Newport Country Club Drying Out After Excess Saturation

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Newport, R.I. – Maybe the Women’s Open won’t have to be contested in canoes.

Over the weekend, constant precipitation left Newport Country Club soggier than a three-hour-old bowl of raisin bran. The venue absorbed between 3 and 4 inches of rain that left pond-like conditions throughout. The consequences were such that players weren’t allowed to practice Sunday.

"Pick the adjective," said USGA championship agronomist Tim Moraghan. "It’s soggy, wet, mushy, soft."

Frustrating might be another adjective to slide in. When Moraghan and Mike Davis, the USGA’s Senior Director of Rules and Competitions, arrived on Thursday, the course was in pristine condition. Regulating the green speeds was one of the last tweaks to be made. That all changed when the skies opened.

The fairways of the first, third, eighth and ninth holes were immersed in water Sunday. Some greenside bunkers looked like mini pools. More than half of the practice range was completely submerged, with the various flagsticks serving effectively as beacons that suggested, yes, land was once indeed beneath.

Conditions were so wet Monday morning that when the maintenance crew pulled a plug after cutting a hole, the space filled with water.

Why all the saturation?

Because the course, which sits just off the Atlantic Ocean, tends to become a repository being at sea level. But maybe more important, because it absorbs the runoff from the higher surrounding areas nearby when it rains.

Drainage hoses could be seen on some areas Sunday and Monday to extract water.

With so much saturation, officials decided to deny spectators entrance Monday but, at the same time, allow the players to practice. Some holes were still off limits for play, though. Yet it helped that Mother Nature’s version of a natural hair dryer – sun and an offshore breeze – helped soak up some of the moisture.

"It’s very wet," said Amie Cochran, who tied for 50^th in last year’s Open. "The balls just aren’t going anywhere on the fairways."

In her case, as a longer hitter who averages 280 yards off the tee, it isn’t that big of a deal. Theory holds that wetter conditions disfavor shorter hitters. Less roll means longer irons into the greens. That, of course, increases the chances of missing greens in regulation. As a links-style course, and with the way some holes set up, bombers were licking their chops over extra roll – until, yep, the rain took that advantage away.

This becomes a greater factor should the forecast of excess rain pelt the 6,564/6,616-yard, par-71 layout throughout the week. (The fifth and 13^th holes will feature two different teeing grounds during play, altering the yardages some days).

Davis is keeping his eye particularly on holes eight, 14 and 18, three of the longest holes on the course and all of which go into a straight downwind. If it stays wet, he said, he’ll have to be careful in the setup for those because of the way the wind blows. If it shifts from its normal southwest pattern toward something northerly, Davis may move some of the markers up.

Hilary Lunke, the 2003 Women’s Open champion who is ranked 157^th in driving on the LPGA Tour this season (238.4 yards), doesn’t believe she’s excluded from having a shot if more moisture hits the area. Her strength lies in the short-iron game.

She played nine holes Monday and found that she needed to play more woods than normal to compensate for short drives. "I have to stay patient," said Lunke. "I don’t know if it’s a course I can say I’ll win on, but I think I can play well enough to win. If it rains, the short game plays to my advantage."

Said Karen Stupples, winner of one major: "I’ve played seven years on tour and length isn’t everything. If you have a good iron game, you can do well."

Jane Park, the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, was one of the first players off the course Monday.

"It’s playing extremely long," said Park, an amateur playing in her fourth straight Women’s Open. "The fairways were pretty soggy. There were patches of water in front of the tee boxes. The ball is not going anywhere. It was drop and stop on the greens."

Even though this year’s Open will stand as the second-longest setup ever, behind Cherry Hills last year, besides Lunke and Stupples, at least one other player isn’t convinced that a waterlogged Newport renders imminent doom. It’s more or less a case of dealing with the cards that are dealt and following a plan to play a USGA setup well, according to Morgan Pressel, who shared runner-up honors last year.

"It’s already very long," she said on the driving range Monday. "Being wet could make it play longer. But there are positives and negatives to that. The shorter holes could play easier, whereas the longer holes could play harder.

"You have to do everything well – hit fairways and greens – as you do at any Open."

A few weeks back, Christina Kim played the course and came away impressed. While preparing for her tee time Monday, she called it an unconventional setting for a Women’s Open.

"It was a little long then but that was when it was dry," said Kim, who ranks 33^rd in driving on the LPGA Tour this season. "This week it’s going to be long irons and wedges because you are going to need both."

Davis is of the belief that if the course firms up, more of the field will be brought into the mix.

"It’s more of a shot-makers course," he said.

Players aren’t the only ones affected. In terms of setting up the course, Davis experienced a delay in getting it where it should be because of the rain. The greens measured 9 ½ on the Stimpmeter Monday morning, well off from the 11 the USGA is striving for.

"What we were hoping for is to have the speeds at 11 by [Monday] morning," said Davis. "That would have given the players three days of practicing on greens with those conditions."

Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.