What Happened to the Northeast Bias?

Yesterday's announcement of the sites of two future U.S. Opens—Erin Hills in 2017 and Pebble Beach in 2019—weren't surprises. Erin Hills, the public course has been a favorite since it opened in 2006, and the USGA loves its size (600 acres, plenty of room for 50,000 spectators and a massive tented metropolis—should the economy and corporate hospitality make comebacks), location (30 minutes from Milwaukee and two hours from Chicago) and accessibility.

As happy as I am for Erin Hills designers Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten (a former colleague who taught me so much about course architecture), I feel really badly for two individuals. 

The first is Bob Lang, the man who had the vision for Erin Hills. I first met Lang at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, where he cornered me for an hour and described, seemingly blade of grass by blade of grass, the massive 8,000-yard course he was building, and how he envisioned a U.S. Open contested on it. Unfortunately, his wallet couldn't match his enthusiasm, and Lang had to sell the course last fall. 

The second is Frank Jemsek, the owner of the 54-hole Cog Hill facility outside Chicago. For decades, Frank and his late father, Joe, have been trying to get a U.S. Open at Cog Hill's famous Dubsdread course, the site of the PGA Tour's BMW Championship. He even hired Rees Jones, the "Open Doctor," to redesign. Cog Hill was Erin Hills' main competitor for the 2017 Open, and so the waiting continues for the Jemseks.

As far as the second announcement goes, Pebble was pretty much etched into an every-10-years rotation, so moving it up one year to celebrate the course's centenary was both appropriate and expected. 

In the bigger picture, I think the dual announcements signal a shift away from the Northeast bias that the USGA, based in Far Hills, N.J., had brought to the Open for decades. In the 30 U.S. Opens held between 1980 and 2009, 16 have been in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts).

In the 2010s, only three of the nine sites (the 2018 host is still undetermined) are in the Northeast. And depending on where the USGA decides to go in eight years, it could be the first decade since the 1940s, when only six Opens were played due to World War II, that no New York course would be home to the national championship. 

So what happened? Well, there is little doubt that the Northeast, and more specifically the New York metropolitan area, is still attractive for the USGA, at least from a business standpoint. Unfortunately, some courses that used to be slam dunks for Opens no longer carry that cachet, while other potential sites don't want to deal with the hassles that come with what used to be a prestigious imprimatur.

Here is how the Northeast U.S. Open landscape looks:

Shinnecock Hills: The conditioning debacle in 2004 left negative feelings among the players, the USGA and the club. Memories of that Open, in which officials lost control of the course on Sunday and the average score was 78.7, will have to fade before the USGA returns. Prior to that event, Shinnecock was on an every-nine-years rotation for the Open. No longer.

Winged Foot: The club rejected a proposal to host the 2015 Open, primarily because the inconveniences (although it was the West course that hosted the Open, the East course was closed for months afterward, and guest play was severely restricted all year) outweighed the benefits. Unless the USGA can sweeten the offer, Winged Foot won't see an Open for a while.

Bethpage Black: After a wildly successful debut in 2002, the return performance seven years later received mixed reviews. The biggest problem was the rain, which exposed drainage issues on the 18th hole. Already the weakest on the course, the hole had to be shortened by 50 yards to allow players to drive over a large area of casual water, leaving a short pitch to a flattish green. Until Bethpage has a new 18th hole, the USGA may not seriously consider returning.

The Country Club: The modern Open has outgrown this historic venue, one of the five original clubs that founded the USGA. Its best last chance for an Open would have been 2013, the 100th anniversary of Francis Ouimet's trailblazing win, but the the club will host the Amateur instead.

Oak Hill, Baltusrol: These venerable clubs, which have hosted a combined 10 Opens (seven for Baltusrol), have aligned themselves with the PGA of America (Oak Hill will host the PGA in 2013, Baltusrol in '16). Whereas courses routinely used to host both the Open and PGA, they now have to follow one track or the other, and both these 36-hole facilities are on the PGA train.

So just a few short years after the U.S. Open seemingly planted roots in the Northeast, the USGA now seems to have the opposite problem: not enough suitable venues. What will fill the void? Some of the candidates are new layouts like Long Island's Sebonack (which will host the 2013 U.S. Women's Open) and New Jersey's Trump National Bedminster, which is just miles from Golf House and has 36 holes—plenty of room for a modern Open. 

Who knows? The winds may shift again in a few years, and we could be seeing Shinnecock, Winged Foot and Bethpage back on the rota on a regular basis. But for now, the Northeast's loss is a gain for golf fans in the rest of the country.

Comments

[bill collins]

It is not a good idea to have Shinnecock, Winged Foot , and Bethpage on a " rota - regular " basis. There are plenty of several very good courses in the New England area that can host an USGA event , as well as some others in the upstate New York area that could do that. My point is that, in my opinion, a " rota basis " is a bad idea that leaves quite a few golf courses out of the picture. The same thing with the BRITISH OPEN which does not get to be played on a lot of several very good BRITISH golf courses in ENGLAND. With the exception of St. Andrews, I get tired of the same-old , same-old rota of the Open! It get to be tiresomely boring and it can hurt the Open. IF the OPEN gets to be played elsewhere , for example, at an IRISH golf course, the better it will be for the Open and the Irish fans. That is why I hate the system or idea of a rotational basis.