Capelle On Golf

2008 US Open Coverage

In a typical major a player will take 56 swings off the tee on the par fours and fives. If the player can hit most of those fairways and the misses are not so bad, they have shot at winning. Ben Hogan hit lots of fairways and won 9 majors. Jack Nicklaus hit the ball long and straight, and was willing to use shorter clubs to keep the ball on the short grass. Lee Trevino won six majors thanks in large part to his reliable fade off the tee. Tiger Woods is wild with his driver, but is willing to use other clubs to avoid trouble. See a pattern here? The big winners in the majors keep the ball in play off the tee.

If a player can combine accuracy with distance, they become nearly unbeatable. Take the case of Trevor Immelman, who rode a hot driver to a Masters title. On the super long Augusta National, he led the field in driving accuracy (85.71%), and was fourth in distance. That’s a microscopic one tournament total driving stat of five!

Augusta National played at 7,445 yards, par 72. Torrey Pines will measure 7,643 yards, and play as a par 71, though most days it will be about 7,400 yards. The fairways will range in width from about 24-33 yards and will be lined with much thicker rough. If a player can consistently hit the ball long and straight off the tee, they will have an overwhelming advantage over the field.

The Torrey Pines Game Plan
Most holes at Torrey Pines are long to very long with little or no bend at the point where a drive will be landing. This leaves a player with three options. 1) On some holes the driver is mandatory. 2) On a few holes a fairway wood is the logical choice. 3) On the swing holes a player must decide between the driver and 3-wood. These decisions could make or break a player’s chances of winning the Open. If they are aggressive and can execute, they will be rewarded with much easier second shots.

For example, consider the 488 yard par 4 fourth hole. A conservative tee shot with a 3-wood will leave the player with a 200-220 yard shot into a cliffside green with bailout right written all over it. Hit the driver 310, and they’re in the scoring zone at 178 yards.

There is always a temptation to lay back at the Open and accept much longer second shots to avoid the deep rough. This strategy can backfire, however, if a player such as Immelman, or Sergio Garcia (who drove so well at THE PLAYERS) gets hot with the driver and uses it to set up irons shots that lead to those welcome 2-putt pars and makeable birdie putts.

The table below shows the distance of the approach shot (or second shot on a par 5) for tee shots measuring 270 and 300 yards. The final column list the most probable club selection for all but the very longest hitters.

Torrey Pines - Second Shot Distances (DM = Driver mandatory)
—-Yds.–300–270
1 – 448—148—178—DM
2 – 389—89—–119—3-W
4 – 488—188—218—DM
5 - 453—153—183—Decision
6 – 515—215—245—DM
7 – 461—161—191—Decision
9 – 612 – 312—342—DM*
——Yds.–300–270
10 – 414—114—144—3-W
12 – 504—204—234—DM
13 – 614—314—334—DM*
14 – 435—135—165—3-W
15 – 478—178—218—DM
17 – 441—141—171—Decision
18 – 573—273—303—DM*
*If the player wants to go for the green in two.