Could a wind-blown US Open get out of control? There is a plan to prevent that
SOUTHAMPTON, NY – The last time the US Open started in these parts, in 2018, Zach Johnson uttered a line that became the talk of golf on Twitter: “They lost the golf course.” Johnson was referring, sadly, to the USGA stewards of the Shinnecock Hills greens, which ended a dry and windy Saturday rather than a hot pita.
Eight years later, the Open is back, and with a forecast that would make the previous edition look like, well… it’s hitting hard.
“Thursday, strong winds all day from the 12th to the 24th,” said John Bodenhamer, chief tournament officer of the USGA, at a press conference on Wednesday, referring to the gloomy details as a weatherman on the evening news. “Something above that is winds from 24 to 36 kilometers per hour. When we start talking about numbers in the 30s, that becomes problematic in many ways.
Some USGA models, Bodenhamer said, show Thursday’s northerly winds. 40 miles per hour. (“We’re hoping that doesn’t happen,” he said.) Friday brings some relief — of sorts — in the form of sustained winds of 8 to 16 mph with gusts in the upper 20s. Saturday should also be mild but have a three-hour window in the afternoon when winds could drop back into the 30s. “Sunday will be a little quieter,” Bodenhamer said.
Fighting the elements is, of course, a fundamental element of golf’s challenge, but when those elements threaten to change the playing field from the “Twister,” tournament officials need to take preventive measures. Bodenhamer said he and his team began changing their setup plan last Friday, when the forecast changed for the worse — or, at least, the wind.
Among the tactical changes: liberally watering the course; reducing vegetables (taking from 11.5 or 12 on the Stimpmeter up to 10.5); and choosing areas with holes, Bodenhamer said, “will answer the wind but it will also give us a very good opportunity to be able to play in those types of winds.”
The USGA also has another, less frequently employed, up its blazer sleeve: syringing.
The procedure sounds like something that could happen in the OR but, in fact, it’s a fancy word for spritzing. Here’s how Michigan State’s Turfgrass Information Center describes it: “The spraying of low-water turf with the purpose of (i) depleting stored energy and cooling the leaves by evaporation of surface water, (ii) preventing or correcting leaf water deficits, especially wilting, and (iii) removing dew, frost and/or sun exposure.”
Bodenhamer put the process in easy-to-digest terms: “Think of it like when you walk into the grocery store and you go to the produce department and you reach for that head of lettuce and that little mist comes up and hits your hand. That’s all we do in putting greens. It doesn’t affect play. It hydrates the leaf, it keeps it cool enough. in putting greens.”
The 2026 Great Shinnecock Syringing will take place between the morning and afternoon tides on Thursday and Friday. To allow time for the team to do their thing, the USGA starts play for the first two rounds at 6:35 am, which is 10 minutes before the first team tees off at the US Open.
If all goes according to plan, Bodenhamer said, the USGA will deliver a “consistent playing presentation in both morning and afternoon waves both days. It will be consistent throughout both days, which we think improves competitive balance.”
Bodenhamer added that injecting on Thursday and Friday would keep the leaves healthy for the weekend – and possibly avoid some potential course losses.
