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Mike Davis and the USGA

Erky

Erky

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Has the US Open become too much about Mike Davis? I can't think of another tournament where I know the name of the guy in charge of the setup and layout of the course, but there he is year after year, drying out and tricking out courses. From the outside, it seems like he's a control freak who loves attention he receives from controversial setups and insists on micro-managing the USGA. There is currently a broken handicap system, and golf is on the decline. The courses in the last several US Opens have seemed more like personal laboratories of Mike Davis than anything else.

What can the USGA do more of? What can they do better? Is Mike Davis the best person for the job? Is the Executive Director's time best served micro managing course conditions? Does the USGA seem stuffy and arrogant, even compared to the Masters now?
 
I think he's fine. For many years, the USO fell into a funk of the same venues and the same type of set up with rough, narrow fairways, tons of trees and typically at clubs none of us would ever be able to play. I like that he's broken away from that mold and is including more public courses as well.
 
The US Open has become very much a statement it seems. I don't necessarily dislike it, so this is one time I'll give MD a pass.

I think they have some definite issues to address and there are times that I think they are spending far too much energy barking up the wrong tree.
 
Not sure what the issue is with cooking the greens. Do they need to run super fast for the pros?
 
I think a lot of people like seeing the pros struggle some like we do when we play. I disagree, but I understand the logic. What I can't stand, is watching a quality golf shot hit its mark, and then roll back 50 yards. That is frustrating. I want to see the best of the best do their thing and hit great golf shots. Just my humble opinion.


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Well I love the US Open at chambers bay, seeing the pros only shoot 4,5 under and struggle really made me enjoy watching golf. I very easily get bored watching the same old shot on TV but I was glued to the TV for this years open. I think improvements could have been made to the course but I really enjoyed what Mike Davis did this weekend.
 
Mike Davis has done more good for the US Open's than he has harm. We know him because he is the face of the USGA. He became more high profile after the fiasco at Shinnecock. I for one think that his US Open setups have been really good. This years greens were an issue, but that was the only issue I had with the setup. Last year he was able to set up Pinehurst to host back to back US Open's, that's pretty damn impressive.
 
cwmonroe87 said:
Well I love the US Open at chambers bay, seeing the pros only shoot 4,5 under and struggle really made me enjoy watching golf. I very easily get bored watching the same old shot on TV but I was glued to the TV for this years open. I think improvements could have been made to the course but I really enjoyed what Mike Davis did this weekend.
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Thats what I love about the US Open too, but I also like look of the courses as well. Chambers Bay was not pleasing to the eye, and I was getting sick of my wife asking my why the course looks like crap.
 
Totally agree with you. I don't see anything good that will bring new people to the game from what I saw last week. I hate playing this time of year because it seem too many local courses follow suit and make playing golf un-enjoyable. It shouldn't be about USGA president or that much about the course.
 
I have no issues. It was an awesome tournament this year.
 
I agree with the sentiment that new & different & public courses have been included (at least the last two years with the renovated PH #2 & CB). I see Chambers Bay as course created in the Pacific northwest specifically to be accessible for major events but from what it sounds may not have been that great for patrons.

I don't know how easy it was to get to and park or anything but when someone says they felt like they were brought in to buy souvenirs moreso than watch the golf, that says a lot.
 
I think Mike Davis has done a great job. Prior to taking over the USGA, he was in charge of USGA event course set up. When he was offered the executive director position, one of his stipulations was that he get to keep the US Open course set up as part of his duties.

In regards to the US Open, the USGA has always believed that the winning score should be as close to Par as possible. This is not a Mike Davis objective. It is a USGA objective. With the advancement of technology, particularly the ball, making par a winning score gets more difficult every year. The way around that is sort of what we saw this past weekend (no first cut of rough, no fringe between green and bunkers, hard, fast and undulating). Thanks to, or because of technology, tour players have had to become more exact in where they place their ball.

It also hasn't helped that the PNW has gotten much less rain, I think, that it has typically. I also think the USGA has a fine line to walk on putting a US Open together and proper water usage. I can't imagine the fallout if the USGA pumped millions of gallons of water onto Chambers Bay to "green it up" and then have the eco-friendly social media folks take that and publicly attack the USGA about water conservation efforts.
 
ccamp8912 said:
I think a lot of people like seeing the pros struggle some like we do when we play. I disagree, but I understand the logic. What I can't stand, is watching a quality golf shot hit its mark, and then roll back 50 yards. That is frustrating. I want to see the best of the best do their thing and hit great golf shots. Just my humble opinion.
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Great golf shots were rewarded.
Decent shots were not rewarded.
Bad shots were punished.

It shouldn't be like a tourney in March where any shot in a 30 foot radius of the pin is a good shot.
 
I think Mike Davis is a mad scientist. Not in a good way.

However, given his history and recent successes over the past decade, there is no better man for the job
 
While it is the role of the USGA to sponsor and conduct our national tournaments, it is not their primary function, in my opinion. Such is to regulate and promote the game. The difficulties and controversies displayed this past weekend does nothing to accomplish that primary function. The venue should never overshadow the players. I know we have all most likely at one time may have said "I'd rather be lucky than good", but that has no place in our national championship. The USGA should run the national championships in such a fashion that encourages people to play the game, not discourage them.
 
DaBuckBoys said:
I see Chambers Bay as course created in the Pacific northwest specifically to be accessible for major events but from what it sounds may not have been that great for patrons.

I don't know how easy it was to get to and park or anything but when someone says they felt like they were brought in to buy souvenirs moreso than watch the golf, that says a lot.
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I don't really blame the course for the bad spectator views, the problem was who ever decided that for the Open, unlike the AM in 2010, fans wouldn't be allowed to stand on any of the dunes. I get some of it that mulitple people fell and broke ankles and legs during the AM but if people were dressed the same way as I saw on Saturday it doesn't surprise me. Why would you show up to watch a golf tournament on a very hilly course wearing flip flops or high heels, some people need to be saved from themselves which sucks for most of us.

Parking and getting to the course was no issues at all. Plenty of parking was provided less than a 20 minute bus ride away. They had atleast 290 buses so there was never a wait. The main souvenir tent was huge at 41000 sqft but they didn't force you to go in there, it was between the bus drop off and the course. There was a smaller one at the 2nd gate on the otherside of the course but you didn't have to go in there either.
 
JD19 said:
Totally agree with you. I don't see anything good that will bring new people to the game from what I saw last week. I hate playing this time of year because it seem too many local courses follow suit and make playing golf un-enjoyable. It shouldn't be about USGA president or that much about the course.
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Does watching a pro stick approach shots to 2 feet hole after hole and shoot 23 under bring people to the game? If so, why?

The US Open is always about Mike Davis and the course setup? Why? Because it's the toughest setup of the year and the pros always complain. It hasn't gotten dramatically tougher though. What has changed is the amount of media coverage. When you start your US Open coverage two weeks before the event, the media needs to find things to talk about. So the conversation quickly turns to Mike Davis & course setup, despite the fact the USGA is not doing anything different than it has done for decades.

Next year when the US Open is in Oakmont on a lush green course with pristine greens, there will be players complaining about the course setup.
 
I think the setup is severe, but that was the plan. We have people talking a TON about the course, the set up and even Mike Davis.

How is this not good for the US Open/USGA? People that are not hardcore golf fans are talking about it. And no matter how crazy they make the set up, it isn't like pros will skip the tourney, they will do their damnedest to get in.

I like that they have played the last few opens at very different type venues and will most likely continue to do some new things.
 
This US Open was a total joke. I didn't watch 5 minutes of it after I saw the sheep pasture they were playing "golf" on.

Golf peaked early this year for me. The rest of the Majors are snore fests IMO. I get that many won't agree but I hate brown, cooked courses. It's all about luck and that's not good golf to me
 
Dang man. You missed one of the best endings to a major in a couple years. Open you mind and enjoy some golf :D
 
Hawk said:
Dang man. You missed one of the best endings to a major in a couple years. Open you mind and enjoy some golf :D
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A guy 3 putting from 12 feet because of garbage greens is one of the best endings?

The Players was FAR better of an ending.

I am enjoying shooting under par golf right now for the first time ever so I'll take that over watching pros struggle
 
Well the Players isn't a major.

The last three holes were badass golf. Quit being a grump. It was full of ups and downs.
 
Hawk said:
Well the Players isn't a major.

The last three holes were badass golf. Quit being a grump. It was full of ups and downs.
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Guess for those people The Travelers should get huge ratings. Birdies galore.
 
I think Mike Davis is trying to leave a legacy and no one is standing in his way. We don't talk about the US Open any more, we talk about the setup or the dead greens. Mike Davis leaves town and the course suffers for months so he can say he got the open he wanted. And god forbid someone tell the USGA to calm down on the setup.
 
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