SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK | There was a moment Wednesday in the USGA’s pre-U.S. Open news conference when CEO Mike Whan leaned over and put a hand on the shoulder of John Bodenhamer, the organization’s chief championships officer and the man tasked with putting the right competitive edge into tempestuous Shinnecock Hills this week.
Shinnecock is a beautifully unadorned layout, difficult by design, and its inherent challenges are magnified by the wind that gathers and gusts, potentially to the extreme this week.
It’s no secret that if the USGA has been guilty of any setup sins through the years at U.S. Opens, they have been sins of aggression, going a step too far or a couple of inches too deep. The past two U.S. Opens at Shinnecock, in 2004 and 2018, provide chapters to that story and it’s on Bodenhamer to find the right blend of challenge and compassion.
After a long description of how the USGA is preparing a softer (by degrees) Shinnecock setup to deal with winds expected to blow more than 30 mph at various times, Bodenhamer paused.
“For a USGA guy my whole life, my dream was always to play in and win the U.S. Open. To sit back here and talk about hydrating greens, slowing green speeds, and modifying hole locations, that’s hard to do, but I’ll tell you what, I have great respect for this cathedral of the game and about these great players,” Bodenhamer said.
Not one to miss a beat, Whan quickly told the assembled media, “Give J.B. a hug on your way out, would you?”
If necessity is the mother of invention, Mother Nature is the inescapable force at Shinnecock.
Other than a small chance of a random shower during the four tournament days, it will be the wind that defines how this championship unfolds.
In 2004, the greens got so dried out by the combination of wind and sun that the USGA took the unprecedented step of watering some putting surfaces between groups to keep those spots playable. Similar problems developed in the Saturday round of the 2018 U.S. Open here when the wind blew substantially harder than forecast.
“Think about it as when you go into the grocery store and you go into the produce department and reach for that head of lettuce and that little mist comes on above and hits your hand. That’s all we’re doing to the putting greens.” — John Bodenhamer
Choosing to err on the side of caution in hopes of avoiding calamity, Bodenhamer and his team have substantially reconfigured their setup plan.
With fairways that average 48 yards in width, the firm, fast conditions will effectively narrow those areas, many of which will be buffeted by strong crosswinds. It’s on and around the putting surfaces where the weather could become the leading character in the story.
“This place just dries down like nowhere else I’ve ever experienced, and we need to watch it and be very careful,” Bodenhamer said.
To that end, the USGA has informed players that it will syringe (lightly water) the greens between the morning and afternoon waves on Thursday and Friday, having built in time in the middle of the day to accommodate that process. It’s something done daily at Shinnecock Hills.
There are also plans to syringe the greens just prior to play both Saturday and Sunday.
“Think about it as when you go into the grocery store and you go into the produce department and reach for that head of lettuce and that little mist comes on above and hits your hand. That’s all we’re doing to the putting greens,” Bodenhamer said.
“It doesn’t impact playability. It hydrates the leaf blade. When it evaporates, it keeps it cool enough so we don’t lose the friction on the putting greens.”
As an example of how Shinnecock can change during the day, both Daniel Berger and Tony Finau started the third round 11 strokes behind here in 2018 and caught the most benign conditions. As it became more difficult during the day, Berger and Finau ultimately ended up tied for the 54-hole lead, making up 11 shots on Saturday.
Shinnecock will play at 7,440 yards, the same distance as it played in 2018. Bodenhamer said the USGA could have added 300 yards but chose not to, allowing the course to play as it was designed.
The target green speed of 10.5 on the Stimpmeter is the same as it was when Corey Pavin won here in 1995.
“Let Shinnecock be what it’s supposed to be,” Bodenhamer said. “And if it’s not good enough, we shouldn’t come here.”