Bad News, Memorial Contestants: You're Stuck With No. 16!

There isn't much to quibble with at Muirfield Village and the Memorial, one of the premier tournaments in the world and a model for sporting event operations. The magnificently conditioned course only adds to its allure, but if there was one quibble for this first time visitor to the Memorial, it's that, uh, well, peculiarly-designed 16th green as redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 2010 and debuted in 2011.

It just doesn't fit with the rest, nor does No. 16 come close to working from the angle in question, no matter what wind is blowing.

As I noted in a video earlier this week, the hole looks like a fun, enticing but still-scary from a distance approximately 40 yards shorter and 40 yards right of the current tees, though a total green redo would not be the worst thing to happen either.

But after this shot for the ages by Tiger Woods, I'm having a hard time seeing Mr. Nicklaus bulldozing his redo.

So sorry boys! You're stuck with it!

Check out this ShotLink scatter chart screen grab of the 16th green tee shots from round 4. The hole finished as the toughest for the week. It was virtually impossible to hit a shot close.

Mr. Nicklaus was asked about No. 16 after the round and a funny exchange broke out involving Tiger and Jon Brendle of the tour staff:

Q.  Jack, you redesigned 16 to put a little more excitement into the tournament.  How do you think that's worked out?

JACK NICKLAUS:  Well, today‑‑ we had wind all week.  The first day wasn't bad.  The pin was tucked in the first pin placement the first day.  But today, I don't think the field staff‑‑ I think the field staff got caught a little bit.  They were forecasting for a southwest wind, we had a northwest wind, and with the northwest wind that back pin placement from the back tee was really tough.  That wasn't what I had in mind to be very honest with you.  That green with a southwest wind funnels right down the green, meaning that if you're standing back there on the tee and you hit it, you're going to be buffeted slightly from the right and it should turn the ball.  The old green went this way, this green goes this way, so it should feed it to the green.

But when you've got a strong left to right, don't put the pin in the back left, please.  It just made it so the guys couldn't play it.  Not many guys did, they really just needed to put the ball in the middle of the green there if they could and then try to make a two‑putt.  But guys kept trying to force it back there and they kept going to the back of the green or going in the back bunker and it was tough.

TIGER WOODS:  Oh, really?

JACK NICKLAUS:  It was tough.  It was tough.  I'm glad I didn't have to play my own hole.
That's probably right, isn't it, Jon?

JON BRENDLE:  You guys were forecasting southwest.  I don't know.  We wanted to play it tough for you.

JACK NICKLAUS:  No, I don't want you to play it right for me.  I want you to play it right.

JON BRENDLE:  We knew it was going to be tough all day.

JACK NICKLAUS:  That's your call, not my call.  Jon and I talked during the week, we had five pin placements, you didn't use the back right.  You could've used back right today probably with the way the wind was.

JON BRENDLE:  I thought it was more fair back right.

JACK NICKLAUS:  Boy, you're mean.

TIGER WOODS:  I made 2.  (Laughter.)

JACK NICKLAUS:  Yeah, he made 2.  The little pin placement on the right he made 2, also.  You played that hole a couple under?

TIGER WOODS:  I did play it a couple under.

JACK NICKLAUS:  So what's so tough about it?  Isn't the hole supposed to separate you?

TIGER WOODS:  Here we go.