Olympic Club - Home of the 2012 US Open

Rabidlamb

So I was checking out the course for the US Open in a few weeks & I was most disappointed.
http://www.olyclub.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=342338&ssid=243551&vnf=1
Looks like an up the field down the field track where every hole looks the same.



Compare this to yesterday when I was checking out Waterville & the drool nearly shorted out my keyboard.
http://www.watervillegolfclub.ie/html/golfcourse.asp





This Olympic track better be nicer than it looks, can anyone vouch for it's quality.

Seves Three Iron

It was last played there in 1997 or 1998. Apparently it was an absolute beast, typical US Open. It was the course that famously convinced Harrington to go and start working with Bob Torrance. He played out of his skin but was still 32nd or 33rd out there. I agree with you it doesn't look too pretty.

It'll also be interesting to see if they trick it up after McIlroy shooting such a massive score last year. I suspect they will. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we were back to a situation where four or five over par wins it. Personally, that style of competition does nothing for me but I know a lot of people like to see the top pros taken down a peg or two.

Rabidlamb

16th Hole 670 Yards Par 5 :eek:

Tones69

Im playing this on WGT at the mo, its an online golf game thats free and its feckin class and very very real. Its a seriously tight track, not a high hope in hell of any of the big wild hitters doing well here. An awful lot of trees and doglegs, the first is a 525 yard par 4 dogleg right . I cannot wait for it

Seves Three Iron

Rabidlamb wrote: »

16th Hole 670 Yards Par 5 :eek:

Driver, three wood, three wood, three wood, three wood, wedge, sand wedge, putter, putter, putter. In hole.

Tones69

If mcilroy turns up i think he can deffo win this. If hes hitting his 320yd draws its on, luke donalds accuracy is whats needed for this course but i honestly think he might struggle with its length

jimmystars

Tones69 wrote: »

, the first is a 525 yard par 5 dogleg right . I cannot wait for it

Par 4 now. Around 456 yards. Its been changed to a challenging par 4:mad:

SnowDrifts

Slightly off-topic but I hate when they cut the fairways like that. Stripes look so much better.

Daithio12

I don't know much about the course, but I think it's fair to say if it's on the US open roster then it's a class track and I'm looking forward to watching the US there, on the other hand I've played Waterville alot and I absolutely love the course, but as Waterville is a links course and Olympic is a parkland I fail to see how one can draw any comparison between the two.

Tones69

jimmystars wrote: »

Par 4 now. Around 456 yards. Its been changed to a challenging par 4:mad:

Sorry i meant par 4, as far im aware the pro tees are still over 500 yards dude

Tones69

16th longest hole in US Open history at 670 yards, whos taking bets that someone will get home in 2 somewhere between thurs and sun?!

Davidth88

You know , I went to a wedding there ( The Olympic Club )

Driving into the car park was un-real , basically a line of Posche/ Ferrari and other exotics .

great wedding , can't tell you about the golf course sorry ... had to share :-)

Benicetomonty

I'm really looking forward to it tbh. 1998 was the first major I can remember plonking myself in front of the tv for 4 days straight and not moving! I recorded the 1st round on video and used to watch it for days and months after the tournament, much to the chagrin of my family

I remember a few things keenly; first of all, it's very difficult. Level par won it in 1998, with Janzen shooting two 67s and two 73s. Very tight off the tee, with sloping fairways, often necessitating a fade or a draw shot just to keep the ball out of the rough.

Secondly, unless they've made a few changes, it's borderline unfair. The 18th green in particular came in for severe criticism in '98. The pin was set at the back of the green in round 2 and almost every player in the field who was pin high (and some who were directly below the hole) had at least 3 putts, including eventual runner-up Payne Stewart:

He would say after the round that he just hoped he wouldn't lose the tournament by one shot because of this. He did.
Also prompted a 4 letter tirade from born again Christian Tom Lehman at the USGA, before humbly apologising afterwards for using "the F-word". Surprisingly few players condemned him for losing the run of himself that time (compared to 16 months later at the Ryder Cup!).

16 and 17 seem to be 2 of the bigger changes although I hear they have flattened the 18th green a little. 16 was a very difficult par 5 in 1998; nobody even tried to reach it in 2 and you had to hook the bejasus out of the tee shot to get it on the fairway, with most using 3 wood from the tee. At 670 yards in 2012, don't know if that'll be an option!
17 was the hardest hole on the course in 1998, at around 460 yards, straight uphill with a considerable left to right sloping fairway. It's a par 5 now, but with improvements in technology, I daresay it'll play considerably easier this time around and should definitely act as a pick up hole.

The par 3s are less memorable imo, but they're still good holes. The 3rd is a 5/6 iron downhill, strong hole. 8 was a lovely little hole from what I remember, 7 or 8 iron up the hill, although I believe they've made changes to that one. 13 is a 5/6 iron as well to a green that slopes away from you, can be hard to hold if it's firm. Janzen stuck it to 4 feet in the last round in 1998, taking the lead for the first time of the tournament in the process.

Finally, there may be a fog delay at some stage. Anyone who's been to San Fran can confirm but I remember they were quite worried about fog delays the last time around. Can't wait!

ipitydafool

Benicetomonty wrote: »

Finally, there may be a fog delay at some stage. Anyone who's been to San Fran can confirm but I remember they were quite worried about fog delays the last time around. Can't wait!

I worked in San Fran in 05 and lived out in Daly City beside where the Olympic Club is situated and the area is quite prone to fog. Another golf course Harding Park which is located on the far side of Lake Merced (the lake in the foreground of Rapidlambs pic of the 16th above) and has recently held the Presidents Cup and WGC events in past suffered from a few fog delays afaik.
Unfortunately the closest I got to the course was walking up past the outside of it one of the days. The course looks a beast though and with lots of sloping fairways and doglegs, accuracy of the tee and ability to shape the ball either way is needed to score. With it being lengthened as well for this US Open I can imagine a score of level par or a couple under winning it. Despite the extra length, of the top players it most favours Luke Donalds game imo and the form he is in should have a good chance. Really looking forward to watching it.

BigChap1759

SnowDrifts wrote: »

Slightly off-topic but I hate when they cut the fairways like that. Stripes look so much better.

Couldn't disagree more - this is the proper traditional look as per most top links courses(i know Olympic isn't links).

SnowDrifts

BigChap1759 wrote: »

Couldn't disagree more - this is the proper traditional look as per most top links courses(i know Olympic isn't links).

But we are talking about parkland courses here. I just think a parkland course looks great from above with either checkered or striped fairways.

Davidth88

Benicetomonty wrote: »

Finally, there may be a fog delay at some stage. Anyone who's been to San Fran can confirm but I remember they were quite worried about fog delays the last time around. Can't wait!

I would say that's a real possibility , when we were there for a while you could not see your hand in front of your face , then it cleared , then it came back almost as quickly.

foxyboxer

Tones69 wrote: »

16th longest hole in US Open history at 670 yards, whos taking bets that someone will get home in 2 somewhere between thurs and sun?!

Then three-putts.

Tones69

foxyboxer wrote: »

Tones69 wrote: »

16th longest hole in US Open history at 670 yards, whos taking bets that someone will get home in 2 somewhere between thurs and sun?!

Then three-putts.

Ha probably! Bound to be 1 or 2 eagles on it over the wknd by a few legends

foxyboxer

Benicetomonty wrote: »

He would say after the round that he just hoped he wouldn't lose the tournament by one shot because of this. He did.

I remember his gracious interview after the final round. He basically said he didn't play well enough and that Janzen played the better golf. Class Act was Payne.

Made up for it 12 months later mind.