Fuente: © Southern Africa Tour
http://www.sunshinetour.com/

SOUTHERN AFRICA TOUR: The skinny on Winged Foot

/noticias.info/ A massacre. When the US Open championship was held there in 1974, that's what unfolded. And that's really all you need to know about Winged Foot, where the 2006 US Open gets underway on Thursday.

In 1973, Johnny Miller shot a 63 in the final round at Oakmont. And the U.S. Golf Association, as it has been known to do, wanted to let everyone know that it wasn't about to happen again.

So Winged Foot played difficult.

Hale Irwin would win the first of his three Opens (1979 at Inverness, 1990 at Medinah) by shooting 7-over-par 287. He opened and closed with 73s.

The late, great Dick Schaap chronicled it all in his aptly titled book, "Massacre at Winged Foot." It still remains the disaster by which all majors are measured, although the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie sure came close.

The US Open returns to Winged Foot after a 22-year hiatus, celebrating the fifth US Open for the club, which always ranks among the nations’ best.

Now, here's the trick about Winged Foot.

Graduated rough. That means the rough is grown thicker based on how far away you are from the fairway. The grass will be at its thickest eight-10 yards off the short stuff, an area where most pros don't mind being because the grass gets matted down thanks to thousands of spectators clunking their feet around.

The more wayward you are, the more trouble you'll find. With the rough so thick in places there's no choice but to take your medicine and play out. If a player misses the fairway by inches, it won't cost him the title.

But Winged Foot will teeter on the line of fair/unfair. Simple solution - keep it in play as best you can, then close your eyes.

In 1922, designer A.W. Tillinghast was told to give the members a "man-sized" layout. The West Course (the East is also ranked ahead of Baltusrol by both Golf Digest and Golfweek, by the way) now measures 7,266 yards, the longest in the history of this major.

Even though more than 1,000 trees were eliminated in the last decade, there's still plenty of them left to contend with. The five finishing holes, all par 4s, average 450 yards.

Did I mention that one of the two par 5s is playing at a mere 640? Or that one par 4 measures a stout 514?

The relatively small, pear-shaped greens are hardly inviting targets. Putting on them is even trickier.

In '84, the winning score was 276. At the '97 PGA, it was 269. But that's a PGA. And it did rain some, which softened things up. Love even shot three 66s that year. Don't count on any repeat. It won't necessarily be 287, either. But it could still be excruciating.

The Course Breakdown
No. 1, par 4:450 yards
No. 2, par 4:453 yards
No. 3, par 3:216 yards
No. 4, par 4:469 yards
No. 5, par 5:515 yards
No. 6, par 4:321 yards
No. 7, par 3:162 yards
No. 8, par 4:475 yards
No. 9, par 4:514 yards
Out, par 35:3,575 yards

BACK NINE
No. 10, par 3:188 yards
No. 11, par 4:396 yards
No. 12, par 5:640 yards
No. 13, par 3:214 yards
No. 14, par 4:458 yards
No. 15, par 4:416 yards
No. 16, par 4:478 yards
No. 17, par 4:449 yards
No. 18, par 4:450 yards
In, par 35:3,689 yards


Total, par 70:7,266 yards

Feature hole
The 18th, a 450-yard dogleg par 4, is called "Revelations."

The fairway bends slightly from right to left, which makes for a tough drive. Some players might even elect to use a 3-wood. They'll have to hit a draw, but if their ball goes too far left, they might not have a look at the green, depending on the angle. There's a bunker guarding the right side of the landing area, and the elevated green, which slopes back to front, is no picnic. There's a ridge that runs through the green, and any approach shot that doesn't clear it will run back down to the bottom of the hill.

Hopefully, the tournament will be decided here. notas_de_prensa_archivo