If you need the background, let’s start here.
The 5 best parts of Gary Player’s letter roasting the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Again.
The Black Knight responds in kind to a recent interview with Robert Trent Jones critiquing his 2-year-old rant on the U.S. Open venue.
Two years ago, Gary Player appeared on Golf Channel on an otherwise peaceful morning before the action really got started on the weekend at the 2015 U.S. Open. He proceeded to set a flamethrower (which may be putting it too mildly) to Chambers Bay, the venue that year. He crushed the design, the architect, the conditioning, and the USGA’s setup of the course. Nothing was safe and it became one of the great “Player-as-a-wrestling-heel” moments in a lifetime full of them. The deconstruction endured through the years as one of the more memorable TV moments during a week full of course controversies in the Pacific Northwest. Some moments from that interview:
- “This has been the most unpleasant golf tournament I’ve seen in my life.”
- “The man who designed this golf course must have had one leg shorter than the other.”
- “It’s actually a tragedy.”
- “There have never been so many people that missed the cut that are so happy to go home.”
- “This is not indigenous to American golf.”
- A request to hook the broadcasters up to a lie detector to see what they really think.
But while those of us who saw it would never forget, the matter had receded. It had come and gone. It was two years ago!
Then Robert Trent Jones Jr., the course architect of Chambers Bay, did an interview with Golf Digest recently and brought the memorable critique back up, taking a couple shots at Player in the process. Jones called Player a “showboater” and said the Hall of Famer had avoided him when they were in the same place last year in England. And then Jones recounted a meeting where Player approached him and apologized at the Olympics in August.
Well, that Jones discussion with Golf Digest got Player’s attention and as a kick off to U.S. Open week, he delivered this document in response.
It’s a historical document, a letter that belongs in a museum. It is peak Player from start to finish and should be appreciated throughout. It stole the show on Monday afternoon of a major week. Here are my five favorite things, subtle or otherwise, about this newest Player experience.
The Tweet
Player tees up the forthcoming flaming with “My very best to the all the players, fans and the USGA as the golf world comes to Erin Hills for the year’s 2nd Major.” Such a nice and benign sentiment. What could be the image attached to it? A nice landscape picture of Erin Hills? Uh, not quite. A letter for your consideration!
The Subject Line
I realize “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie” is a reference to Jones bringing the years-old contretemps back up in a recent interview. But titling the document that and then spending several paragraphs spraying lighter fluid on the flames seems at odds with the subject line.
The History Reminder
In case you forgot, and no one has, only five players have ever won the career Grand Slam in golf. GP is one of them. “The only other golfers in this club are Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.” This may or may not be related to the matter at hand.
Whilst ...
All Gary wants is just for Jones to come to peace with what happened, but not before dropping this in front of it.
“Whilst he seems to be suffering from either amnesia or senility ...”
Using “whilst” is a nice touch. I don’t think a reconciliation between these two is coming anytime soon.
Mandela
Somehow, Nelson Mandela gets crowbarred into this course architecture fight. I think The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis probably put it best:
Golf is too genteel a sport. When we can get disputes and sh**-talking, that’s good. It does not matter that it comes from an 81-year-old legend who won’t actually be playing this week. This is grand entertainment and we’re just thrilled to get the U.S. Open started with such a document.
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