Tip of the Month
July 2010
With Pittsburgh and Oakmont Country Club having been home the the 2010 US Womens Open recently let’s discuss some of the great golf that was on display at one of the great Champi0nship venues in our country. US Open set-ups are typically considered nothing less than diabolical! The norm is knee-high rough, lightening fast greens all laid out over 7,000 yards of slopes, bunkers and dog-legs. Johnny Miller called hole #1 at Oakmont “the toughest opening hole in tournament golf”. All of the above with the added pressure of a Country’s National Championship on the line can certainly bring ones nerves to the forefront.
I spent Saturday at Oakmont following a group that included Paula Creamer and Suzanne Petterson. I also had an opportunity to follow Michelle Wie for several holes and watched all on the practice range prior to the start of their rounds. Several things drew my attention:
First was their pre-shot routines on the tee box. Due to some slow play they had to spend several minutes on each tee. During that time they were consistent in what they were working on. Almost every hole Petterson worked on her set of the club and her weight shift and hip rotation. Creamer was all about the rhythm and tempo…..every practice swing as smooth at the one before it. Wie seemd to be struggling and took every opportunity to try to make sure her swing was on the correct plane from take-away to finish.
Second, was the conditioning of the players. Walking 18 holes in the heat and humidity over that entire week had to be grueling but it was never reflected in their attitude, swings or their gate as they walked from hole to hole. A true testament to how physical conditioning has become such an important part of golf. The lower body strength was apparent every time they had to “go down” after a ball in a buried lie in the gnarly Oakmont rough. Michelle Wie is nothing less than a physical specimen. Towering over all of her playing partners it’s no wonder she is able to generate the power she does from both her long arm length as well as her strong core and leg muscles.
Lastly, lets stay on Wie. Her superior length would seem ideal for a US Open and specifically a course like Oakmont that will require t ball length to set up high lofted shots into extremely fast, sloping greens. That never materialized. While leaving her some 50 yards in front of her playing partners she was constantly faced with side hill lies, shots from heavy rough or from steep fairway bunkers. Again, a tell-tale sign that length off the T is not a guarantee of success!
