They say that death and taxes are the only two certainties in life. But they forgot the third certainty: Golf Twitter losing its collective s–t when someone posts a video of rough that’s a little too thick, or a green that’s a little too quick.
Normally, these videos are reserved for Major-championship weeks, which the BMW Championship is not. However, the US Amateur, formerly recognised as a Major, began overnight (AEST) at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, where the brutal course conditions have already started a dialogue.
Lou Stagner, a self-proclaimed golf data nerd, is already on-site, and over the weekend he posted a handful of photos and videos of the course. One video of the treacherous 14th green has already exploded on Twitter, being viewed more than 800,000 times. In it, Stagner drops a ball on the back of the lightning-quick putting surface and then begins to chase it down as it rolls not just off the front of the green, but all the way down into the fairway about 50 paces from the hole:
Naturally, this has people all sorts of fired up, because nothing riles up golf fans like the potential of the USGA taking things a liiiitttttllle too far and producing a boatload of carnage.
The good news for these guys is none of them are playing in the US Amateur, though this green does seem a bit unfair. Having said that, players who qualified for the freaking US Amateur will probably recognise that they need to keep it below the hole on 14. A dropped ball on the fastest, slopiest spot on the back of the green might not be the best indication of what’s actually going to happen this week, but it does make for great content.
Also, it doesn’t look like the only green that could pose some challenges for the field:
You want rough? Oh, there will be rough:
Call it unfair, call it clown golf, call it whatever you’d like. It’s officially must-see TV at Ridgewood (and Arcola) this week. Good job by Lou, playing all the hits.
