An Unforced Error

I'm at an age where the distinction between a principled stand and shouting "Get off my lawn" can be elusive.  Take the latest announcement from Far Hills, which Golf Digest is applauding:

The U.S. Open's 18-hole playoff dies a not-so-sudden (but much appreciated) death

I think this is a horrible unforced error....am I wrong?  The subheader doesn't make me reconsider:

USGA officials could no longer put traditional ahead of practicality—and players applaud the decision

Just yesterday Shack was reminding us that players aren't paid to think.  Timely, that.

There is a chamber in our hearts where nostalgia flickers, and it brings us each a unique comfort. But nostalgia is neither practical or marketable. We simply don’t have time for

it, even if we have more capacity to feel it as we age. 

“Nostalgia is always doomed and dooming,” according to author Sherman Alexie. 

That was precisely the sentiment I felt when the USGA announced Monday that it was ending its traditional 18-hole playoff in the U.S. Open in favor of a two-hole aggregate format. The USGA had been the last holdout among the four major championships to shorten its playoff, though it already had abandoned the 18-hole variety in the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open. Starting this year, each of those championships, as well as the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, will adopt the new two-hole scheme.

Speak for yourself, son, as I'm retired.  As my ski buddy Lee is won't to say, I have nothing to do and all day to do it....

The author provides a history lesson on Open playoffs, but this quote from my namesake is the gist of the argument:

“We live in a Snapchat world. I think you can make arguments for and against. In this case, I’m not sure two holes is enough, but at least the players are warmed up, ready to go, and you get it done.” —1987 U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson

How can I, of all people, challenge that appeal to authority.  And yet I will....

I actually think a good case against the move is made by the photos accompanying the piece.  For instance, anyone remember that Tiger moment above?  That was after sinking the putt on the 72nd green to force everyone back on  Monday.  And this one:

Interestingly, those playoffs both went 19 holes....

You want more history?  How about these three?

My enlightened readers don't needs captions to identify the participants above, but those are obviously three of the most iconic moments in the event's history, indeed in the history of our game.

And my argument isn't just to continue to do what we've always done, because an 18-hole Monday playoff isn't how we used to do it.  Anyone remember this?

There is no debating that, even if the sentimental part of us is inclined to disagree. But in 1931 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, Billy Burke and George Von Elm engaged in the longest playoff in golf history when their scheduled 36-hole playoff ended in a tie. With no sudden death at their disposal, they had to endure another 36 holes, and Burke won by a stroke. The next year the USGA shortened the format to 18 holes.

My argument is that this is part of the DNA of the U.S. Open, the sternest test in golf.   And length sudden death playoff feels like a crap shoot, heck even 18 holes is a crapshoot.  I'll remind you that Bobby Jones avoided any match play event where the matches were 18-holes, because he felt that was insufficient for the better player to prevail.  That's how one thinks when one is the better player....

The author is quite fair in noting that the Monday playoffs can be anticlimactic, but isn't that what sports are all about.  My excitement over that riveting Retief Goosen - Mark Brooks tie in 2001 has barely faded, though every event has it's improbable winners.  I just think they're repudiating their birthright to make Fox or somebody happy, and I think they'll live to regret it.

And of course we're all a bit inconsistent as relates to the USGA.  We want them to listen to us (or at least to listen to Jack) in the distance debate, but at times it's better then they don't care what we think.  After all, why should my arguments be any more consistent than my golf game?

Now the choice of a two hole format is simply bizarre, give that the PGA uses three holes and the Open Championship four.  Perhaps even more damning, when they back off of the 18-hole playoff for the Women's U.S. Open they went to three holes.... Yup, they don't seem terribly committed to their previously-stated convictions....  Not a good look.

Shack has some speculation on the two-hole issue:

It is hard not to conclude this was a decision driven by a desire to appease television, or worse, to anticipate what networks might want without an actual demand from the broadcast partner. Given that 18-hole Monday playoffs were kept in place because of the championship's importance, this declaration that the U.S. Open is using one less hole than the PGA or Players--and two holes fewer than The Open--subtly diminishes the stature of the U.S. Open. Given how satisfying the three-hole aggregate has been as an ideal solution between the vagaries of sudden death and the excess of returning on a Monday, this can only be chalked up to a decision in the best interests of an entity other than the U.S. Open. 

If television is the culprit, I find it hard to believe Fox or any network would prefer to be blamed for compromising the integrity of America's national championship to get to some summer programming on a Sunday night. This feels more like the USGA Executive Committee anticipating the imaginary needs of a television partner overpaying to broadcast their championships.

That's the self-inflicted problem with the sudden-death option, especially if there are any weather issues.  They so desperately want to have it both ways, the scheduled close at 6:00-7:00 EDT, but with time for the playoff....  Remember Valhalla?  Inevitably we'll have a two-hole playoff spill into Monday anyway, or they'll make them finish in the gloamin'.....

And this last bit is even more alarming:

**Since we know the Five Families have been known to work together, I am wondering if the two-hole number was chosen because The Masters could conveniently go to such a format using the 10th and 18th holes, allowing the USGA to say--Augusta National offers two and so do we. The Masters would be better with a two hole playoff over sudden death, but even should former USGA President and new Chairman Fred Ridley institute such a change, this should not guide the U.S. Open's approach.

 You're all getting coal in your stockings!