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Ran Morrissett

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Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« on: June 11, 2011, 09:13:29 AM »
Much has been made of Coore & Crenshaw's work on Pinehurst No.2 within this Discussion Group, all of it complimentary. My brother John sagely suggests that, 'Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid is that, to someone who has not seen it before, the course does not look as though it just underwent significant work.' Ace player David Eger wrote to me 90 days ago and I am sharing it here with his permission:

Played No. 2 last Friday. Excellent ...distinguished look from tees thanks to some new bunkers (#4, 7, 9, 14 & 16) and the elimination of a few such as the one on the right of #10.  Fairways are wider because there's no grass "rough."  The narrow fairways diminished the course for the '99 & '05 U.S. Opens.  Greens were resodded with A1 & A4 combination after C & C lowered each green two inches after removing thatch.  Some slight green contour changes reduced/removed where bunker sand build up had raised too much (#2, 7, 17, etc.). New back right section on #15 green gives that green a needed additional hole location. New tees on #'s 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14) make it perfect for the '14 Men's Open.  I commend Dedman and the Resort for the courage to do it.

I moved from Sydney to Southern Pines in June, 2000 and from then until March, 2011, I only played No. 2 four times. Since re-opening, I have been around it the same number of times because the course has roared back to its glory days. Telling to me is just how handsome its new GolfClubAtlas.com profile looks. Previously, No.2 was a sea of green, impossible to photograph, and though people understood that the greens made the course special/unique, they frequently had difficulty remembering individual holes right after playing the course. That's no longer true. Skim through the photos and you'll see a string of distinctive holes with none reminding you of the other.

Some of its holes (the first, second, third, fifth, thirteenth, fourteenth and sixteenth) might make my Pat Ward Thomas version of a world eighteen list. Just as interesting are its worst holes, whatever they may be. Pick three. What would they be? Certainly NOT the eleventh and twelfth where Ross got so much out of so little. Maybe the fourth, seventh, and fifteenth? If so, think of how much better those three are than the worst three at Dornoch or Pebble or Portrush or virtually any course with the possible exceptions of Oakmont, NGLA, Merion and Pine Valley.

Crowned greens make No.2 a brute competitor under the Morrissett hole by hole match play format. How to describe them? The best way I know how involves my dining room table. Like yours and like the putting surfaces at No.2, its top is several feet above the surrounding ground. Recently, I had two large pizzas on it whose wafting aroma sent my puppy into an agitated state. Before anyone sat down, she got a running start, leaped on a chair at the table's side and then proudly bounded on top. What fleeting glory she must have felt as she was so close to victory (!) but her momentum was a bit much and she slid through the spacing between the two pizzas and off the other side. No pizzas or dog were hurt. That's the crowned greens at Pinehurst! Start missing them to the sides and/or in the wrong places based on the day's hole location and you will be coming back at a relatively narrow target with no guarantee of staying on top. This is especially true when they are at peak firmness which they certainly will be for a two week stretch in June, 2014. Thanks to these greens, the course provides an engaging test without having to be tricked up, which may make it the ultimate U.S. Open venue. Congressional (rolling topography, thick rough, narrow fairways, traditional parkland greens) and No. 2  (more modest undulations, plethora of short grass, interesting playing angles, crowned greens) couldn't be more different as host to the same event.

Yet, these most famous of all American greens (with the possible exception of Augusta National's) didn't even take shape until they were grassed by Ross in 1935 when No. 2 was already in its fourth decade of existence. Look at the 1920s aerial photograph below looking down the 1st and 2nd playing corridors. Gone are the small sand greens but back is the sandy terrain that was so ably restored by Coore & Crenshaw.




Pinehurst drips with history. One of my favorite photographs is this one of Jones giving an exhibition during the grand re-opening of No. 2 in 1935 after Ross's extensive work. Ross himself is seen peering intently to the left and up from Jones.



That was a great day in the course's history as was March 4th 2011 when No.2 re-opened for play. See what you think!

Cheers,
« Last Edit: June 11, 2011, 09:23:50 AM by Ran Morrissett »

Mac Plumart

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2011, 11:54:53 AM »
Great job Ran!
Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

Mark Bourgeois

Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2011, 01:51:49 PM »
Whoa! Word on the street was C&C weren't allowed to touch the greens.

My second-favorite course in the world and my favorite walk in golf.

Okay, I'm coming down. Who's in?

"Pitiful golf state" indeed, GMBF...

PS Shout out to C Disher.

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2011, 03:28:34 PM »
Did you intentionally leave out hole 15, Ran? It seems strange that you would feature the other 17 holes and not that one.
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Scott Warren

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2011, 05:43:18 PM »
Ran,

Quote
Crowned greens make No.2 a brute competitor under the Morrissett hole by hole match play format. How to describe them? The best way I know how involves my dining room table. Like yours and like the putting surfaces at No.2, its top is several feet above the surrounding ground. Recently, I had two large pizzas on it whose wafting aroma sent my puppy into an agitated state. Before anyone sat down, she got a running start, leaped on a chair at the table's side and then proudly bounded on top. What fleeting glory she must have felt as she was so close to victory (!) but her momentum was a bit much and she slid through the spacing between the two pizzas and off the other side. No pizzas or dog were hurt. That's the crowned greens at Pinehurst!

Brilliant! ;D

William_G

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2011, 10:14:12 AM »
Having played there, the comment of not remembering holes is the best assessment of the pre-C&C course, and left me wondering why it was such a revered place. Wall to wall bermuda is not very interesting regardless of the greens.

I will play #2 on 11/03/11, thanks.
It's all about the golf!

Tom ORourke

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2011, 02:45:36 PM »
This looks great. A friend of mine is a member and has been excited about the changes since they started. I have one question - where will Mike Davis put the ropes for the Open? There will not be a graduated rough, and I think some of the tee shots hit offline will keep rolling until they hit a footprint. I think we will hear some complaining from guys who hit it crooked.

John Kirk

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2011, 01:05:01 AM »
As always, a wonderful profile.  Thanks for providing these.

PThomas

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #8 on: June 16, 2011, 03:14:04 PM »

 I think we will hear some complaining from guys who hit it crooked.

F*&% em, you are supposed to be penalized if you dont hit it straight
199 played, only Augusta National left to play!

Kris Shreiner

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2011, 10:16:46 PM »
Ran,
Excellent overview by Mr. Eger. Thanks for posting it. The greens being re-done was not on the radar initially. I guess so long as they were in capable hands the Dedman team felt comfortable doing it . Do you have any insights as to what prompted the go-ahead on that? It would seem to make sense, that the sooner the better approach, stands the best chance of having significant time to heal in and establish sound root structure. With the sandy base and slightly longer growing season than Congressional or other Northern tracks have, they should have plenty of time to get the conditions to push and stress them more than this latest U.S. Open.

I still don't see how one of those two 2014 Opens won't have it's best presentation compromised. If the gals are to have great conditions, it just seems hard to believe a fulmonte for the men can be in the cards. So if the USGA gives the guys the full examination, on the greens in particular, that has to impact what the women will contend with condition-wise no? It's only a two week break between events right? Every post-U.S. Open I ever been around...the course was shot for weeks after the curtain dropped.

Cheers,
Kris 8)
"I said in a talk at the Dunhill Tournament in St. Andrews a few years back that I thought any of the caddies I'd had that week would probably make a good golf course architect. We all want to ask golfers of all abilities to get more out of their games -caddies do that for a living." T.Doak

Harwell Palmer

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2011, 11:51:42 AM »
Tournaments are to be played on CONSECUTIVE weeks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4260214

Should make it even tougher and poorer conditions for the women, esp if greens are stressed to the max for the men

Jerry Kluger

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2011, 12:09:29 PM »
Ran: Great writeup - I wonder what speeds the USGA will have the greens at - it seems to me that they cannot approach the 14 -14.5 they usually try for. 

Kyle Henderson

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2011, 04:26:18 PM »
I lived in the Raleigh area for a few month in 2005/2006, and took the opportunity to look at a few holes near the Pinehurst clubhouse (I was too poor at the time to pony up for a round). My impression was that the holes looked fairly bland aside from the greens and a few fairway contours. The restroration seems to have resolved those issues in a visual sense and I expect the coming U.S. Open will demonstrate improved playing interest and strategy as well.

Even in its poorest state, this course never deserved a monicker so demeaning as "Number Two."
"I always knew terrorists hated us for our freedom. Now they love us for our bondage." -- Stephen T. Colbert discusses the popularity of '50 Shades of Grey' at Gitmo

Jerry Kluger

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2011, 08:57:11 AM »
After spending quite a bit of time at Congressional last week I would be curious to see how some of those guys would do at #2.

Matt MacIver

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #14 on: June 27, 2011, 12:49:26 PM »
I played on Friday and indeed there are only two types of playing surface: fairway and hard-pan.  There is plenty of width to find the green stuff most of the day, but do not short-side yourself greenside in the scrub; there is absolutely no margin for error using your lob wedge to hoist it over a bunker and stop on a dime on those firm, crowned greens.  While there are rakes around the greens our caddy said they were all waste bunkers and you could ground your club everywhere. 

All-in I liked the renovation and presentation though I think it plays a little harder for the average player because of the hardpan.

Ran Morrissett

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2011, 01:03:54 PM »
In terms of better understanding Pinehurst's famed greens, the following diagram breaks down one of its very best (the 2nd green) in terms of slope.



A hole can be generally cut on land featuring slope in the 0-3% range and 32.5% of the 2nd green at No.2 falls in that range. If conditions are soft/slow, maybe some in the 3-4% range could be utilized but that's only another 735 square feet. The remainder of the green (57.1%!) features slopes of 4% or greater.

Gravity + today's green speeds + 4% slope = golf ball in motion! I think Sir Isaac Newton penned that but I could be mistaken :)

Other all-world long par fours that end in wicked greens include the 4th at Royal St. George's, the 13th at Prestwick, the 13th at Crystal Down and the 5th at No. 2 but this may be the best of the bunch.  And guess what? Though obviously severe, the green complex looks perfectly at home on the relatively flat land, which is no mean design feat! How did Ross accomplish that with such apparent ease?

Cheers,
« Last Edit: June 27, 2011, 01:06:44 PM by Ran Morrissett »

Steve Kline

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #16 on: June 27, 2011, 03:53:08 PM »
Great graphic Ran!

For those not familiar enough with the course the front of the green is the right side of the picture and the green angles from front left to back right such that the large portion of dark green at the top of the picture is behind the knob of dark green at the right edge of the picture (in other words you better be way left in the fairway - which wasn't possible after the first US Open and prior to the renovation - if you want to have any chance at getting near a pin on the part of the green).

Mike Cirba

Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #17 on: June 27, 2011, 09:11:04 PM »
Wow.

It's going to be interesting to see if that is maintainable, both from an aesthetic and playability standpoint.

Right now, it looks amazing.

John Shimp

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #18 on: June 27, 2011, 10:52:47 PM »
I was there Sunday. My feeling is that it is less maintained than ever which is great.  The formal bu kering is no longer prepared and the mowing is less and simpler. So maintenance should be great.  I do wonder if the hard pan areas will be penal enough?  It is still quite wide and the hard pan is generally easy to play from. North south this wknd willmprovide some insight. 

Matt MacIver

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #19 on: June 28, 2011, 02:12:40 PM »
I do wonder if the hard pan areas will be penal enough?  It is still quite wide and the hard pan is generally easy to play from.

I didn't think the hardpan was too awful bad when hitting a full shot, unless you're up against some wire grass; but greenside hardpan chips were dreadfully hard, at least for me.  They are the type of hazards I will absolutely {try} to steer away from.  More accomplished players will have less difficulty, as well as those with the means to practice it (time and location). 

Chris Buie

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Re: Pinehurst No.2 profile is posted
« Reply #20 on: June 28, 2011, 02:58:51 PM »


I think, perhaps, the above photograph of the 11th hole (from caddybytes.com) may be the best example of how the course wandered astray from how Ross set it up.  To me it looks like it could be just about any place that has longleaf pines - South Carolina, Georgia, lots of places. As you can see, the intriguing playing angles/strategies are gone - but more than that it doesn't evoke the distinctive spirit of Pinehurst. Comparing this photo with the ones in Ran's essay shows how the decisions and efforts made by the Pinehurst and C/C teams were just really so impressive.
So like I was saying, the playability and aesthetics were brilliantly rendered - but what has also happened is that the unique spirit - the sense of place - was what has been restored as well.

There is talk that this project may be a paradigm shift for how American golf courses are set up.  You know the playability aspects of this dramatic return to the earlier perspective (fast/firm, angles, etc) but maybe it's saying to the course in Peoria that you don't have to emulate Augusta.  Each area has it's own native aspects.  Sure, some are more spectacular than others, but never-the-less these areas around the country will have something that recommends themselves.  Maybe try to work a little more hand in hand with the native characteristics of the your area. If you go about bringing those innate characteristics to their highest possible level then you are going to have a very worthy playing field on your hands.  And do you really need more than that?