A new system of graduated rough means that the further away from the fairway, the longer and thicker the grass.

10:53 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2006

BY PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer

NEWPORT -- The plan the United States Golf Association has for its 61st U.S. Women's Open was clear from the day Newport Country Club opened this year.

Ever since opening day in April, anyone playing the course was told to stay out of the rough. Well, at least stay out of the rough as much as possible.

In direct opposition to what is normally done, players were told to walk and ride in the fairway. They were told to wade into the rough only to find, and hit, their ball.

The goal was to grow the rough as thick and deep as possible. Now, with the Open finally here, it can be safely said that the goal has been achieved.

"I've never seen the rough like this here," said Barry Westall, the club pro. "I was playing last week and I hit my drive in the rough on the third [the 12th for the Open]." The hole is only 340 yards. Westall had less than 100 yards to the green.

"I had no chance to get home," he said. "I took out a wedge and hacked it out about 50 yards."

Anyone familiar with the USGA, and the way the association sets up courses for its Opens, might shrug and say, "So what. That's just business as usual."

In this case, that's not necessarily true.

As Mike Davis, the USGA's new senior director of rules and competitions explains, Newport is different than any other course that has hosted an Open in recent years. The course does not have a watering system for its fairways and rough.

"Not having irrigation and because of the wind [on the Oceanside layout], it really is an interesting experience to go through, trying to figure out which teeing grounds to use, much more so than an inland course where the wind wouldn't be expected to be as big a factor," Davis said.

One thing he wanted to control, Davis decided, was the length of the rough.

The good news is that the plan is not entirely punitive. The wavy, European-style fescue that dominates the rough on the course along Ocean Drive is meant to be a penalty. But the only shots that will be severely penalized are those that deserve it -- shots that stray well off the fairway.

Unlike in the past where it was one-size-fits-all in the rough, where a ball that missed a fairway by one yard ended up in the same depth of rough as a ball that missed by 30 yards, Davis has installed a graduated system. It was that way at Winged Foot two weeks ago for the men's Open and it is that way at Newport this week.

"In the first 20 feet or so from the drive zone, the rough will be cut at a slightly less level than if a player hits it farther past that," Davis said at a pretournament news conference at Newport. "The whole concept is trying to penalize the errant shot and not penalize too much somebody who just misses the fairway by a little bit."

The new system is pleasant to look at, if not play in. The graduated rough looks great to the eye.

Another move the USGA made was to direct Bob Reynolds, Newport's veteran course superintendent, not to aerate greens in the spring. Most courses in the Northeast aerate greens in spring and fall to provide them air and life.

The concern was that if it was a wet spring, the rain would not allow the holes created by the aeration to fill in properly and greens could not be made Open-firm and fast in time for the tournament.

That turned out to be a great decision. Spring, of course, was one of the wettest ever in the area. While signs of aeration are still visible on numerous courses in the area, Newport's greens are primed to be plenty firm and fast for the Open.

Also, the normally generous Newport fairways were narrowed a year ago and will be provide smaller targets for the 156 competitors in the Open.

Davis sees the old course as a legitimate and varied test for the world's best women players. With the third hole converted from a par-5 to a par-4, the course will play to par-71, with three par 5's.

"Like all golf courses, for a professional event those are the make up holes for this caliber player. Those will be pretty easy holes where they can make up some," Davis said.

"The par 3's," Davis said, "offer a nice mix of both architecture and yardage." In a sign that the USGA, which values par for Open championships, sees the course as tough enough, the longest par 3, the 13th, will be played at 181 yards for the first two rounds, then moved back to 211 yards for the final two.

"If real strong winds are predictable, we may not move it back," Davis said. "That will certainly be a tough one."

The pivotal holes, he feels, are four long par 4's, the 440-yard eighth hole, the 436-yard ninth, the 449-yard 14th, and the 440-yard 18th.

"They are four of the longest par 4's we've had for a Women's Open," Davis pointed out. The 14th, in fact, will be the third-longest in tournament history, behind only two holes at Cherry Hills in Denver last year. Those holes were a mile above sea level, making them play shorter than the numbers indicate.

Players will not have to wonder about sea level this year. They will see it for themselves.

pkenyon@projo.com / (401) 277-7340