I get really giddy during this week. For once, I like seeing tour pros actually struggle. How many times have you chipped a ball and seen it come right back to your feet? Seeing a tour pro do that makes the game so much more enjoyable when I'm out duffing around. But enough about the U.S. Open test. This is why I don't like Pebble for an Open.
In my book, the U.S. Open should test every facet of your game on the course and between your ears. Under normal conditions, the guy who plays and thinks the best wins this golf tournament. I'm a big fan of certain golf courses hosting the Open. Shinnecock, Oakmont, and Winged Foot are a few that come to mind. But I just don't think Pebble should be considered a great Open venue. The greens are small and rarely in good condition. It's often cold and windy and scores can get way out of hand so damn fast. It almost resembles a British Open to some degree. And here's my biggest beef. It's not a driver golf course. These players can get around this place with two iron all day if they had to and still put up a score. The point is that this is the U.S. Open and not the British. I like my Opens to have hot and humid weather with driver in your hand the majority of the round. It's the ultimate test of golf and Pebble just doesn't render that test unless the USGA tricks it up.
The only thing Pebble has is three very historic wins and one they try to dramatize by showing Tom Kite's chip-in (that goes off the green if it doesn't SLAM into the pin). The Nicklaus two iron to an inch, Watson's brilliant chip, and Tiger actually reenacting his video game on the course are part of U.S. Open lore. But lets not keep going back to Pebble just because is has breathtaking views. Put this course in Nebraska and you're walking up paying $40 on Saturday morning.
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