PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA | It’s possible, perhaps likely, that the winner of this U.S. Open will hit driver off the tee no more than four or five times per round at Pebble Beach.
Think about that for a moment.
The U.S. Open, which has always prided itself on being the total examination of a golfer, will demand discipline more than distance. Any player feeling frisky enough can hit a dozen drivers per round but all that’s likely going to get them is a trip home on the weekend.
Pebble Beach, for all of its glorious beauty, isn’t a beast when it comes to distance. It will measure 7,075 yards for this U.S. Open, varying a few yards from day to day, depending on where tees are placed and from which direction the wind is blowing.
That’s downright quaint by modern standards, especially after Erin Hills measured more than 7,800 yards in three of the four U.S. Open rounds two years ago.
To borrow a perspective from Fox Sports analyst Paul Azinger, Pebble Beach tells players what to do. The challenge is doing it under U.S. Open conditions.
Does diminishing the demand on drivers say more about Pebble Beach, the continuing impact of technology on golf, the physical nature of modern players or all of the above?
That’s what this week can tell us.
Part of it is the rough that frames every fairway, a gnarly swirl of bluegrass, rye and poa annua that is potentially punishing. It’s no secret that U.S. Open success is structured on avoiding big numbers and accepting the occasional bogey.
Say what you will about the last few U.S. Opens – and who hasn’t chimed in about the good, the bad and the otherwise since Chambers Bay in 2015 – but the last four winners have been Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka (twice). That’s a pretty good record of identifying the best player.
Koepka said it’s likely he will hit driver once on the first nine holes, at the second hole, a par-5 converted into a par-4 for the U.S. Open. If the new tees are used at the ninth and 10th holes (stretching them to more than 500 yards) they become driver holes while the par-5 14th lets players fire away. But even the famous par-5 18th hole isn’t necessarily a driver off the tee and players can still easily reach the green in two shots.
Part of it is the rough that frames every fairway, a gnarly swirl of bluegrass, rye and poa annua that is potentially punishing. It’s no secret that U.S. Open success is structured on avoiding big numbers and accepting the occasional bogey.
“I just don’t think it’s worth it,” Rory McIlroy said of hitting drivers off the tee. “This week is about giving yourself chances. If you try to go get this course, it will bite you quickly.”
Particularly at Pebble Beach, prudence and patience will be valuable commodities.
“It’s a golf course where you don’t need drivers. It certainly helps, but it’s not going to be as important as it was in Erin Hills and Shinnecock. You can definitely go around with irons and 3-woods and do quite well, obviously,” Jon Rahm said.
“If you can put it on the fairway and give yourself a better chance of being aggressive on the green, it will be important. The last champion here (Graeme McDowell) wasn’t the longest hitter even though being a long hitter is going to help.”
If Erin Hills and Shinnecock Hills favored long hitters, Pebble Beach doesn’t disqualify them as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have demonstrated in previous U.S. Opens here. Nine years ago, Dustin Johnson was in position to win until his game unraveled on Sunday, the first time he was in serious contention to win a major championship.
This year, Johnson is among the favorites based on his fondness for Pebble Beach and his skill through the bag. He is prepared to throttle down as needed.
“Obviously if you’re playing out of the fairway, yeah, it definitely gives you an advantage. But you’ve got to get it in the fairway,” Johnson said.
“A lot of holes on this golf course, you hit it to kind of the same area. You can challenge and get it closer to the green in some places, but in most instances here you’re just trying to get it in the fairway because it’s not overly long. There’s a few holes depending on the wind that could play very long.”
One thing noticeably absent in the run-up to this U.S. Open: player complaints about the course setup. It’s relatively soft and the ball tends to fly less in the dense sea air along the Pacific but the rough is set at classic U.S. Open density.
“Our philosophy has not changed. We will continue to endeavor to provide the toughest test, the ultimate test, the most comprehensive test, whatever you want to call it, and really just to create something where players’ shotmaking ability, mental resolve, physical stamina are tested,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships.
“We’re not going to lose that. It has been something that we’ve done for many years and will continue to do that. We think we’re creating something special, and we don’t want to lose that.”
As the U.S. Open begins, it sounds as if Pebble Beach is where everyone wants it.
“The setup is awesome,” McIlroy said.