Notebook: Olympia Fields Or Oakmont?

By Alex Miceli and Ken Klavon

Oakmont, Pa. -- Tom Glissmeyer, Bill Haas and Trip Kuehne had a chance to play in the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields earlier this year.   Haas shot 73-76 and Glissmeyer posted a 80-79. Both missed the cut. But Kuehne played all four days, shooting 74-67-76-73 and finished tied for 57th. What’s more, he was the low amateur.

In coming to Oakmont, which has hosted seven U.S. Opens -- the last in 1994 when Ernie Els won in a playoff -- all three have the unique perspective of being able to compare two Open courses.

“Olympia Fields was a little more suffocating off the tee with all the trees, and it was really intimidating off the tee,” said Glissmeyer. “The greens [at Oakmont] are nothing like I've ever seen before.   They're so firm and unbelievably fast.”

Haas felt that the rough was one of the biggest differences between Olympia Fields and Oakmont, specifically the unpredictability of the lies this week.

“The rough is very untamed, I would say,” said Haas of Oakmont. “One area where you might have a decent lie, another area you can’t even advance it to.   At Olympia Fields you could tell it had been cut a certain length, so you kind of knew what the ball was going to do coming out of it.”

Neither Haas nor Glissmeyer had experienced Oakmont before this week, while Kuehne had spent adequate amount of time here, which included a quick junket after the U.S. Open.

“Not really any comparison,” said Kuehne.   “This course is six or seven shots harder; Olympia Fields could be overpowered.   The greens weren't quite as fast -- there couldn't have been a sterner test of golf as Olympia Fields was on Sunday.   The [hole locations] were brutal; the greens got to where they needed to be because it was firm and fast.   And if Oakmont Country Club ever gets firm and fast, the scores will be through the roof.   Prior to this week the first time I ever played it -- I probably played the course 25 times -- Oakmont is the single hardest golf course I ever played in my entire life.”

Olympia Fields’ scoring average at the Open was 72.382. For the U.S. Amateur’s two days of stroke play, Oakmont’s was 79.014.

Rough Start

Paul Polinsky, 22, probably wished for a mulligan after starting off his match against Andrew Pratt with an errant drive. For three minutes more than 20 people searched for his ball, which was entangled in gnarly fescue left of the fairway. Furthermore, the ball was lodged just under a mound.

A perplexed Polinsky told his caddie, “I don’t know, man. Let’s see what we can do.”

After watching the 22-year-old Pratt put his approach shot on the green, Polinsky chose to take a drop. Incidentally, Polinsky lost the hole and never recovered, losing 6 and 5.  

No Thanks

Thirty-five-year-old Todd White looked like a lonely figure navigating the course. That’s because he decided not to enlist a caddie’s services this week. So far anyway. White made it through stroke play, securing the 18 th seed. He needed 19 holes to dispatch 20-year-old Jarrod Gardner.

Afterward, drenched and thirsty, he explained why.

“I think I’m in pretty good shape,” he said. “If I can run a 10k race, then I can walk 18 holes.”

With Oakmont’s degree of difficulty, many players have opted for club caddies who know the intricacies of the course. Yet White, who serves as a golf instructor in his hometown of Spartanburg, S.C., was confident enough in his own abilities.

“I have nothing against any of the caddies here. I’m afraid of having conflicting thoughts. Then you have two views. They don’t know what I’m thinking, or how I hit. To be honest with you, if I’m lucky enough to win my [second round] morning match, I’ll employ the services of a caddie.”

Hurting

Jerry Courville, winner of the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 44-year-old father of one, got through his first-round match on the winning end (2 and 1) against 21-year-old Shawn Stefani. With his bad back giving him fits since he aggravated it Saturday in his hotel room, Courville found the hot and humid conditions of Oakmont a tonic for his condition.

“Very sore,” said Courville. “I’m sleeping on the heating pad. I talked to an orthopedist here (Oakmont) and he says moist heat is the only thing that is going to help it right now, so I got one of those back pack things on.”

Courville faces Billy Hurley of Leesburg, Va., in the second round Wednesday.

Solid Match

Kuehne’s 2-up win over Ty Harris, 21, was one of the best-played matches in the first round. In Kuehne’s eyes it was a match with two winners and one that he compared to his final against Tiger Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur at TPC at Sawgrass (Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra, Fla.

“I feel if I was Ty Harris I would have a good cry someplace tonight,” said Kuehne. “There's a winner and a loser in every match, but I'd tell him the same thing I got from Tiger in 1994: there were two winners that day. Ty Harris didn't win the match but he's a winner in my book.”

Between Kuehne and Harris there were eight birdies, four from each player. Unfortunately for Harris, he had six bogeys to only two for Kuehne.

Bad Hole

Medalist John Holmes has played Oakmont twice and both times he has double bogeyed the second hole, which is a 340-yard straight-away par 4. It is the second shortest par 4 on the course and one ranked 11th in the two days of stroke-play qualifying.

The double bogey caused Holmes to fall behind Rick Reinsberg, but with back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, he took the lead, never looking back. Holmes won the match, 6 and 4.

Eagles

In the 32 matches that made up the first round, two eagles were recorded. Both were scored on the 12th hole, a 499-yard par 5. Who did it? Travis Johnson and Camilo Villegas. They needed it, too, because both of their opponents carded a birdie. Johnson would go on to win his match, 1 up over Marc Lawless. Villegas defeated Terrence Miskell, 2 up.   Villegas had been 3 down when he came to the 12th hole, but the eagle inspired him to take five of the next six holes.

Alex Miceli is a free-lance writer. Ken Klavon is the Web Editor for the USGA.