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If officials set up the course the way they should for the PGA Championship, good scores will be well south of par
With the Masters as difficult as it was and with the stern conditions at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, the PGA of America has a chance to put on the only U.S. major of the year that features low scoring and guys having a good go at it. The South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club can be a long, tough slog if officials want to set it up that way, but I think they should aim for eight to twelve under par and put an emphasis on shotmaking tee to green.
The way to do that is to mow the fairways tight and let them dry out, and then find those places where the ball hops one pace into the rough after four bounces on the fairway and mow those spots as fairway as well. Don’t make us watch players hit a 120-yard wedge out of the rough followed by a 100-yard wedge onto the green. At the end of a long summer, I don’t think the fans really want to sit through that. I’d always rather see a player in light rough chancing a flier or controlling his flier shot and getting a well-deserved reward for it.
I say keep the greens moist enough to accept an excellent shot, but make sure the green surrounds stay dry and hard. That way the odd carom comes on a shot that misses the putting surface, not a shot that hits it. Meanwhile, if the run-ups to the greens are dry and hard, we’ll see some shots bounced in—shotmaking that takes a bit of feel.
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