Pre-Majors Site Practice: Should It Be Controlled?
 

It has been well documented that Phil Mickelson prepared for this year's U.S. Open by practicing extensively at Winged Foot in the weeks prior to the tournament. During his sessions -- nine days spread over three visits -- he was usually unaccompanied by a member and left to practice as he pleased. His typical eight-hour days were far longer than the time permitted by the standard practice rounds that are the norm for a PGA TOUR or USGA event. And the bulk of his time was spent on and around the greens, hitting shot after shot into each green to learn its individual nuances.

So?

So that was an advantage not enjoyed by the rest of the field.

First of all, Phil's name recognition permitted him host club access that would not have been granted most other players -- exempt or not.

Second, even if club access was not a problem, the non-exempt players -- more than half the field -- did not know they were 'in' until the week before the tournament. And even among the exempt players, few could afford to jet in and out at will, particularly with a caddy and an entourage of swing coaches in tow.

Third, PGA TOUR practice round rules -- and presumably the USGA has rules similar -- permit only one shot onto each green, whether from the fairway or greenside bunkers. If you miss the green, you are allowed one additional shot into the green. You can putt and chip (assuming no course damage) without limit. However, under no circumstance can you delay a player in the following group. That constraint alone severely limits practice time around the greens during tournament week because the field packs the course. Phil's practice obviously went far beyond these bounds.

Does this pre-tournament 'private practice' afford a few privileged players a competitive advantage over the field? Should the USGA put limits on such activity prior to its championships? Vote now, then post your comments below.

I hardly know where to begin...
 

Who has the advantage, the tour rookie, or the veteran who has played Winged Foot (or to generalize, the great courses and the Tour Courses) many times over the years, whether competitively or as a guest/member? Does Jim Furyk regularly cash in in Hawaii? Does Davis Love own Harbortown? Did Tom Kite dominate in Texas? Did Sam Snead rule at Greensboro? Do we all begin life on an even playing field? Do we all have a reasonable opportunity to improve our lives and the lives of our families in this great land? Is life fair? Does this dress make my butt look fat? Will Yoda give me a nice discount on lessons just because I'm a heck of a swell guy? :laughing1

There should be practice days for all the field,predetermined,Monday to Wednesday -just like the Open Championship.

Course knowledge has its advantages. Does the Member Champion have a chance? :) Having your swing working 110% has its advantages too. I’ll take a Hot Putter any day. If Phil M. learns every inch of every fairway and green, he still needs to execute the shot.

Do Pre-Tournament Golf Course visits occur regularly by any or all players? No.
Does anyone visit Iowa prior to the John Deer Classic seeking an edge on the field? No.
Does a Veteran PGA Player have an advantage over rookies because they’ve played the Tournament Course five times each over ten years (50 times)? Yes

Phil is a Glory-Seeker (aren’t most Tour players?). If he’s willing to give up a Tournament the week before, then so be it. Oh, Hmm? wait a minute, a lot of Top Ranked Players give up Tournament Play the week before to get extra practice for a major. I think that habit should stop.
RULE #243-A-657-ABC: “Any player attending a Major Tournament may not play if he skips out on the tournament the week before - but he’s still welcome to the Buffet”.

Phil’s Pre-Tournament practice is designed to give him publicity as much as an edge. He needs constant air rushing up his skirt to feel-good.

Much has been done to ensure “Fair Competition” including “Leveling” the actual playing field. Look, Look, Look what the PGA has done. Faster Greens, narrow Fairways, Longer Fairways, higher Rough, more Rough, Taller Trees, more Trees, deeper Traps, more Traps, and the endless Food Buffet and unlimited drinks, free cars, free, free, free. And stop the Ass-Kissing. Blowing up a Players ego may give him the idea that he can Win and we all know where that leads to. And, don’t forget the Caddies. If your caddie is better than my caddie, I should get a stroke per round.

If a Player pays to play the course a week before the tournament, and he plays well during that week, Should he get a refund if it rains during the tournament week and he doesn't play well?

Anyway, once the rule is created to prevent players from seeking an unfair advantage by playing the course prior to a tournament, then maybe the player should only be allowed limited practice time at the end of each round or Limit them to 3 Ball Bucket Tokens.

Actually a number of players have been known to play / practice the courses prior to the week of the tournament. Tiger does it, not the the extent Phil has just done.

Is it only majors that this happens at? Most likely but then some unknown players we probably don't hear about.

Knowledge is wonderful but execution is where it is really at.

Ben Curtis was an unknown player that did a Phil Mickelson course reconnaissance job at Royal St Georges. That course was a pig and favoured conservative play any aggressive play was more likely to yield a bogey than a birdie. The key to playing the course was keep out of trouble and the fairway bunkers off the tee hit a safe shot to the green and get up and down. If the shot to the green happened to end up close to the pin it was really more down to luck than judgement. The ball ran all over the place when it hit the green and it was impossible to judge with precision the outcome of the bounces.Curtis got a lot advice from local caddies and members when building up to The Open and practiced on the course prior to the tournament. There is no doubt in my mind that his early preparation was pivotal to his success.

US Open Interview with Mickelson
 

Q. Obviously you're revolutionizing preparation for these events by coming to venues much earlier than obviously everyone else is. Is this going to be a constant for the other majors, because obviously it's working very well here? And second, do you learn from that to use a different club, pull one club from your bag, put another one in? How often have you used that this week?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's going to be a constant for me because it's helping me play better. I don't know about other players, but for me it's been working well. It also gives me a chance, as you mentioned, to get my club setup optimum for the golf course, and I put a wedge in that Roger Cleveland over at Callaway helped me design after I made my first trip here. I called him up from Winged Foot and said, "Roger, I need you to design a 64 degree wedge. I need it with a certain amount of bounce, I've got to hit a lot of high bunker shots out of the sand."

I have used that club extensively, the only club I've used out of the sand, I think, and it has saved me a ton of shots.

The first week I put it in the bag was at Memorial because I wanted to get a little taste for that club, and I hit the shot on 10 where it was replayed where it was a flop shot that went in the hole. Then I used it out of the bunker on 16 out of that plugged lie that flew up and rolled in.

The shot today on 10, I couldn't have done with my L wedge, I had to use the 64. I've used it a ton around the greens, and that one club, if I'm able to be successful tomorrow, that one club has saved me a lot of shots, more than one or two a round possibly. If I'm able to be successful, I will give credit to that one particular club for being the little extra edge.

Hogan had it.
 

Rank has its privileges.

And this kind of rank is earned.

You're not ever going to limit the advantage of knowing the course, but you CAN limit the advantage of knowing how the course is setup/playing in the weeks before the tourney and there can be big differences.

I don't think anybody should be allowed to play the course within the weeks leading up to the event and all players should be given the same standard practice rounds during the first part of the week.