It's sometimes the case in professional sport that you have players or managers blaming the playing surface, and as a consequence the turf professional charged with maintaining said surface, after the fact if things haven't gone their way.

The grass was too short or too long, there was too much or not enough water on it, it was too hard or too soft etc.

But it's not that often that players so publicly criticise the work of turf professionals before the competition has even begun - as was the case last week at Erin Hills before the U.S Open got underway, with the controversy surrounding the length of the rough areas.

Take the case of American player, Kevin Na who was particularly scathing about the set-up produced by the greenkeeping team.

He took to his Instagram account before the tournament began last week, posting a video showing himself taking two swings at his ball in the rough, barely moving it, before adding: "Why can't we have a lot of the past US Open winners get together and set up a major? I'd like to see that happen."

You can watch him complaining below:

To be fair Rory McIlroy called him, and the other dissenting voices, out, with the BBC quoting him before the competition got underway as saying, "You've got 156 of the best players in the world here. If we can't hit within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home."

However the rough was indeed cut following the comments, with four holes attended to at Erin Hills on Tuesday last week.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) said the decision was "based on weather" and not player feedback. Fescue was cut from holes 4, 12, 14 and 18

McIlroy went on to suggest to reporters that the width of the fairways at the Wisconsin course made the thickness of the rough a fair hazard, the BBC reported.

"We have 60 yards from the left line (of the fairway) to the right," Rory said.

"These are the widest fairways we've ever played in a US Open. Even the first and second cut is another 10 yards on top of that.

"I get that it's thick and whatever, but it's a hazard. It's a US Open, it's supposed to be a tough test. And if guys can't put it into play within a 50-yard zone I don't think they've got much to complain about."

Which seems like a pretty fair comment!

For a thorough analysis of how the rough faired across the competition this weekend though, can I recommend reading an article by Mike Stachura on Golfworld entitled, 'Rough Estimate: The real effects of Erin Hills' tall grass'.

Mike gives a balanced analysis, backed with detailed statistics of 'cost of rough' shot penalties, of the past few days which resulted in "a near record number of under-par scores in U.S. Open history." However he goes on to point out that that doesn't mean the rough was a pushover by any means. The rough penalty was actually up from where it usually averages between .45 and .55 of a stroke, to around .601.

Have a look at the article, it makes for a fascinating read. Hopefully some players who were suddenly experts in greenkeeping might also happen across it and appreciate the science and detailed analysis which goes into course preparation.