Traditionally, the US Open has been the toughest - read, "most boring" - of the majors, although the appointment of Mike Davis, who as the US Golf Association's senior director of rules and competitions is responsible for setting up the golf course, has been a blessed relief. He is behind a series of innovations aimed at producing a more interesting, fairer test of golf - varied tee boxes, grading of the rough, greens that are actually putt-able (unike, say, Shinnecock on the final day in 2004).
Davis expands his ideas in an Q&A session with Geoff Shackelford at Golfdom, including this:
Q: What has the reaction been from golf course superintendents to the idea of variety in setup?
Davis: At first, I suppose the reactions tended to be, "You're not seriously thinking of going up there and actually using the forward tee for the U.S. Open?" I also think a few of our host venues wondered if we were going to make the setup too easy. But I think we've seen that mixing and matching teeing grounds to certain hole locations or to different drive zones can actually sometimes increase the difficulty because players have to think more. Moving tee markers up also tends to open up more choices of play. I will also say we have been able to use some neat hole locations that we otherwise would have never tried from the championship teeing ground.
Yet there is only so much one man can do. For all that we love the fact that a municipal golf course is once again hosting a major championship (R&A, patron of exclusive and men-only clubs, please take note), Bethpage is fairly boring track and with rain forecast later it is hardly likely to get any more interesting, as the head of USGA David Fay conceded yesterday.
The sunshine was a treat, the forecast is for mostly wet conditions when the championship starts Thursday.
''Looking at the forecast, it will be a slog,'' USGA executive director David Fay said.
Meanwhile, some previews have already been published, with the British press concentrating on Paul Casey, here, here and, last but not least, here.
On the American side, the focus, as ever, is on Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who is the subject of a gushing piece by the New York Times, which appears to think the world no1 is the first man in the world to become a father.
