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:

Merion Has An Infestation Problem!

You might recall that the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners is not too thrilled with the USGA for using out-of-state workers to erect the 2013 U.S. Open corporate chalets and the Trophy Wives Club.

Now it seems the Brotherhood has taken their protest up a notch, setting up this inflatable rat along Haverford Road at the entrance to the Haverford College entrance. Reader AF drove by today and snapped these photos.

Mary Lou, any chance we could get a smaller version of these in the merchandise tent? Maybe wearing a Merion-logoed sweater vest? You know, for the kids. Just typing out loud here...

Note To U.S. Open Visitors: The Art of Golf Comes To PMOA

Joe Logan alerts us to the great news that the Art of Golf traveling exhibit will be up through July 7 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Best of all, it's a great chance to see a masterpiece:

The centerpiece of the collection is perhaps the most famous painting in the history of golf.   Titled "The Golfers," the 7-foot wide canvas, rendered in 1847 by Scotsman Charles Lees,  is set on the Old Course in St. Andrews and depicts a crucial moment in match between Sir David Baird and Sir Ralph Anstruther and  Sir Hugh Playfair and John Campbell.

Here's a nice YouTube video with some insights into the exhibit, a nice curator breakdown of "The Golfers" and some info on planned for U.S. Open tie-ins, including evening events all week which might make visiting during those evenings difficult.

Looking Ahead To Merion

Mark Wogenrich of The Morning Call has an update on the efforts to prepare for the U.S. Open at Merion next year and it sounds, well, complicated. But hey, the corporate hospitality will be close to the course while the players and media are a mile away. Hope everyone soaked up the ease of Olympic Club!

To address capacity problems, the USGA has capped attendance at 25,000 spectators daily. It also will build grandstands to accommodate 17,000 of those fans across the property, hoping people fill those seats to alleviate course crowding.

In addition, the East Course's focus will be almost exclusively on golf. Merchandise, concessions and restrooms will be located on the course's perimeter. Players' locker rooms and practice facilities will be located on the West Course, with shuttles running the mile in between.

"Normally, we try to put facilities in locations where we expect spectators to be," Jones said. "At Merion, it's going to be the opposite. We're putting spectator services on the edges, where we can."

Corporate hospitality, which is being operated by the Bethlehem-based MSG Promotions, will be located at Haverford College and on Golf House Road, which runs along the East Course's back nine. Bridges will be constructed from Haverford to the championship site, and corporate tents will take over some grounds of the posh neighborhood.

“Working with the USGA can be a challenge – some of their ideas don’t exactly dovetail with ours, particularly from a financial standpoint"

Accepting the 2011 Mustang Scholars Foundation Man of the Year award, Merion president Rick Ill, talked about working with the USGA on the 2013 U.S. Open.

“Working with the USGA can be a challenge – some of their ideas don’t exactly dovetail with ours, particularly from a financial standpoint, because we have to careful how much it costs us [at Merion],” said Ill. “They have certain financial desires, and so do we. But I think the membership of Merion is very supportive of having USGA events here.

I thought the USGA was going to accept that 2013 would be a loser financially, but I guess they are trying to minimize the damage? Sounds fun!