With More Rain Expected, Newport Course Being Watched Closely

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Newport, R.I. – The weather this week would have been better suited for a British Open.

This fact caused Mike Davis to pull himself up on a temporary stage Wednesday, looking haggard.

It’s no wonder. With heavy rains visiting Newport Country Club again, Davis, in charge of course setup for the USGA, has put himself on alert with the championship scheduled to begin Thursday.

David Fay, USGA executive director, addresses the media Wednesday. (John Mummert/USGA)

Davis, USGA Executive Director David Fay and USGA Women’s Committee Chairman Marcia Luigs, addressed the media in Wednesday’s conference that, for the most part, concentrated on the recent weather.

Nearly 4 inches of the wet stuff saturated the course over the weekend, and nearly 13 inches has victimized the area in the last five weeks. Late Wednesday morning, the skies opened again, coupled with gusty winds that reached 25 miles per hour. Some players took cover or played only a few holes. Many were layered in rain suits dressed all the way to their chins. The forecast is calling for close to a 1 ¼ inches by the time play commences Thursday, not the best news officials were hoping to hear.

"I’ve never seen it quite this soggy," said Fay, a member at Newport C.C. "I can’t recall weather like this."

Newport C.C. was constructed more than 100 years ago at sea level, just off the Atlantic Ocean. It oftentimes absorbs runoff water from the higher-elevated areas surrounding it. What’s more, it is a natural setting that has no irrigation system other than for the teeing grounds and greens. Not that that fact has been an issue this week.

On Monday, Superintendent Bobby Reynolds and his staff pumped standing water in fairways and bunkers. Three million gallons have been taken off some of the low-lying holes, according to Davis.

So with more precipitation, Davis and the USGA could be heading back to where they started on Monday.

"With an extra inch, how is the course going to play?" asked Davis. "It’s already going to be a very long golf course. I think it’s fair to say it can probably handle a quarter inch, maybe half an inch without any problem."

The concern extends to the players, too. Two-time Women’s Open champion Meg Mallon empathized with the USGA’s plight, knowing full well that it can’t control the weather.

"It’s unfortunate," said Mallon. "It has such a British Open feeling this week. This course will favor the player who has the best control of their ball.

"The better question is how will [the weather] affect how the USGA sets up the course? Word got out that Laura Davies couldn’t carry 12 today."

No. 12 is a 340-yard, par 4 that features cross bunkers and requires accuracy off the tee.

Nicole Hage, an amateur playing in her third Women’s Open and 12^th USGA event, got in four holes Wednesday before walking in out of the rain and bluster.

"It’s not fun," she said. "I tried to play but I couldn’t get too upset because we’re probably not going to be playing in these conditions.

"They’ve done such a great job getting it ready. When I was here Sunday, I was thinking, ‘There is no way this course will be ready for this tournament.’"

Currently holes three, seven, eight and the landing zone on nine are saturated. Several bunkers, which were pumped repeatedly, continue to show standing water. One in particular on the 17^th hole refills because the water table underneath is such that the moisture can’t drain anywhere.

All of this certainly affects play, which the weary Davis is cognizant of.

One fan found a different use for the rain that hit the area Wednesday. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

"What you try to do from a play and Rules standpoint is pump the bunkers enough so that you’ve got somewhere in the bunker to drop under the abnormal ground condition rule," said Davis. "We just don’t want situations where the entire bunker is full of water where the player trying to take free relief can’t take relief in the bunker and has to take a one-shot penalty."

The additional precipitation is enough of a worry that Davis has had to think about the point when the course becomes unplayable. In recent memory, the Senior Open at Bellerive Country Club two years ago had the second round completely washed out. Makeshift canals carried trash bins from teeing grounds to greens. The 1993 Women’s Open at Crooked Stick endured similar conditions. Roughly 6 to 7 feet of water crossed fairways and greens after a major storm hit, according to USGA championship agronomist Tim Moraghan. And at Oak Hill in the 1989 U.S. Open, "you could have taken a boat and probably paddled over from one fairway to another," said Moraghan.

So at what point would Newport be deemed unplayable?

"I think the things you look at to determine whether a course is unplayable is when you have casual water out on the golf course, what are your relief situations, whether it’s on the putting green, the teeing ground or the driving zone," said Davis.

The course is scheduled to play at 6,564 yards through the first two rounds. On the weekend, plans call for it to be bumped up to 6,616 yards when the teeing grounds are moved back on holes five and 13, both par 3s. But if the course gets hammered with rain, Davis said they’ll take the setup on a hole-by-hole basis.

"We’ll really have to wait until early tomorrow morning and see what’s going on and what the forecast is," said Davis.

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