The Church Pews
THE U.S. OPEN returns to Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania from 12-15th June. Henry Clay Fownes designed the course to challenge the best golfers in the world and that philosophy hasn’t changed since S. Davidson Herron defeated Bobby Jones in the 1919 U.S. Amateur Championship.
Herron, who lived opposite Oakmont, played there as he grew up, sneaking in six rounds on long summer days. This gave him a distinct advantage over his opponent as he knew every inch of the course.
Herron’s skill with the niblick was renowned but it was his putting that won him the title, his 20ft putt on the 18th beating Bobby Jones, who missed his five-footer, although Jones did improve later, winning 13 of the then majors.
Oakmont has 210 deep bunkers, including the infamous 100 yd. long Church Pews. With hardly any water, the course features deep grassy ditches and lightning-fast pitched greens. In 2007 Angel Cabrera beat Tiger Woods by one stroke with 5 over.
Johnny Miller won in 1973 with an outstanding 8-under, and in 1962 Jack Nicklaus, age 22, defeated Arnold Palmer in a playoff. Sam Parks Jr. won in 1935 in atrocious conditions with 11-over, the only player to break 300.
Wet or fine, the 2025 US Open looks like being interesting.
THE LATEST THING on the golf course: the Pluto golf 1. They look like smart trainers, which is what they are.
Testers verdict:
“Really cool looks that will go with any outfit.”
“Super high-quality materials for long lasting comfort.
Can be worn from golf course to bar.”
“However, lack of traction is a concern if these shoes are
bought with competitive golf in mind.”
What the tester means is the golfer won’t look so cool in these “golf” shoes when he’s lying flat on his back.
THIS YEAR’S CANADIAN OPEN will be held June 4-8th at TPC Toronto, Osprey Valley, Ontario. Scotland’s Robert Macintyre will be doing his best to repeat last year’s victory, and Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy will be doing their best to see that he doesn’t.
A full Canadian contingent will also challenge Macintyre, fans will be cheering on Nick Taylor or Mike Weir, waving the maple leaf and singing O Canada at the notorious par 3 “Rink” hole, which is hockey themed with boards around tee box and green and officials wearing referee jerseys.
Macintyre hails from Oban, where his dad Dougie, is the greenkeeper at the local course. After winning the Canadian Open last year with his dad on the bag he went on to win the Scottish Open by one shot over Adam Scott a month later, the first Scot to win twice on the North American tour since Sandy Lyle in 1988.
After finishing second at the British Masters in 2019, Macintyre bought his mum a new kitchen. Peter Alliss would laugh if he knew. Poor old Peter got into very hot water when he suggested Zach Johnson’s wife would be able to do just that if his putt went in at the Open.
A DISAPPOINTED Bryson DeChambeau, looking back on his PGA Championship, candidly admitted he doesn’t quite have “all the tools in the box yet” to be as consistent as he wants.
As the ‘Mad Scientist’ is such a perfectionist that he prepares for potential early morning dew on the ball by having a member of his team spray each one between practice shots, one can only guess what other ‘tools’ he’s thinking of putting in his box.
MYGOLFSPY TIP: “When putting on slow greens you need to be more aggressive, both in your read and your stroke. Most amateur golfers miss on the low side (not enough break) and short (not enough pace) on slower surfaces. Being more aggressive will solve both your problems.” Don’t worry, after losing half a dozen ProV1’s in the water round Serena you won’t need any help feeling aggressive.
Until next time: Happy Golfing.
Contact Mick for regripping and repairs. 638 859 475
