SOUTHAMPTON, New York — Forecasted wind gusts above 30 miles per hour at the U.S. Open are “problematic in a number of ways,” including “golf balls just staying still on the putting green,” a USGA official said.
John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s Chief Championships Officer, said the strongest winds are expected during Thursday’s opening round at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island, possibly over 40mph. There are forecasted gusts into at least the 20s the rest of the weekend.
As a result, officials want to start with green speeds, to Bodenhamer’s knowledge, the slowest for a U.S. Open since 1995.
“We wouldn’t be playing many major championship venues with winds at 40,” 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said. “You wouldn’t be playing Augusta (the Masters) with 40-mile-an-hour winds. It would be called off. I think this is more of a coastal golf course. I think the chances of high winds are slightly higher, so I think preparing for that is not a bad thing.”
The green speeds are even more notable given the venue. Shinnecock’s greens were criticized the last two times it hosted in 2004 and 2018 for how hard it became to keep balls from rolling off.
Shinnecock’s lack of trees also accentuates the impact of high winds.
“We could brutalize this place the next few days if we wanted to,” Bodenhamer said Wednesday of course setup. “That’s not what we’re about. We really want it to be fair, and we want it to be what Shinnecock Hills has always been. It will be tough enough.
“We have pulled every lever that we can to make it fair, and I think that’s a message we really want to get out there. Ultimately, we believe the forecast will be accurate. If it isn’t, then it will be what it will be, but we’ve done everything we can not only to provide a tough, but especially a fair test, but to ensure that we’ve given it every opportunity, no guarantees, that we can play golf on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Even in tame weather, Shinnecock is known as one of the toughest U.S. Open venues. In five prior Opens at Shinnecock, three men total finished under par.
“These greens with wind, it’s going to be a real challenge, and I think whoever is patient -- you’re going to miss some putts that maybe you normally would make, but you also might make some,” 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark said Monday. “You’re just going to have to handle the punches that Shinnecock is going to give you and stay really patient out here.”
