — of that week, the player that has managed himself the best. He may not be the absolute best driver, the absolute best iron player, but he did all things better and, more than anything else, probably had the mental stamina to get through the week given all of the things that happen. If you’re driving the ball poorly, it will show that very quickly. You can’t wish your way around a USGA event.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4803 or kate.crandall@gazette.com