Organisers slow Shinnecock Hills greens amid severe US Open winds
The United States Golf Association has significantly slowed the greens at Shinnecock Hills ahead of Thursday’s US Open to combat severe wind forecasts and avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenes witnessed in 2018.
The governing body has responded to ominous weather predictions, with gusts of up to 40mph expected to batter the exposed New York layout.
In a highly unusual move for the notoriously brutal major championship, putting surfaces have been dialled back to 10.5 on the stimpmeter.
This measurement marks the slowest green speeds recorded at the prestigious tournament since 1995.
Unprecedented watering strategy
Organisers have also implemented unprecedented plans to lightly water the greens mid-round during the first two days of competition.
Officials hope this syringing process will preserve the health of the turf and ensure consistent playing conditions for both morning and afternoon starters.
The sweeping changes arrive largely in response to the severe difficulties faced by players during the venue’s last hosting duties in 2018.
Avoiding the chaos of 2018
During that turbulent edition, golf balls routinely failed to hold their position on heavily dried-out putting surfaces.
The extreme conditions culminated in American veteran Phil Mickelson deliberately striking a moving ball to stop it rolling off the 13th green.
John Bodenhamer, the championship’s chief officer, admitted the organisation had learned valuable lessons from that controversial week.
A focus on competitive fairness
We could have brutalised this place if we wanted to but we have pulled every lever to make it fair.
Bodenhamer noted that the threat of a north-westerly wind shift on Saturday could make the ninth, 10th and 11th holes particularly treacherous.
As a USGA guy my whole life to sit here and talk about hydrating greens, slowing green speeds, and modifying hole locations, that’s hard to do.
However, the experienced official stressed that these major course modifications were ultimately necessary to maintain the integrity of the tournament.
