Merion Has Gone To The Mats

Joe Logan on the decidedly #FirstWorldProblem of Merion members who have been asked to hit fairway shots off of mats for "divot control" in advance of next year's U.S. Open.

He quotes Merion green chairman Bob Rex.

Are members fuming over the inconvenience?  "There has been zero push back," said Rex.

"It’s not the least bit controversial," confirmed the other Merion member. "You have to understand that Merion has a culture that we are a club that hosts major championships and in doing so, you have to make some sacrifices."

This surprised me...

Merion is not the first club to use the fairway mats in preparation for a U.S. Open – they were used prior to the two most recent Opens, at The Olympic Club in San Francisco in June and before that at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

It's always funny how members don't want players to torch their courses with low scores, yet go to these maintenance lengths to ensure that low scores are possible!