Scouting the 2003 U.S. Open

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- The 2003 U.S. Open isn't going to resemble the '02 Open in any way, shape or form. While covering the Advil Western Open last week, I was fortunate enough to tee it up at Olympic Fields Country Club's North Course, site of next year's Open, and it is nothing like Bethpage's brutal Black Course. Of course, whether you're bitten in half by a shark or nibbled to pieces by a piranha, the end result is the same. The difference at next year's NBC Open (let's call it what it is, since the television folks evidently have taken control of the event from the USGA) will be simply a matter of style.

Bethpage Black splattered players with its intimidating length. Olympia Fields, at 7,177 yards on the card with room to be stretched a smidgen or two longer, doesn't play that long, which surprised me. The guys in my foursome -- Boston Brian, Bandon Dunes Mike and Mark Mungeam, the architect in charge of Olympia Fields' renovation -- pulled a gun and forced me to play from the back tees while they moved up two sets to the whites, from which the layout played a modest 6,616 yards. They wanted to see the North Course crush a 2-handicapper. OK, that's not what they said, but that's clearly what they wanted.

MAILBAG Please give me your thoughts about the success of Retief Goosen. Did his 2001 U.S. Open victory spark his confidence or has his game, missed cut at Bethpage notwithstanding, simply improved that much? —Rich James, San Francisco Ernie Els had been talking about this guy for years before he finally won the Open. Goosen was supposedly a very talented player who lacked confidence and the killer instinct. I'd say he's got it now, and he's someone you want to have in your British Open pool. I have a major pet peeve about the golfing public, mostly newbie golfers. Why do individuals feel compelled to stand right next to one cup while putting at another on the practice green? I always stay about six or seven feet clear of the cup so other golfers can putt at it. I think if the word got out, golfers would know. —Henry, Long Beach, Calif. Thanks, Henry, but the people you're trying to educate probably aren't reading this column. They're probably surfing the pages over at a skateboarding Web site. What's the deal between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, aside from the obvious rivalry between No. 1 and No. 2? Mickelson -- seemingly a nice enough guy -- NEVER refers to Tiger by name, calling him only "the No. 1 player." Is there more to it between a guy who has seven majors and one who has none? No, their rift isn't as exciting as a Mike Tyson press conference, but you MUST have inside stuff on what's going on between these two. —Ben Storey, Seattle There's no love lost between these two, Storey Time, but we're lacking details. Mickleson recently sat down at the same lunch table in the grillroom with Tiger, surprising him, and they had a nice chat. But Butch Harmon , Tiger's teacher, has said Phil and Tiger don't care for each other. They're both very competitive. Rumor has it that Tiger is going to skip the pointless World Cup event this year -- it's made up of two-man teams from different countries. Because of a rules changes, countries must invite their top two ranked players who wish to compete. So if Tiger says yes, then Phil, has the option to join him. The word is that Phil is up for it, so Tiger's going to back out. We'll see.

So I took the manly challenge (pardon me while I remove this skirt) and played the tips. Even though the Athlon Sports Golf Annual described me as "amazingly long" off the tee earlier this year (don't even ask), it's an exaggeration. My 15-year-old son, Mike, is hitting it by me this summer by virtue of being, well, 15. However, I'm definitely not short, although I'd say I'm below average compared to tour players.

Granted, it's summer, it was a sizzling-hot day, the ball was flying farther than normal and the ground was relatively firm, but length wasn't an issue. (See, I told you it was nothing like the Black.) The story at Olympic Fields will be position. It's all about avoiding the bunkers (especially the gaping fairway ones -- it's, like tiptoeing through a minefield) and staying out of the rough, which will no doubt be ferocious next June but last week was still at member-friendly lengths.

Here's what I mean about the course not playing long. The first hole is a 580-yard par-5 (it'll be No. 10 at the Open since the nines will be reversed for the championship). I hit a drive down the middle (between three fairway bunkers), laid up with a 3-iron (and got a little too close) and hit a 70-yard sand-wedge approach. The second hole, an intimidating 471 yards, was driver-5-iron. The third, a 461-yarder, was driver-6-iron. Of course, I hit the fairways on the first three holes. Block one into the rough, you'll lose 20 or 30 yards of roll and the length will indeed be a factor.

At the 400-yard fourth, I used 3-wood-8-iron, and at the fifth, driver-9-iron. The only hole where distance was an overriding factor was the eighth. It was a 247-yard hole that would be an easy par-4 ... except that it's a par-3 and is guarded by a sleeve of bunkers on the left and a big one just in front. My 3-wood shot into the breeze was a yard or two from carrying the green, hit the bank and kicked back into the front bunker.

So Olympia Fields will play much more like, say, Southern Hills than Bethpage Black. It looks like a potential stopper for any streak Tiger Woods may have when he pulls into Chicago next year. The course, a classic Willie Park design that hosted the 1927 Open, has a natural look. It reminded me a little of the rolling terrain of Medinah No. 3 without some of Medinah's artificial-looking, sculptured-green complexes. Olympia Fields looks as if the grounds crew simply mowed the grass and stuck flags in the ground -- very natural, even after Mungeam's second redo of the bunkers, deepening them to toughen them up to Open standards. "The members' biggest complaint about the changes was that they can't get out of the bunkers," Mungeam said. "I don't mean play out of them, I mean physically walk into and out of the bunkers."

While Bethpage Black was a striking beauty, Olympia Fields is a plain Jane, relatively speaking. It is not spectacular-looking, which is also its most endearing quality, and it probably lacks a signature hole (or, as photographers say, beauty shot). The 16th, a 215-yard par-3 that goes downhill to a green fronted by a stream and guarded by trees on the right, is probably as scenic as this course gets. My favorite was the third, where you hit a blind tee shot over a rising fairway that ends after about 220 yards and drops down a 20-foot embankment to a lower fairway. From there, it's across a stream, then uphill to a green perched atop a rise, guarded by bunkers and trees. It's a cool hole but I doubt if you'll be buying a poster of it.

Olympia Fields hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 1997 and scores weren't particularly good. Rough, lots of fairway bunkers, and firm and fast greens will stop just about anybody from shooting low. That's the forecast here. It won't be a bombers' paradise. For one thing, a lot of tee shots will need to be maneuvered to avoid bunkers -- as many holes favor a fade as do a draw. For another, there are only two par-5s. The course is par-70, which wasn't supposed to favor Tiger Woods, who nonetheless won at Bethpage Black, also a par-70. I'll bravely predict (since none of us will remember, anyway) that scores might dip a little lower than at the Black Course. I could see somebody shooting 6- or 8-under par for the week, although that's not taking into consideration what kind of jungle rough the USGA will grow.

The best thing about Olympia Fields is its uncontrived look. "If you remember Bethpage, a lot of fairways were very straight, like bowling alleys," Mungeam said. "I think that's so unnatural looking. In reshaping the bunkers and fairways, one thing I really tried to maintain was the shape of the fairways and their contours. I think this course still looks much more natural than Bethpage."

The only negative I see at Olympia Fields is a lack of space. The USGA is talking about allowing 30,000 or even 35,000 spectators. There will be lots of room on the other course for corporate hospitality tents but precious little room on the North Course for spectators to move about. Woods' roving gallery of 6,000-8,000 fans will find itself with nowhere to go, especially on several of the par-3s. The USGA should limit tickets to 20,000 -- 25,000 tops -- but after all the money it made this year at the Black Course, I'm sure it won't.

As for me, I did a Mongolian Reversal and finally started hitting some good shots after a recent slump. Why not? It's only July already. A bad finish (triple-double-double-bogey on the last four) wiped me out like an Enron 401(k), giving me an 82 to post when I get home. The triple was caused by a lack of course knowledge. I tried to avoid a fairway bunker on the left, not realizing there was a hazard (ravine) on the right, which was where my drive went. It was also where my heroic recovery, a low, cutting 3-iron also went after it hit a branch and caromed right, all of which left me playing my fifth shot from behind the trees and still 310 yards away.

It'll be a good Open since Chicago is the best golf town in the U.S. It just will look and feel a lot different than Bethpage Black.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle writes for the magazine's Golf Plus section and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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