KEY POINTS:
Only the disciplined will prosper at this week's Open, says New Zealand hope Michael Long.
After finishing 24th equal and the best-performing New Zealander at last week's Australian Masters in Melbourne, Long has no issues with his form but is wary of the challenges provided by a course featuring numerous elevation switches.
Marked elevation changes, from the tees and approaching the greens, sweeping dog-legs featuring heavy bunkering and ample rough will make The Hills a true test, one which will be magnified if forecasted southerly winds hit town today.
Long, 39, who has decided to quit the second tier Nationwide Tour in the United States and again base himself in Perth, said wind alone held few fears. But coupled with the particular nuances of the course any gusts would put a premium on a player's concentration.
"You grow up with the wind in New Zealand and you learn to play in it. The wind holds no fears for me. If you've got a good short game you can handle it," the 1996 New Zealand Open champion said.
"Any wind will make it tough, though. On some of the fairways you have to take on bunkers but you don't have a lot of room to pull it up before the rough. And with the greens quite firm you really want to hit as many fairways as possible.
"It will take a fairly disciplined player to get around to keep it in play and under control."
Long, who is now content to play the Australasian circuit, and the secondary Von Nida Tour across the Tasman, said that strategy would play a big part, with placement off the tee particularly important.
"It's not a course where you can just blast away, otherwise you'll leave yourself on the wrong side with the wrong angles coming into the greens.
"With the first bounce into the greens being so firm it will be really tough to make birdies, let alone pars, because some of the greens are so slopey. It's the sort of course where you have to be strategic in playing your way around.
"If things don't start out so well you'll just have to stay patient and try to make the most of the round before starting out the next day."
A reasonably gentle start on the opening three holes can lull players into thinking they should be in for a relatively easy day.
But, said Long, "the course then grows teeth and every hole has its different challenges".
- NZPA
