The USGA watered Shinnecock’s greens before R1 and kept them that way through Round 2. On a course built to punish, the greens were playing softer and slower than they do for club members on a regular Tuesday. That decision is what has been tearing into the governing body as the weekend approaches. Rickie Fowler’s fan account took to X to call it out, leading to more fans chiming in.

“You have failed us,” they wrote, addressing the USGA. “This setup is absolutely awful. Pins right in the middle of the greens for the 2nd straight day. Watering the greens in between waves out of a panic that it would be too windy and the players couldn’t handle it. Not making the greens faster once again out of panic that it’s going to be windy tomorrow. This is a US OPEN… it’s not all about pleasing the players with a setup that favors them. This is the 1 week of the year they should be challenged to the max.”

When a golf course’s greens are watered, two things happen. The surface softens, meaning approach shots land and stop rather than bounce and run through. The greens slow down because grass moisture creates putt-stopping resistance. At Shinnecock, where firm, fast greens are the challenge, watering them takes away the competitive edge.

Now, golfers can attack pins without consequence, and putts that should be sprinting away become manageable. That is what the USGA handed the field this week, and that is exactly what fans are pushing back against. Even golf analyst Riggs echoed the same.

He wrote on X, “Alright @USGA, that was cute; now let’s cut the water to the Southampton Classic here and turn Shinnecock back into the United States Open Championship, please.”

Meanwhile, Rick Golfs added context that stung even more: “This green plays twice as firm for the members on a typical Tuesday. 77-year-old retired guys play a tougher hole than the best players on earth.”

The USGA’s reasoning came from official John Bodenhamer in a Golf Channel interview. With Saturday’s forecast bringing gusts back into the 30s and humidity dropping sharply, he said the USGA was managing the course across a three-day window rather than round by round.

“This place, like no other I’ve ever been, dries down incredibly quickly,” John said.

Saturday’s conditions dictate the conservative approach, but this explanation has not satisfied many.

Tron Carter, a golf fan, wrote on X, “Cautiously pessimistic about what we’ll see tomorrow. Hoping they don’t water the greens at all overnight and then syringe like crazy midday. Make it right. Reward responsible citizens. And then I want heat lamps and blow-dryers on them all night into Saturday. Have some pride.”

Shinnecock has been here before. In 2004, the USGA cut water to the course after comfortable early scores. By Sunday, the greens were unplayable. Officials waffled between groups, a first in major history.

“It was a great deal embarrassing,” said former USGA executive director Frank Hannigan. Most of the field could not break 80. Only Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson finished under par.

The setup was not the only thing drawing scrutiny at Shinnecock. On Thursday, Joaquin Niemann was assessed two penalty strokes under the USGA’s newly introduced Code of Conduct policy after throwing a club on the par-4 sixth hole during the opening round, finishing with a quintuple bogey nine that became an 11. Niemann was the first player penalised under the rule.

The USGA has now landed at the other extreme, and the critics say this version of Shinnecock does not look like a U.S. Open at all.

Fans Pile On as USGA Takes Heat Online

“Such an embarrassment,” one fan wrote.

It captured the mood of those who felt a course with Shinnecock’s reputation had been reduced to something unrecognizable for a major championship.

One fan did push back, writing, “This take is so stupid; you have to keep the course the same for the AM/PM Thursday/Friday fairness. The fact you don’t realize this is insane.”

“Yes, please. That was disgraceful,” another commented, backing the push to let Shinnecock dry out and restore the challenge that William Flynn built in 1931 on sandy, wind-exposed terrain between Peconic Bay and the Atlantic.

“This looks more like an Open Championship set-up. Did the British win the war? I don’t think so,” a fan wrote sarcastically.

“It’s amazing how the US Open totally misunderstands its brand,” read another reaction.

The U.S. Open built its identity on difficulty. Soft greens and center pins at Shinnecock are not a weather management decision to many watching. They are a contradiction of everything the tournament is supposed to stand for.