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14 years ago, the dry seventh green at Shinnecock Hills became a U.S. Open nightmare, one we won’t be seeing again
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — History holds a regular tee time at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest incorporated golf club in the country. Inside a white tent just off the first fairway, Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA, considers the past ahead of the 118th U.S. Open to be held on site this week. He calls the course “a national treasure,” throws laurels at the aesthetics and notes the extended length — 7,445 yards to be played to a par of 35-35 — 70. He tracks the landscape’s evolution, referencing aerial views, fairway contours and shot values. Not all history is hallowed, though. Davis broaches the hell that still haunts the clubhouse. It was 14 years ago, during the final day of the 2004 U.S. Open, when the greens ran dry on No. 7.
“We’re happy that we have a mulligan this time,” Davis says. “Certainly it was a bogey last time. Maybe a double bogey.”
The green turned to rock that Sunday morning. The first four players took three triple bogeys and a bogey at the hole. Walter Driver, chairman of the USGAs Championship Committee, ordered the grounds crew to water the greens then. By day’s end, three players made birdie. On the score sheets, there were 28 pars, 27 bogeys, 5 double bogeys and the 3 triple bogeys. Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson managed par that Sunday as Goosen claimed his second Open trophy, this time by two strokes with a 4-under-par 276.
“I think that everybody who was either here or watched it, realized that we had a situation that on some holes, and particularly the seventh hole itself, you were watching well-executed shots not being rewarded,” Davis says. “In fact, in the case of seven, you saw some well-executed shots actually get penalized. And I can assure you that was not what the USGA wanted.”
There will be 156 golfers back on the course for the first U.S. Open on site since. The seventh hole measures at 189 yards, same as it did in 2004. It is a par-3. Branded as golf’s ultimate test, Davis maintains that the Open’s advancements have eliminated the possibility of the same nightmare emerging. He insists there will be better communication between the groundskeepers and the USGA.
“I would just say it was 14 years ago, it is a different time, it was different people,” Davis says. “We, as an organization, we learned from it. When you set up a US Open, it is golf’s ultimate test. It is probably set up closer to the edge than any other event in golf. I think the difference, then versus now, we have a lot more technology, a lot more data on hand.
“Frankly, what really happened was just a lack of water. There just wasn’t enough water put in. The grass itself went dormant. There wasn’t enough friction on the greens. Nowadays, you have everything from firmness meters. We’ve got moisture meters in the greens, things that tell us how fast the greens are running. Meteorology is better. We not only know where the winds are coming from and the velocities. We’re comfortable.”
This will be the fourth U.S. Open of the modern era to be played at Shinnecock, the lone course to have hosted the U.S. Open in three different centuries. Raymond Floyd won in 1986 and Corey Pavin took the Centennial U.S. Open title in 1995, sealing his victory with a 4-wood to the 18th green. The USGA has already awarded the 2026 U.S. Open to Shinnecock, and the U.S. Open will be back in the tri-state area in 2020, as well, at Winged Foot’s West Course in Mamaroneck.
The field that will commence play on Thursday has been winnowed down from 9,049 entries, the eighth-highest total in U.S. Open history.
“Dreams happen,” says Jeff Hall, the managing director for rules and open championships with the USGA. “They start at the U.S. Open.”
The nightmare is long over. Thousands of fans will flock east this week to drink in the old course. They will come by LIRR and helicopter, boats and SUVs. The USGA believes it is up to the task and the course is up to the challenge. All participants who venture out will check in at the clubhouse that was built in 1892 and be greeted by the same green sign with white lettering on the first hole.
It reads, “Westward Ho”. This week the 118th U.S. Open wil be played at historic Shinnecock Hills on Long Island. Here’s how you can catch all the action: