US OPEN Review
For those of you that watched the recent US Open at Pinehurst No.2, you would have seen the small margins and harsh consequences that players had to face off the tee and around the greens. Course management was crucial and plotting yourself around the course in the right areas was the recipe to success.
Martin Kaymer won the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst No.2 by eight shots. To this day, it is remembered as some of the highest quality golf that has ever been played. His ball striking and short game was relentless that week, however, he stood out from the field in one simple way, his course management. Course management is something that goes unnoticed to most golf fans but by the end of the week, it was the main reason that he was standing on the 18th green as the US Open champion!
Kaymer’s caddy, Craig Connelly, was on the bag at Pinehurst in 2014. He sure knows how to plot his way around the Donald Ross masterpiece! When talking about the course itself, Connelly commented, “You’ve got to be aggressive to conservative areas and give yourself every opportunity to make the par.”. He also added, “picking your target and hitting the right spots is very, very difficult” and you have to “have your distance control sorted and (hit the ball) in the right spot on the green because there are only small portions that you can hit too.” Kaymer executed these tactics perfectly with a final score of -9, separating himself from the rest of the field!
At this year’s US Open at Pinehurst, Bryson DeChambeau played smart and calculated golf. Off the tee, he hit a variety of shots depending on what distances he wanted in to the green to have a comfortable number to hit the areas he wanted. He knew what yardages he wanted to give himself on his approach to give him the best chance of making a par or better. His approach to the US Open 2024 was the perfect balance between risk and reward. He took risks but they were calculated and well thought out beforehand.
In amateur golf, course management is something that players don’t talk about enough. It is a crucial aspect to lowering your handicap however it’s hard to figure out on your own. The VPAR App is what you need! The app’s features include GPS, yardages, club recommendation, course maps, and course notes. By using these features, you are giving yourself the best chance of improving your golf and most importantly, enjoying it more. It will simplify your game and make every aspect of your golf more consistent. You can rely on the VPAR App just like the professionals rely on their caddies.