Golf Monthly UK – August 2019

were(almost)uniquetoWoodsin
hisearlypomp,somorenowhave

potential to produce lower scores.

Atediousrefrain

Sonowwecometothatmuch-

marched-outcriticismofthe
moderngame:thattheplayershit

it toofarandcoursesarebecoming

obsolete.It’sa tediousrefrainand
onethatshouldbechallenged.

Playersareundoubtedlyhitting

theballfurther,owingtoa raftof

different factors. But none of these

aremoreimportantthanthe

improvedtechniqueandphysical

abilityoftopperformers.This

representstheevolutionofour

game.Asinanyothersportor

humanendeavour,welearn to get

betterastimepasses.

Coursesdonotbecomeobsolete,

butif they’resetupastheywere in

the1970s,theybecome

considerablyeasier.Theoptions

are,then:1)acceptthisandenjoy

(orlamentif youprefer);2)

abandonthesecoursesforelite

competitionandplayeverything on

increasinglygenericstadium

tracks;or3)setuptheclassic

courses in such a way that more

emphasisis placedonaccuracy,

strategyandskill,aswellaspower.

Thethirdoptionis whattheUSGA

succeededindeliveringatPebble.

Thecoursewaslessthan 200 yards

longerthanwhenTigerwonin 2000

andthewinningscorewasjustone

better.Woodlandwonbydisplaying

a completeperformance,a showcase

ofthemodernprofessionalgame.

Yes,heis a powerfulhitter,buthe

alsodemonstratedpatience,

aggressionwhenrequiredanda

highdegreeofprecision.Thebest

playercameoutontopattheend of

anexcitingweek.Intermsof

deliveringagainstcourseset-up, you

can’t say fairer than that.

US OPEN

PebbleBeachprovidedaperfect

stage for an entertaining US Open

ShinnecockHillsverged

on unplayable in 2018