Will shorter courses that qualify as national treasures ever see a U.S. Open again?

The Forecaddie loves a short walk, but even your intrepid Man Out Front knows some courses – regardless of pedigree or architectural chops – just can’t handle a modern U.S. Open.

The U.S. Golf Association needs room for parking, hospitality tents, grandstands. … the list goes on and on when you expect to handle a couple hundred thousand fans during the week. Not to mention the 7,000-plus yards needed to handle the best players in the world. Those 500-yard par 4s chew up a lot of space.

The USGA and R&A released in February their combined Distance Insights Report, which didn’t lay out specific plans on how the ruling bodies plan to curtail the distances golf balls fly, especially at the elite level. But the report certainly reads as a call to action. However, the next steps in the process are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Golf courses have grown longer and longer over the past 125 years since the first U.S. Open in 1895, played across a wee 5,510 yards for two loops around the nine holes at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. The winner, Horace Rawlins, surely would be slack-jawed by modern distance, with Erin Hills measuring 7,845 for the first round in 2017.

And in an age of 330-plus yard drives, plenty of masterful designs are left wanting of a few hundred more yards when it comes to U.S. Open consideration.

Myopia Hunt Club near Boston, for instance, hosted four early U.S. Opens, with its last in 1908. Without even considering other mitigating factors, the current 6,539-yard layout by Herbert Leeds (with a renovation by Gil Hanse) is simply too short to host a modern Open, let alone many other premier USGA championships. Myopia may be a dream course for architecture geeks and ranks No. 34 in Golfweek’s Best ranking of classic courses, but don’t bet on seeing it on any potential lists for upcoming venues.

St. Louis Country Club, a C.B. Macdonald gem ranked No. 52 on Golfweek’s Best classic list, hosted the 1947 U.S. Open but is a definite “no” today based solely on its 6,625 yards.

Inverness (No. 47 Classic) challenged Walter Hagen in 1920 and 1931, Arnold Palmer in 1957 and Jack Nicklaus in 1979, but would be unable to contain Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and the like today. Cherry Hills (No. 89 Classic) hosted U.S. Opens in 1938, 1960 and 1978, with no player breaking 280, yet saw record scoring (266 by Billy Horschel) at the BMW Championship in 2014.

Without laying out any defined plan to curtail distance, the ruling bodies’ report did mention two possibilities: rolling back equipment standards across the board, or a local rule for gear that better contains elite players only – essentially bifurcation.

There’s no telling what’s to come, or if shorter courses that easily qualify as national treasures will ever see a U.S. Open.

The Man Out Front will keep his eye on the ball.

U.S. Open distances over the years

* Two loops around the nine-hole course
** The 2020 U.S. Open is scheduled for June but that is subject to change.