Video: The Mood For Merion, 1st Hole Flyover

To kick off the countdown to Merion and the 2013 U.S. Open, I'll be posting one flyover a day of the holes and offering some analysis right up to the Sunday prior to tournament week.

The 350-yard par-4 first features the unusual look of a sizeable swath of rough between fairway edge and fairway bunkers, which hasn't been necessary to this extent in previous U.S. Opens at Merion. The contours all hug the bunkers nicely on the last 80 or so yards of this legendary opener that has often listed as one of the game's great opening holes. However, I wonder if that has to do more with the setting, where it'll be as much fun watching to see if anyone pulls out driver as it will be looking to see who gets the coveted patio seats closely abutting the first tee.

In the June, 2013 Golf Digest, Lee Trevino's My Shot features extensive discussion of the infamous first tee snake moment from the 1971 U.S. Open. And thanks to YouTube, we can watch it: