I've had a couple of people ask what I thought of the US Open, specifically the greens. First of all, the greens are not a reflection of the superintendent and staff. They did just what USGA wanted. I worked a year on the Old Course at St. Andrews and have an appreciation for fine fescue greens. And while Poa annua grows all over the world, it isn't as much a challenge in Scotland with their well drained and dense fescue greens. In the Pacific Northwest it is more of a challenge. The problem is, the 2 different grasses have very different growth habits. Creeping red fescue tends to be a thin bladed turf, lays over and less dense compared to Poa. Poa is very dense with more leaf blades per square inch than any other grass. It's growth habit is very upright. A solid stand of Poa annua is the best putting surface. Period. Mix it with fescues and it would be a very poor quality surface. It blends in well in our greens because Penn A4 bentgrass has a very similar growth habit to Poa annua. So to sum it up, Poa is not a bad thing. A uniform stand or a stable mix can be the best surface. Mix it with not so similar turf and the surface will be bumpy. While I enjoyed the last couple USGA venues and appreciate what they are trying to do, I am ready for the old school 6" rough and super fast greens version of the US Open. Oakmont, a course I spent 2 years at, surely won't dissappoint in 2016.