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"FacebookPinterestThe strategy of course setup was an enduring story line at the game&amp;#39;s major championships in 2008, none more so than at the U.S. Open in June at Torrey Pines. Course setup&amp;#39;s power to inject life into a beleaguered major became apparent when Tiger Woods sank a birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff and reacted with an emotional &amp;#8212;and memorable&amp;#8212;celebration.\nThe USGA&amp;#39;s original plan called for shortening Torrey&amp;#39;s finishing hole into a brutal par 4. But Mike Davis, the USGA&amp;#39;s senior director of rules and competitions&amp;#8212;its setup guru&amp;#8212;had other ideas. He wanted to make the hole a birdieable three-shotter. Even more remarkable for an organization long obsessed with protecting par, Davis and Jim Hyler, the USGA&amp;#39;s championship committee chairman, decided after the first round to shift the 18th tee 50 yards forward so players would spend the remainder of the event contemplating a go at the green in two.\n&amp;quot;There are plenty of par 5s we play at majors where [you can move the tee forward],&amp;quot; Geoff Ogilvy said. &amp;quot;At Augusta they don&amp;#39;t do it, because they got rid of the old tees. Here, they were actually doing it.&amp;quot;\nAt the Masters course setup was also a big story. Augusta National&amp;#39;s lack of tee flexibility (note: there&amp;#39;ll be a new forward tee on No. 7 in &amp;#39;09), increased narrowness and excessive green speeds exposed setup limitations that led to player and media criticism.\n&amp;quot;You don&amp;#39;t really shoot low rounds here anymore. You&amp;#39;ve just got to plod along,&amp;quot; Tiger Woods said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s playing more like a U.S. Open than a Masters.&amp;quot;\nThe RA&amp;#39;s refusal to move tees up in the face of dire weather forecasts at a lush, narrow Royal Birkdale threatened to mar the British Open. Jerry Kelly said the first-round setup put the RA &amp;quot;in the league of the USGA at Shinnecock [in 2004],&amp;quot; while Graeme Storm noted that, &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s hard enough to hit the fairway, much less reach them.&amp;quot;\nAfter a stellar showing at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2007, the PGA of America&amp;#39;s setup strategy at Oakland Hills in August, oddly, reverted to narrow landing strips guarded by a layer of dense chip-out hay, topped off with fast and firm greens.\n&amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m a big PGA of America guy, but this week, it was like things happened too fast for them,&amp;quot; said Steve Elkington, a past champion. &amp;quot;They lost control of an event where players are historically allowed to play.&amp;quot;\nThe PGA recovered with a stellar Ryder Cup, though American captain Paul Azinger was largely responsible for slowing down Valhalla&amp;#39;s greens and eliminating rough via a fairway-widening intermediate cut. Players responded with aggressive play and a thrilling U.S. victory.\nStill, Torrey Pines delivered the two most remarkable American triumphs: Woods&amp;#39; unforgettable victory, and Davis&amp;#39; success in alternating tees and making a Sunday decision to turn the 14th hole into a drivable par 4, restoring the U.S. Open as the ultimate convergence of physical and mental skill.\n&amp;quot;They kept us thinking,&amp;quot; Sergio Garcia said. &amp;quot;That&amp;#39;s what a major championship should do. It shouldn&amp;#39;t be just get there and whack it, which is what the Masters has turned out to be in recent years.&amp;quot;\nOgilvy concurred: &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s a strange year when the U.S. Open, traditionally the toughest of the majors, is the most fun of the four.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.golfdigest.com/story/gw20081128newsmakers14>