At Erin Hills, fescue gets a trim
Kevin Na had nothing to do with the U.S. Golf Association’s decision Tuesday to trim the worst of the fescue at Erin Hills. Mother Nature, however, did. After a Monday night meeting with the USGA competitions group and other staff and the superintendents of Erin Hills, crews of workers took to the course Tuesday and trimmed the heaviest of the fescue on holes 4, 12, 14 and 18 before Thursday’s start of the 117th U.S. Open.
Pete Kowalski, director of championship communications for the USGA, said forecasts showing strong winds and rain necessitated the trimming. Certain fescues react to wind and rain differently. Some fescues stay straight, while some lay down on each other. Some of the fescue rimming the fairways was growing too fast and becoming so thick that golf balls tossed into it from just a few feet away were not being found.
“The key intent of a course setup is we assess all the information we can to determine what’s best for the competition,” Kowalski said.
The fescue was becoming an issue long before the USGA decided to get the mowers. Na posted a video to Facebook on Sunday showing himself tossing a ball into the fescue from 3 feet. He barely found it. Then he whiffed when trying to hit it. Then he advanced the ball a few feet on his second try.
Na said he wasn’t ripping the USGA with the video or criticizing the tournament overseers by suggesting that U.S. Open champions such as Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Curtis Strange and Hale Irwin should form a committee to set up future Opens.
In fact, Na said he likes the course and the setup but just thought the fescue was a little overdone in some places.
Kowalski said Na’s video and other videos showing the dense fescue had nothing to do with the decision.
“It was reactive to the conditions that are coming,” Kowalski said.
While many players welcomed the decision to address the fescue, world No. 2 Rory McIlroy was disappointed.
“We have 60 yards from left line to right line,” McIlroy said of the width of many of the large fairways. “You’ve got 156 of the best players in the world here. If we can’t hit it within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home. These are the widest fairways we’ve ever played in a U.S. Open. ...
“I get that it’s thick and whatever, but it’s a hazard. It’s a U.S. Open, it’s supposed to be a tough test. And if guys can’t put it into play within a 50-yard zone, I don’t think they’ve got much to complain about.”