Golfweek reported recently that the PGA Tour’s World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play will not return to Austin, Texas after this year due to sponsorship issues. It’s a shame that the Tour’s only match-play event has been removed from the schedule. However, this presents a great opportunity for the USGA and PGA of America, R&A, or any other body, to provide a better product than the constant stream of stroke-play events.
Match play is a great way to learn. Match play is the best way to learn golf. It lowers stress, improves the enjoyment of the game and lowers the barrier to entry. Match play is a great way to improve your game and build camaraderie. Match play is a great way to improve strategy and enhance personalities. Match play is a great way to set up your course. It allows you to choose from more locations and tee positions. It also allows for more realistic and sustainable practices to be used in daily maintenance of the course.
Match play is the norm in Scotland, where the modern game was created. Many club golfers prefer to play hole-by holes matches. These can be any two-player format or other team events. Stroke play is often the exception in the Home of Golf.
It would be a good idea for the ruling bodies responsible for professional tournaments of top-tier quality to consider Scotland as a source of inspiration.
We often learn from the pro-golf TV shows. Pro golf on TV can have a trickle-down effect in America, particularly when it comes to scoring format, clothing, equipment, and pre-shot routine. Television producers love stroke play events, as they can be aired at a time that is convenient for them. The result is usually a neat product. There’s no risk of a match going too close, which can leave an hour of unwatched air time on Sunday afternoon. However, stroke play can have a negative impact on the game. Event organizers have a great opportunity to embrace professional match play events at a larger scale after the loss of Dell Technologies Match Play.
Match play is already a compelling way to watch some of the best golf, but not at all pro events. The U.S. The U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur finals offer more drama and emotion that most PGA Tour events but to a smaller audience.
The Ryder Cup is the most anticipated event every two years. This passion is rare in professional golf. Teams of European and American players will compete in match-play formats. It brings out the personalities of players and often highlights their weaknesses and strengths.
Imagine the advantages of match play in a major championship. This idea is not new. The PGA Championship was played as match play up until 1958. The format was abandoned for elite pros, with the exception of one PGA Tour event.
The Men’s & Womens U.S. Open Match Play Championship is a great opportunity to revive the sport. It would be modelled after the U.S. Open Match Play Championship. It would be open to amateurs and pros alike, just like the U.S. Open. This event would be more popular than the FedEx Cup Playoffs among fans and serve as match-play for the biennial Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup events. This would not only be a win-win for fans but it could also solve USGA’s venue problems.
The USGA has secured many U.S. Open venues for both men and ladies for the next twenty-plus years at a few venues, including Pinehurst No. 2, Oakmont and Shinnecock, Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, Riviera and Oakland Hills, Winged Foot and Merion. Each course is a marvellous example of tradition and architecture. The USGA makes it easier to organize championships by repeating venues.
The law of unintended outcomes states that by locking these venues in, they have also locked out other people.
No. No. 5 green at Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa (Gabe Gudgel/Golfweek).
Brookline Country Club, Massachusetts, Southern Hills, Oklahoma, Inverness, Ohio, and other clubs have hosted great championships in the past and are now looking to host more. They are mostly locked out of the U.S. Open schedule.
I have chosen to represent the future U.S. at municipal venues like Bethpage Black in New York, Torrey Pines (California), and Chambers Bay (Washington). Opens and Match Play events are also excluded, since I was involved in the design of the U.S. Open 2015. What about any new courses that may be suitable to host a national championship.
The U.S. Open Match Play opens up many other venues.
The U.S. Open was the most difficult test of golf, which is one of its great qualities. The winning score was always around par. This means that only a few venues are capable of hosting the event. Even then, we see the USGA change a course from Par 72 to Par 70, narrowing fairways and growing rough to speed up greens, and other measures to preserve par.
Match play is different. It’s not hard to see how venues like the Chicago Golf Club, National Golf Links of America, or Pacific Dunes in Oregon can be viable options for match play. There are many factors that must be considered.
This championship would allow the USGA better match the venue with the event. Oakmont and Shinnecock are great for stroke play. However, Los Angeles Country Club (site this year’s U.S. Open), or Merion (site the 2030 Open) are better suited to match play. The USGA could also spread events more geographically. Instead of hosting the U.S. Open at Pinehurst 3 times per year, the resort could host 2 U.S. Open Match Plays. Opens and a U.S. Open match play.
The same principle applies to women’s golf. Because a course does not need to be over 8,000 yards in length, the women have more options. The best scenario is for women and men to be able to compete on the same course as the major tennis championships.
If the USGA isn’t willing to open the doors of the PGA Tour, I hope that the PGA of America or R&A will. Golf needs more match play at great venues all around the globe. All aspects of golf.
