Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
June 17, 2010, Washington Post

U.S. Open: In sports such as golf, the course can play a big role

The United States Open begins today. The tournament, which is one of golf's four major titles (the Masters, British Open and PGA Championship are the others), will be played at the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.

Pebble Beach is one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world. Many of the course's 18 holes run along the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes it seems as if the ocean's wind, rocks and surf are part of the course.

Golf is an interesting game because no two golf courses are alike. For example, this year's British Open will be played at the St. Andrews golf course in Scotland, said to be the oldest golf course in the world (it is estimated to be 600 years old). With its huge greens, hidden bumps and bunkers, St. Andrews doesn't look or play anything like Pebble Beach.

In most sports, the playing field stays the same. The World Cup soccer tournament has been super exciting. But one soccer field in South Africa looks pretty much like any other.

A National Football League field is 360 feet (120 yards) long (with 10 yards for each of the end zones) and 160 feet wide. A basketball rim is 10 feet off the floor. Some of these games may be different because of the home crowd cheering for their favorite team, but the playing field will be the same wherever you play.

I think games where the playing field changes are fun. Every baseball park is a bit different. A long fly ball that is a home run in Baltimore's Camden Yards may bounce off the 37-foot-high left field fence in Boston's Fenway Park or tangle up in the ivy-covered walls at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Tennis courts are the same size but can be very different because of the surface. Grass courts are the fastest and hardest to play because the ball bounces so low. Clay courts are much slower, and the ball bounces high. Synthetic courts are somewhere in between.

Every ski slope is different. No two marathon courses are exactly alike. With all their twists and turns, every motocross or Grand Prix race is different. Part of the fun and challenge of those sports is to adjust to the new playing field.

So even if you are not a big golf fan, be sure you watch the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach this weekend. The best players in the world, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and foreign champions including Ernie Els (South Africa) and Padraig Harrington (Ireland), will be playing.

But the real star will be the golf course.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is the author of 14 books for kids.

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