USGA Public Links Conditions A Tough Test

On the 17th tee yesterday at the United States Golf Association’s Public Links Championship I overheard a player talking about his leg cramps.  The course is extremely hilly.  I know because I’ve been walking up and down it myself.  The elevation change at Soldier Hollow makes Augusta National look like a flat Florida course.

The player was dying for a beverage and came up with a very descriptive quote for how thirsty he was:

“If I had it, I’d drink hot mustard right now.”

USGA Public Links Championship

108 degrees at 5pm on the 18th tee. Click to zoom or see more images from the 2012 87th USGA Public Links Championship

Indeed conditions are tough here.  The sign above shows the temp at 108 on the 18th tee at 5PM.  I suspect that temp is a little on the high side, but even if it is off by 5-10 degrees it is still damn hot.

Ironic

At the end of the day yesterday I was heading into the media center to post some photos and do some writing.  I caught this ironic combination of sign and temperature gauge on the wall.  The temperature had dropped to a balmy 93 at around 6PM.

USGA Public Links Conditions

93 degrees at 6PM. Notice the humidity. Ironic sign… click to zoom

Why the ice/snow sign? Soldier Hollow Golf Course is right next to the cross country skiing area from the 2002 winter Olympics.

About Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru

Tony Korologos is one of golf's original bloggers, covering golf since 2004. Also known as "MediaGuru," Tony is one of the internet's top experts in golf social media and golf social networking. Tony is also apparently very good at writing about himself in the third person... :-)