Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle recently interviewed Robert Trent Jones Jr., getting his thoughts on the upcoming U.S. Open, on trends in golf course architecture, and on how the game is keeping up with technology.

According to the article, the 2010 U.S. Open has personal significance for Jones because it marks the tenth anniversary of his father’s passing, with whom Jones was very close. The approaching U.S. Open will be held at Pebble Beach, which is a shorter course with smaller greens than recent U.S. Open venues. Jones points out that although the course is shorter, it boasts other elements of defense: narrowness, tough rough, deep and numerous bunkers, and others.

Jones also comments on the technological advances in the game, particularly with golf balls and grooves in irons, and how such advances seem to continually force courses to be lengthened. While he doesn’t believe it will be possible to scale the ball back, Jones does feel that addressing the grooves in irons is a step in the right direction, saying, “It’s trying to put skill back into the striking of the ball.”

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