2007 USGA Championship Previews


March 12, 2007

U.S. Open Championship
Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.
June 14-17
www.usopen.com
Yardage: 7,230 yards
Par: 35-35-70
Defending champion: Geoff Ogilvy
Opened: 1903
Designer: H.C. Fownes
USGA championships: This will be the 14th USGA championship for Oakmont and a record eighth U.S. Open, surpassing Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J., which has hosted seven. The club also hosted the 1992 U.S. Women's Open and five U.S. Amateurs, the most recent being 2003.
Mixed bag: Just like in the 2006 U.S. Open, where a couple of tees were moved forward or back, depending on the round, holes eight, 10 and 12 will be played from different lengths during the championship. This is a philosophy that the USGA has adopted for all of its championships.
No walk in the park: Oakmont could lay claim as the most-challenging venue used for USGA competitions. At the 2003 U.S. Amateur, only one golfer out of the 312 starters for stroke-play qualifying managed to break par (70), while the stroke average was 79.014. Then again, Johnny Miller carded a final-round 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open, considered by many to be one of the best 18-hole rounds in major-championship history.
Chopping wood: Forty-plus years ago, Oakmont underwent a massive tree planting campaign that turned the layout into a parkland course. Not long after the 1994 U.S. Open, the club board decided to give the classic course a major restoration, removing some 5,000 trees over a 10-year period to give Oakmont a retro look that has drawn rave reviews from the public and golf media. Even though the layout now resembles a links course, Oakmont still hasn't lost its luster as a major-championship venue.
Extra, extra: Could overtime be in order at the 2007 U.S. Open? The last three USGA competitions held at Oakmont have all gone to a playoff. Patty Sheehan held off future two-time winner Juli Inkster in an 18-hole playoff at the 1992 U.S. Women's Open. Two years later, Ernie Els won the first of his two U.S. Open titles by defeating Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts in a playoff. And in 2003, Nick Flanagan of Australia needed 37 holes (scheduled 36-hole final) to defeat Casey Wittenberg for the U.S. Amateur championship.
Home club hero: The first USGA championship staged at Oakmont was the 1919 U.S. Amateur, where Oakmont club member S. Davidson Herron (not related to PGA Tour player Tim Herron) defeated a young Bob Jones in the championship match, 5 and 4. Herron is one of a handful of golfers to win a USGA championship on his home course. Six years later, Jones would return to Oakmont to win the second of his five U.S. Amateur titles, an 8-and-7 triumph over fellow Georgian Watts Gunn. In 1935, Pittsburgh native Sam Parks won the U.S. Open at Oakmont by two strokes over Jimmy Thomson. But at the 1962 U.S. Open, western Pennsylvania's native son, Arnold Palmer, came up short to an up-and-coming star, Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear outlasted the King in an 18-hole playoff for the first of his record 18 major titles.
Quotable: "Prior to this week the first time I ever played it - I probably played the course 25 times - Oakmont is the single hardest golf course I ever played in my entire life." - USA Walker Cupper Trip Kuehne at 2003 U.S. Amateur.


U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship
Kearney Hill Golf Links, Lexington, Ky.
June 18-23
www.uswapl.org
Yardage: 6,094/6,125 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Defending champion: Tiffany Joh
Opened: 1989
Designer: Pete Dye and P.B. Dye
USGA championships: This will be the club's second USGA championship. Kearney Hill hosted the 1997 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, won by current PGA Tour player Tim Clark of South Africa.
Designer note: Kearney Hill is one of three Pete Dye-designed courses to host a USGA championship this year, joining Whistling Straits (Senior Open) and Crooked Stick (Women's Amateur). P.B. Dye also designed Boone Valley Golf Club, site of this year's U.S. Junior.
Genesis of a course: The Lexington Division of Parks and Recreation wanted to develop an upscale, municipal facility that could attract players from all over the region and future championships as well. Local officials retained the help of a well-known amateur player from the area, Johnny Owens, who played at the University of Kentucky and had competed in top-level amateur events in the U.S. and Europe. It was Owens who got in touch with Pete Dye, who along with his son, P.B., became the architects for the proposed course. The idea was to build a course that was good enough to attract local players, but strong and challenging enough to host national championships. What made the project interesting is that Pete Dye had not many municipal courses and his son was just a fledgling course architect at the time.
Previous events: Kearney Hill also was the site of the Champions Tour's Bank One Classic from 1990-97. Gary Player won the competition twice, while Isao Aoki and Vicente Fernandez also posted victories there.
Public Links fact: Kearney Hill becomes the ninth course to have hosted the U.S. Amateur Public Links and the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links events.
Design features: Operated by the Lexington Division of Parks and Recreation, Kearney Hill features open, rolling terrain, deep sand bunkers, an abundance of water and very few trees. Wind is a key defense for the course. It has been named the No. 1 public course in Kentucky.
Did you know: Three of the past four USGA events played in the state of Kentucky have been U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships, including 1932 at Shawnee Golf Club in Louisville. The only non-Public Links event to be held in Kentucky was the 1994 USGA Senior Amateur at The Champions Golf Club in Nicholasville.
Good viewing: For those who don't like to venture too far from the first tee to watch golf, 14 of the 18 holes at Kearny Hill can be viewed from the observation decks on the second level of the clubhouse.
364 days of golf: Kearney Hill is open year-round except for one day: Dec. 25. The club closes to observe Christmas.


Copa de las Americas Championship
Beacon Hall Golf Club, Aurora, Ontario, Canada
June 20-23
www.rcga.org/copa2007
Yardage (Men): TBA
Yardage (Women): TBA
Par (Men): TBA
Par (Women): TBA
Defending champion: Canada (Men); Colombia (Women)
Opened: 1986
Designer: Bob Cupp
Previous championships: This will be the first major competition held at the club.
What is Copa de las Americas: This is a biennial event that began in Puerto Rico in 2003 with teams from North, Central and South America. The competition is 72 holes of stroke play with two-person men's and women's teams. Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Uruguay have participated in one or both of the previous comopetitions.
Designer notes: Beacon Hall has two distinct nines. The first nine is played through a forested landscape, at times reminiscent of what a golfer might find in the Carolinas. The second nine, with its rolling hills and fescues, has the feel of a Scottish links course.
High praise: Since it opened, Beacon Hall has been ranked among the top 10 courses in Canada by Score Golf magazine. Golf Digest recently rated 100 courses outside of the U.S. and placed Beacon Hall at No. 19. Aurora also is one of the most affluent communities in Canada.
Quiet sanctuary: With only 241 members, Beacon Hall can boast that starting times are not necessary, even on the weekends. The club had just 14,700 rounds last year, while the average private course in Canada generally has around 38,000 rounds.

U.S. Women's Open Championship
Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines, N.C.
June 28-July 1
www.uswomensopen.com
Yardage: 6,664 yards
Par: 35-36-71
Defending champion: Annika Sorenstam
Opened: 1927
Designer: Donald Ross
USGA championships: This will be the third U.S. Women's Open and fifth USGA championship overall for Pine Needles. Hall of Famers Karrie Webb (2001) and Annika Sorenstam (1996) are the two previous Women's Open champions at Pine Needles. LPGA Tour player Brandie Burton won the 1989 U.S. Girls' Junior there, while Phyllis Preuss earned a one-stroke victory over Anne Sander and Belle Robertson at the 1991 USGA Senior Women's Amateur.
Designer notes: Like Pinehurst No. 2, you won't find many water hazards at Pine Needles (only three ponds exist and all can be navigated from the tee). Ross felt that water was too penal, so he chose bunker placements as a way to challenge players and make them use their creativity around the greens.
Championship note: At the previous two Women's Opens staged at Pine Needles, the 15th hole was played as a par 4, measuring 405 (1996) and 409 (2001) yards. This time, the tee has been pushed back and it will play as a 523-yard par 5.
Restoring the glory: Over time, the original greens became smaller and more oval-shaped so Pine Needles hired golf course architect and 1977 U.S. Amateur champion John Fought to give the Ross gem a makeover. Fought restored Pine Needles to its original look while adding length so it can play more than 7,000 yards. Fairway bunkers now serve as the type of hazard Ross intended to be from the tees. "We want to remind people that this is a Donald Ross course," said Fought. "We're getting back to Ross in every way we can."
Early favorite: Sorenstam would likely be the choice to repeat since the last two Women's Opens played here saw the champion successfully defend her title - Sorenstam in 1996 and Webb in 2001.
Perfect ambience: No matter what Fought did to restore the playing characteristics of Pine Needles, the course still winds its way through rolling landscape featuring maples, holly trees, azaleas, dogwood, blackjack oaks and loblolly pines.
Growing up: It's hard to believe that the last time the Women's Open visited Pine Needles Morgan Pressel had just turned 13 and become the youngest qualifier in the championship's history. Since then, Pressel has won a U.S. Women's Amateur title (2005), finished tied for second at the Women's Open as an amateur (2005) and this spring became the youngest winner of a women's major championship when she captured the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Steep pedigree: The resort and lodge is owned by noted golf instructor Peggy Kirk Bell, who purchased the property with her late husband back in 1953. Bell played on the 1950 USA Curtis Cup team and is a past recipient of the USGA's Bob Jones Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Association. After his 2005 U.S. Open triumph, Michael Campbell celebrated with Bell and her family and photos can be found on property.
Add pedigree: Pine Needleswas built by the same family (Tufts) who developed the nearby Pinehurst Resort, site of the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens. Ross, who designed Pinehurst's signature No. 2 Course, was a resort employee at the time and chosen to design Pine Needles. He also did Mid Pines, the course across the street from Pine Needles. Mid Pines was the site of the 2002 USGA Senior Women's Amateur.
Did you know: The first open golf competition for women was conducted at Pine Needles in 1928. The event was titled the Women's Mid-South Open.
Fast fact: The U.S. Women's Open in 1996 was not the first major ever held at Pine Needles. The 1972 Titleholders Championship, an LPGA major at the time, was waged here and Sandra Palmer defeated a field that included LPGA legends Patty Berg and Kathy Whitworth.
Quotable: "I love the golf course. It is, I have to say, one of my favorite [Women's] Open courses." - Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez.


U.S. Senior Open Championship
Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.
July 5-8
www.ussenioropen.com
Yardage: 6,924/7,068 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Defending champion: Allen Doyle
Opened: 1998
Designer: Pete Dye
USGA championships: This will be the first USGA championship held at Whistling Straits. Nearby Blackwolf Run, which is part of the American Club Resort, hosted the 1998 U.S. Women's Open. Whistling Straits' first foray into championship golf came in 2004 when the Straits Course hosted the 2004 PGA Championship, won by Vijay Singh in a playoff over Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco. The 1999 PGA Club Professional Championship was also held there. The 2005 Palmer Cup was held on the neighboring Irish Course. The Senior Open will be contested on the Straits Course.
By the numbers: At 7,068 yards, Whistling Straits (Straits Course) will be the second-longest venue for a Senior Open, trailing only 7,117-yard Bellerive County Club in St. Louis, site of the 2004 championship. The Straits Course played at 7,514 yards for the 2004 PGA Championship. Several holes will use different tees depending on the round and conditions. The par-5 second could play 593 or 554 yards; the par-3 third could play 181 or 154 yards; the par-4 fourth at 445 or 416 yards; the par-4 sixth at 355 or 332 yards; and the par-3 17th at 216 or 190 yards.
Welcome to Ireland . err Wisconsin: Dye sculpted a bit of Ireland into a 560-acre parcel of land along Lake Michigan and turned it into a links-style course that already is listed among one of the best in the U.S. by several golf publications. Links magazine rated it seventh among the 25 best walks in golf.
Truly American: The golf course is part of the elegant five-star American Club Resort that was founded by bathroom fixture magnate, Herb Kohler. Blackwolf Run, which features two courses ( Meadow Valleys and River), was the site of the 1998 U.S. Women's Open. That event used holes from both courses to create the course used for the championship.
On Wisconson: This is the ninth USGA event (first Senior Open) to be hosted in Wisconsin. The first was the 1951 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Brown Deer Park in Milwaukee, which is the site of the U.S. Bank Championship on the PGA Tour.
Design features: Open, rugged and windswept terrain define the Straits Course that will be used for the Senior Open. It could remind many of the historic Irish links layouts such as Ballybunion or Lahinch.
True fact: The American Club resort, the epicenter for the four golf courses, was built in 1918 as a boarding house for immigrants hired to work at the Kohler Company. The Immigrant Restaurant and its six rooms are each a testament to the respective cultures that settled here in the state's early days.


U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship
Cantigny Golf Club (Woodside/Lakeside), Wheaton, Ill.
July 9-14
www.usapl.org
Yardage: 7,048 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Defending champion: Casey Watabu
Opened: 1989
Designer: Roger Packard
USGA championships: This will be the club's first USGA championship, but the course did host the 2006 Western Junior won by Jhared Hack.
Why it's right: Chicago is home to some of the best golf courses in the country, several of which are open to the public, including Cantigny (pronounced Canteeny). This will be the fourth time the APL has visited the area (fifth overall for the state), the last coming in 1989 at well-known Cog Hill in Lemont. Cantigny and Cog Hill consistently rank among the state's best public venues.
Designer notes: Packard accepted the job to design Cantigny's 27 golf holes shortly after remodeling Medinah's famous No. 3 Course for the 1988 U.S. Senior Open and the 1990 U.S. Open. He called the project a "dream job for a great client." He is the son of longtime architect, Lawrence E. Packard.
What's in a name: Col. Robert R. McCormick was an artillery battalion commander in the Army's famous 1st Infantry Division. Cantigny is a small town in France, where McCormick's artillery battalion supported the 1st Infantry Division in the first United States-led offensive operation of World War I. The battle made a lasting impression on Colonel McCormick, who later became the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, and he commemorated the battle by renaming his 500-acre estate in Wheaton, Cantigny.
An ode to recreation: In his will, McCormick instructed that Cantigny be preserved "for the recreation, instruction and welfare of the people of the State of Illinois." Besides the 27 holes of golf, the facility features two museums, 10 acres of gardens and a nine-hole golf course strictly for juniors. The Robert R. McCormick Museum is located in the former publisher's 27-room mansion, while the First Division Museum features exhibits that follow the history of the 1st Infantry Division from World War I to the present.
Comic relief?: The ninth hole on the Lakeside Course, which will be 18 for the APL , has a fairway bunker that is a silhouette of comic-strip character Dick Tracy. The comic strip was a longtime staple of the Chicago Tribune.


U.S. Girls' Junior Championship
Tacoma Country & Golf Club, Lakewood, Wash.
July 23-28
www.usgirlsjunior.org
Yardage: 6,363 yards
Par: 35-37-72
Defending champion: Jenny Shin
Opened: 1894
Designer: Stanley Thompson
USGA championships: This will be the club's fourth USGA championship and first since the 1994 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur. Seattle native Anne Sander won the 1961 U.S. Women's Amateur at Tacoma C & G.C. This will be the third U.S. Girls' Junior held in the state of Washington. Broadmoore Golf Club in Seattle had the 1961 event and 23 years later, Mill Creek C.C. in Bothell hosted the championship.
A club first: Tacoma C & G.C. is the oldest private golf club west of the Mississippi. The course opened in the same year that the USGA was founded (1894). It is listed as one of the first 100 clubs in America.
How it all began: Employees of Scottish firms in the area started playing the game on the prairie lands of south Tacoma in 1892. Two years later, Alexander Baillie and a handful of others organized a club, leased 280 acres of land and built a clubhouse. Twenty years later, the Tacoma Golf Club merged with Tacoma Country Club on American Lake and forged a blueprint for a new clubhouse and course.
Club pedigree: James Barnes, the 1921 U.S. Open champion and winner of two PGA Championships (1916, 1919), was the head pro at Tacoma C & G.C. from 1910-15. Barnes also won the 1925 British Open. The late Chuck Congdon, who served as the head pro at the club for 30 years, was a five-time Washington State Open champion. Another former pro, Al Mengert, is the only "three-peat" winner of the Washington State Open. Tacoma C & G.C. hosted that event in 1932 and 1997.
Family affair: Pat Lesser Harbottle, the 1950 U.S. Girls'Junior champion and '55 U.S. Women's Amateur winner, is a member of the club. Her son, John Harbottle III , is a golf course architect whose works include BanBury in Eagle, Idaho, site of the 2005 U.S. Girls' Junior, and the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain in Bremerton, Wash., which played host to the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.


U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
Boone Valley Golf Club, Augusta, Mo.
June 18-23
www.usjunioram.org
Yardage: 6,810/6,894 yards
Par: 36-35 - 71
Defending champion: Philip Francis (ineligible to defend)
Opened: 1992
Designer: P.B. Dye
USGA championships: This will be the club's first USGA championship, but the course previously hosted a pair of Champions Tour events - the Boone Valley Classic from 1996-2000 and the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Match Play in 2001. U.S. Open champions Hale Irwin and Larry Nelson each won the Classic twice.
Designer notes: The Dye course has undergone substantial changes since opening 15 years ago, including revisions to the fifth, 15th and 18th holes. Boone Valley was developed from 440 acres of farm land. The site was discovered by one of the club's four founders, James Manion, and the land was purchased in the fall of 1989. Architect Laurent Torno was hired to design the 8,000-square foot clubhouse that overlooks the valley and its two, six-acre lakes.
What's in a name: The club is named after American pioneer and trailblazer Daniel Boone, who settled in the region where the club is located around 1798. Boone, who is responsible for the exploration and settlement of Kentucky, remained in Missouri the rest of his life (he died at age 85) and was buried there along with his wife. But a quarter of a century following his death, both were brought back to Kentucky and laid to rest in a Frankfort cemetery.
Member honor roll: Luminaries who are members of the club include three-time U.S. Open and two-time U.S. Senior Open champion Hale Irwin; three-time U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion Ellen Port; two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion John "Spider" Miller; inaugural U.S. Mid-Amateur winner Jim Holtgrieve; and current USA Walker Cup captain Buddy Marucci. The club will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2007.
Why it's right: "The Show Me State" has hosted 14 previous USGA championships, including two U.S. Opens and a U.S. Senior Open, but this is the first U.S. Junior to be played in Missouri. This is the 10th different USGA championship to be waged in the state.
Fast fact: No player from the state of Missouri has ever advanced to the championship final at the U.S. Junior.
Home away from home: Because of its remote location, the club, in February of 1999, opened the Cottages at Boone Valley . The two spacious cottages, named Augusta and Boone, have become the ideal setting for small meetings and special occasions. Each adobe features four bedrooms, spacious living areas, food, beverages and a putting green. The complex also has a conference room capable for having small meetings.


U.S. Women's Amateur Championship
Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Ind.
Aug. 6-12
www.uswamateur.org
Yardage: 6,595 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Defending champion: Kimberly Kim
Opened: 1964
Designer: Pete Dye
USGA championships: This will be the fifth USGA event held at the club, following the 1993 U.S. Women's Open, won by Laurie Merten, the 1989 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 1982 U.S. Junior and 1983 USGA Senior Amateur. The 2009 U.S. Senior Open also will be held at the club.
Other big events: Crooked Stick also was the site of the 1991 PGA Championship, when John Daly came out of obscurity as the ninth alternate to win the title. In 2004, it hosted the Solheim Cup Matches.
Designer notes: Crooked Stick was one of Dye's first projects and it came after he spent a year in Scotland playing many of the country's traditional links layouts, including Cruden Bay, which made a lasting impressing on him. Pot bunkers, wooden sleepers, small greens, blind shots and undulating fairways - all of which can be found overseas - made their way into the design of Crooked Stick, along with many trees, something not often found on Scottish links courses. Crooked Stick has been hailed as one of Dye's better designs and Golf Digest magazine ranked it the No. 1 course in Indiana and No. 76 overall in its top-100 list. He also lives right off the 18th hole.
Honor roll: Visit the club and you could run into several luminaries who are members of the club, including Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning; former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle (a very good golfer); Indiana governor Mitch Daniels; former USGA Women's Committee chairman Marcia Luigs; two-time USGA Senior Women's Amateur champion Alice Dye (wife of course designer); and 1997 USGA Senior Women's Amateur champion Nancy Fitzgerald.


U.S. Amateur Championship
The Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 20-26
www.usamateur.org
Yardage ( Lake Course ): Yardage TBA
Par: 35-35-70
Second stroke-play course (Ocean Course): Yardage TBA
Par: 36-35-71  
Defending champion: Richie Ramsay
Opened: 1918 (club was founded in 1860)
Designer: Sam Whiting (Robert Trent Jones Sr. did some revisions prior to 1955 U.S. Open). Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish re-designed the Ocean Course (originally designed by Whiting) in 1998-99, with Bill Love doing minor revisions in 2006-07.
USGA championships: This will be the ninth held at Olympic, following four U.S. Opens (1955, '66, '87 and '98), two U.S. Amateurs (1958 and '81), one U.S. Junior (2004) and one America's Cup (1958). It will also be the site of the 2012 U.S. Open.
Famous members: "Gentleman" Jim Corbett (1892 heavyweight boxing champion); Billy Johnston (1923 Wimbledon champion); Ken Venturi (1964 U.S. Open champion); Mark Twain (novelist); Ty Cobb (baseball); Joe DiMaggio (baseball). And the last U.S. Amateur waged at Olympic witnessed a champion with celebrity ties. Nathanial Crosby, son of the late entertainer Bing Crosby, defeated Brian Lindley in 37 holes. Crosby will be the guest speaker at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Players' Dinner.
Great Scot: Ramsay became the first Scot in more than 100 years to win the U.S. Amateur, following H.G. Whigham in 1896 and 1897.Ramsay only competed last year at Hazeltine because he was exempt by virtue of being a playing member of the 2005 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team.
International game: Three of the last four U.S. Amateur champions have been foreign-born players starting with Nick Flanagan (Australia) in 2003. Edoardo Molinari of Italy won in 2005 at Merion and Ramsay last year.
Ocean's 18: Generally, the second stroke-play course at the U.S. Amateur doesn't play quite as difficult as the main site. Case in point, Billy Horschel of Grant, Fla., posted a USGA-championship record 60 last year at Chaska (Minn.) Town Course but struggled to a 78 at Hazeltine. But The Olympic Club's Ocean Course should provide the players a stern test. At the 2006 Pacific Coast Amateur, a 72-hole, stroke-play event that was won by local product Patrick Nagle (Pacifica), both courses at The Olympic Club were utilized and the par-71 Ocean yielded just 22 sub-par scores compared to just three on the par-70 Lake Course. But the Ocean's stroke average was just 1.6 shots lower than of its more-famous sibling (74.1 to 75.7). The Lake Course , which is used for the U.S. Open, saw only one golfer (Brian Harman) better par over 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying at the 2004 U.S. Junior.
Revising the Ocean: Originally designed by Whiting, the course has undergone several changes over the years, some caused by loss of real estate from a landslide into the Pacific Ocean in 1984. Access was lost to parts of the first nine when the tunnel under Skyline Boulevard was deemed not usable. The Ocean Golf Course recently went through the "Ocean Enhancement Plan" under the direction of Love. The routing and design of the current Ocean Course was done by Weiskopf in 1998-99. The enhancement plan deals with different cutting patterns for fairways, some creation of short-cut chipping areas and suggestions for native grasses and planting of trees that will help with hole separation where needed. Under the supervision of Love, a new 15th green complex was opened in 2006 and by the middle of2007, a new 14th green will be ready for play in time for the U.S. Amateur.
Behind the name: The Olympic Club doesn't have golf or country in its title because when the club was founded, golf wasn't a key component. The Nahl brothers (Charles and Arthur) turned their backyard into a gym in the 1850s and it was the forerunner to the actual club. The club champions itself as an all-around athletic club and during the early part of the 20thcentury, many Olympic members participated in the Olympic Games. In 1924, the club sent more participants (24) to the Paris Games than any other club in the country.
Football anyone?: Prior to World War II, the Olympic Club had a football team that often competed against Bay Area colleges, including Stanford, California-Berkeley, Santa Clara and St. Mary's. The club dropped football when intercollegiate teams began forming conference affiliations and no longer needed to play area clubs for top competition.
Tennis anyone?: Olympic was the first West Coast site to host the Davis Cup (1937).
A magical year: In 1964, three Olympic Club members held USGA titles - Johnny Miller (U.S. Junior), Venturi (U.S. Open) and Bill Higgins (USGA Senior Amateur).
Junior success: Olympic runs a highly successful junior membership program, which produced Venturi and Miller, who as an 18-year-old amateur, tied for eighth in the 1966 U.S. Open held at Olympic. Lately that program can boast of Elliott Wainwright (2002 U.S. Junior semifinalist and 2003 U.S. Amateur qualifier), Jordan Cox, the 2003 U.S. Junior runner-up and 2006 U.S. Amateur participant, and Joseph Bramlett, who advanced to the second round of match play at the 2006 U.S. Amateur. Bramlett and Cox are teammates at Stanford.
Wild finishes: Olympic Club has been the site of some of the most dramatic final-round comebacks in U.S. Open history. In 1955, unheralded Jack Fleck rallied to beat Ben Hogan in a playoff, thus denying him a record fifth Open title. Eleven years later, Arnold Palmer blew a seven-stroke lead over the last nine holes to Billy Casper, and lost in an 18-hole playoff. At the 2004 U.S. Junior, runner-up David Chung became just the second 14-year-old to ever reach the final, losing to 15-year-old Sihwan Kim.
Did you know?: Former baseball great and the Hall of Famer Cobb was competing in the club championship in 1940 and got handily defeated by a young junior. The drubbing was so bad that Cobb, who was known to have a temper, simply walked off the course in a huff of anger and did not return for several years. The young hotshot who beat the ex-Detroit Tigers second baseman was 12-year-old Bob Rosburg, who would go on to win the 1959 PGA Championship.


USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship
Sunriver Resort (Meadows Course), Sunriver, Ore.
Sept. 1-6
www.seniorwam.org
Yardage: 5,975 yards
Par: 35-36-71
Defending champion: Diane Lang
Opened: 1969 (revised 1999)
Designer: John Fought
USGA championships: This will be the second USGA championship at Sunriver, following the 2002 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, won by Annie Thurman-Young.
Designer notes: Fought, who redesigned the course in 1999, won the 1977 U.S. Amateur. Many of Fought's projects have paid tribute to American courses built in the 1920s and '30s with directional and fore bunkers prominently displayed.
Drive, chip and jump: Sunriver's location in central Oregon in the Cascade Mountains make it one of those unique areas where someone could actually go skiing in the morning at Mt. Bachelor and then drive down and play 18 holes in the afternoon at one of the resort's three courses.
Oregon and the USGA: This will be the 29th USGA event staged in Oregon, but the first USGA Senior Women's Amateur. Oregon actually will be the site of two USGA competitions in 2007, with the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Bandon Dunes Resort taking place some four weeks after the Senior Women's Amateur.
Not just golf: Even for those who don't play golf, Sunriver has plenty to offer with its four swimming pools, 37 miles of paved biking paths and walking trails, tennis courts, horse riding stable, nature center and plenty of rivers and streams for fishing. The resort even has a 35,000-square feet spa for those who need to wind down after a day of activity.


USGA Senior Amateur Championship
Flint Hills National Golf Club, Andover, Kan.
Sept. 1-6
www.senioram.org
Yardage: 6,466 yards
Par: 36-35-71
Defending champion: Mike Bell
Opened: 1997
Designer: Tom Fazio
USGA championships: This will be the USGA's second visit to Flint Hills National, following the 2001 U.S. Women's Amateur, won by Meredith Duncan. The 2003 Trans Mississippi Championship was also held at the club.
Birth of a club: Businessman Thomas Devlin was bothered by the fact that he had to travel from his home state of Kansas to quench his thirst for first-class golf facilities. So Devlin created the idea of building such a facility in the Wichita area. He contacted the well-known Fazio who came to Wichita to survey a possible site for the club. A 640-acre parcel of land two miles from Andover turned into the prime spot. The land was originally owned by Bill Graham. Graham's daughter had married Kansas Hall of Fame golfer Johnny Stevens, who always thought the property could be turned into a world-class golf facility.
Quotable: "Flint Hills is as good a course as I've designed." - Fazio, whose works include more than 20 courses ranked among the top 100 byeither Golf Digest, Golfweek or Golf. Incidentally, the 2006 Senior Amateur was also played on a Fazio design, Victoria National in Newburgh, Ind.
Designer notes: Flint Hills National features 67 bunkers and 24 acres of ponds that bring water into play on eight holes.
Family affair: Thomas Devlin wasn't the only member of his family to be heavily involved in the construction of the club. His wife, Myra, designed the clubhouse, guest house and founder's lodge, his oldest son, Tom, built the tee boxes and son, Tim, was the head of the irrigation crew.
Going the distance: Not every match will reach the 18th hole, but those that do will find quite a challenge in front of them. The hole features water entirely down the left side, a huge willow tree that gives pause at the tee and generally plays into the prevailing south wind. Director of golf Dave Henson said of the hole prior to the 2001 Women's Amateur, "It's an awesome finishing hole."
Role call: Members at the facility include Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer George Brett and John Schnatter, founder of the Papa John's pizza chain.
Nature calling: Some of the species a spectator might encounter while sitting on the clubhouse veranda include Red Bird wing, quail and whitetail deer.
Home on the prairie: This is the third visit to Kansas for the USGA Senior Amateur. In 1969, Curtis Person Sr. won at Wichita C.C., while James Stahl Jr. was victorious in 1995 at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson.


Walker Cup Match
Royal County Down , Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland
Sept. 8-9
www.walkercup.org
Yardage: 7,181 yards
Par: 35-36-71
Defending champion: USA
Opened: 1889
Designer: George Combe (revisions by Harry S. Colt)
Previous championships: This will be the club's first Walker Cup, but it has been the site of other major competitions, including the 1968 Curtis Cup, the 1970 and 1999 British Amateur and eight British Ladies Amateur Championships (1899, 1907, 1920, 1927, 1935, 1950, 1963 and 2006). Many other Irish national championships and professional events have also been held at the club.
Why it's right: While players are selected from Great Britain and Ireland, this will only be the second time in the Match's history that the event will be held in Ireland. The 1991 Match was held at Portmarnock in 1991. Portmarnock is outside of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland . Royal County Down is situated in Northern Ireland, southeast of Belfast.
Royalty: On April 15, 1908 , the club was given its Royal Patronage by King Edward VII . How it came about is unknown, but club secretary James Laidler said it likely was suggested to His Majesty by a local dignitary.
A king's ransom: In order to prepare for the Walker Cup and update its facilities, the club spent approximately $5 million renovating its clubhouse.
By George, this is a piece of work: Old Tom Morris was hired to build a championship course in 1890, but it was member George Combe who is credited for much of the work and routing of what is the current championship course. Combe was an outstanding player in his time and held one of the first plus handicaps in the country. He founded the Golfing Union of Ireland, started the handicapping GUI system that was later largely adopted by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and was the first to line the hole with a metal tin. Combe expanded County Down 's first course from a modest 5,150 yards to 6,400 yards. By 1906, Combe, who constantly tinkered with his design, made significant changes to the characteristics of what are now holes 11, 12 and 13.
Harry's due: Some people refer to County Down as a Colt course because of the revisions done by Colt in the 1926. But Colt does get credit for re-working the well-known par-3 fourth hole (raising the green) and the famous par-4 ninth, where a tee shot is hit over a sand dune into a large valley. Prior to Colt's work, the fourth hole ran parallel to the third and was a par 5 measuring 515 yards. Today, it is one of the most photographed par 3s in the world. And at the ninth hole, Colt lowered the dune near that obscured the ninth green to build a green complex that also ranks among the best par 4s in the world. Another well-known Harry - six-time British Open champion and 1900 U.S. Open winner Harry Vardon - also visited once and advised club officials on some revisions.
Blind man's bluff: Royal County Down is known for several of its blind tee shots, including the second, ninth and 11th holes. A little white stone is placed at the top of each dune, giving the golfer the proper aim off the tee. The most notable of these shots comes at the ninth, where there is a dramatic 60-foot dropoff to the 40-yard wide fairway.
Please don't Mourne: What makes Royal County Down so picturesque is its location to the Mountains of Mourne. In fact, one of the three golf clubs that call Royal County Down home is the Mourne Golf Club.
Special place: Bernard Darwin, one of golf's legendary writers, once said of County Down , "[It's] the kind of golf that people play in their most ecstatic dreams."


USGA State Team Championships
The Club at Carlton Woods,The Woodlands, Texas
Sept. 18-20
www.stateteam.org
Yardage (Fazio Course, men): 7,184 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Yardage (Nicklaus Course, women): 6,154 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Defending champions: Texas (men); Georgia (women)
Opened: 2001 (Nicklaus Course); 2005 (Fazio Course)
Designers: Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio
USGA championships: This will be the first USGA championship for Carlton Woods, but it has been the site for U.S. Open local qualifying and has hosted the Carlton Woods Invitational, an invitation-only event for men mid-amateurs and seniors that began in 2006. The 2004 Texas State Amateur was held on the Nicklaus Course. The Fazio Course hosted local qualifying for the 2006 U.S. Open, while the Nicklaus Course hosted local U.S. Open qualifying in 2002 and '03, and U.S. Mid-Amateur sectional qualifying in 2005. The USGA Men's State Team event is scheduled to be played on the Fazio Course, with the Women's State Team on the Nicklaus Course. Both are 54-hole, stroke-play competitions using a 3-count-2 scoring formula.
Designer notes: Carlton Woods is one of two private country clubs in the U.S. to offer a combination of Fazio/Nicklaus layouts, according to Bill Langley, managing director of The Club at Carlton Woods.
Design features: The Fazio Course features several elevation changes from natural marshes to gently, rolling terrain. It is the first course in the Houston area to be completely grassed with Zoysia. The fairways were sand-capped to expedite drainage. Meanwhile, the Nicklaus Course incorporates deep-faced fairway and greenside bunkering, a variety of flanking and frontal water hazards, sandy waste areas and boldly contoured greens.
Want my autograph?: The club can boast several luminaries on its membership roll, including PGA Tour pros Jeff Maggert and K.J. Choi, and Nationwide Tour member Roland Thatcher. Future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens and Houston Astros manager Phil Garner also are members, while Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench is an honorary member and visits the club often when he's in town.
High acclaim: It didn't take long for the Nicklaus Course to receive praise from the golf media. In 2002, it was named the top new private course in Texas and third best nationally by Golf Digest magazine; the Dallas Morning News recently named it the second best golf course in Texas. Golf Connoisseur magazine rated Carlton Woods among its top 100 private clubs in America (95th). The Nicklaus Course also is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, a program that is supported by the USGA Green Section.
Membership has its privileges: Not only does Carlton Woods feature 36 holes of championship-caliber golf, but it boasts a 53,000-square-foot Italianate-style clubhouse, a state-of-the-art tennis and fitness center, and a full-service spa.


U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship
Desert Forest Golf Club, Carefree, Ariz.
Sept. 29-Oct. 4
www.uswmidam.org
Yardage: 6,209 yards
Par: 37-36-73
Defending champion: Meghan Bolger
Opened: 1962
Designer: Red Lawrence
USGA championships: This will be the second USGA championship at Desert Forest . Jackie Cummings defeated Bobby Clark, 3 and 2, to win the 1990 USGA Senior Amateur. The club has also hosted the Arizona State Amateur and the 2006 Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball Championship was contested at Desert Forest .
Arizona and the Women's Mid-Amateur: This is the second time the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur will be contested in Arizona. The 1991 championship was held at Desert Highlands Golf Club in Scottsdale, where Sarah Lebrun Ingram won one of her three titles.
Design characteristics: The club is set at 2,500 feet above sea level, with fairways that are bordered by native desert vegetation, including the well-known Saguaro cactus. Desert Forest was one of the first courses to be built in the Scottsdale/Carefree area, a region that now boasts a plethora of resorts and courses.
Natural look: Desert Forest was designed with the goal of making the least possible disturbance to the landscape; very little soil was moved in creating the layout. The total cost to construct the course was an amazing $275,000, a far cry from the multi-million dollar ventures that have been created in the last decade in the Valley of the Sun. One unique feature to the course is the lack of asphalt or cement cart paths. Golfers drive carts on the fairways themselves or on simple dirt trails to get from one hole to the next. Another unusual feature of the course is the absence of water hazards and fairway bunkers.
The Leonardo da Vinci of courses: Some have called Red Lawrence's work at Desert Forest his "Mona Lisa." It was one of the first courses in Arizona to incorporate target golf, a formula used today by many area courses because designers and course owners are limited to 90 acres of actual turf due to water restrictions.
Lover of classics: Red Lawrence received his architectural training from Walter Travis and the firm of Howard F. Toomey and William Flynn. Lawrence was also one of the founding members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
Home course advantage: Thuashini Selvaratnam, the 2006 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur runner-up, will have plenty of local knowledge as she is a member at Desert Forest . Carol Semple Thompson is the only player to win this championship on her home course, taking the 1990 event at Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley, Pa.Reigning champion Meghan Bolger of Oxford, Miss., won in her adopted home state.


U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.
Sept. 29-Oct. 4
www.usmidam.org
Yardage (Bandon Dunes): 6,966/6,858 yards
Par: 36-36-72
Yardage second stroke-play course (Bandon Trails): 6,857 yards
Par: 36-35-71  
Defending champion: Dave Womack
Opened: 1999 (Bandon Dunes); 2005 (Bandon Trails)
Designer: David McLay Kidd (Bandon Dunes); Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore (Bandon Trails)
USGA championships: This is the second USGA event for the resort, following the 2006 Curtis Cup. Bandon Dunes also has been the site of the Pacific Coast Amateur and Oregon Amateur. This will be the second U.S. Mid-Amateur held in Oregon, following the 1993 event at Eugene Country Club won by the late Jeff Thomas.
Au natural: Created on rugged, wind-swept land 100 feet above the Pacific Ocean, Bandon Dunes has the look and feel of classic Irish and Scottish links courses. Some have likened Bandon Dunes to that of Ballybunion, a well-known links layout in southwestern Ireland. The course is completely natural and routed through an environment of indigenous vegetation. Ocean views can be found from virtually every portion of the course. Bandon Trails, on the other hand, is a bit more diverse as it starts and finishes near the ocean but runs through a picturesque forest of incredible trees and vegetation. Bandon Trails has a completely different look than Bandon Dunes, which should provide different challenges for the 264 competitors.
Risk and rewards: The USGA's setup at Bandon Dunes will feature varying distances on six holes depending on wind and playing conditions. The first hole could play 375 or 386 yards, while the par-3 sixth (178 yards) could be extended to 218 yards. The par-4 11th has the biggest variable, going from 384 to 452 yards. The others are the par-4 14th (347/390), the par-3 15th (131/163) and the par-4 16th (305/363), which could be one of the prettiest on the course, a dogleg-right that hugs the coastline. In addition, a new tee has been built on the sixth at Bandon Trails that can extend the hole to 435 yards.
Designer notes: Resort owner Mike Keiser wanted a facility true to the Scottish tradition, which Kidd interpreted as no real estate, no golf carts and no clubhouse on the beach. So that's what Kidd strived for when creating Bandon Dunes. As Kidd said, "The course had to provide not only a challenge to every skill level, but also a sense of adventure and an exploration of this great landscape." The fairways and green complexes are large as compared to some American classics, but the shrewd player will locate the proper angles to attack. And with wind being the course's biggest defense, learning to play the ground game is essential to scoring well.
Walk this way: Unlike a lot of other American resorts, golfers are required to hoof it on the courses at Bandon Dunes Resort. Golf carts are not allowed unless the player has a legitimate medical excuse, but the resort does feature a deep caddie program.
Quotable: "Probably the finest land made available for a golf course in America since Alistair Mackenzie was shown the site for Cypress Point Club on Monterey Peninsula..." - Golf Magazine