Winter rates are here, so I play Pinehurst No. 2 every chance I get, including this past Saturday and the weekend before.
What has stood out these past nine days is the intriguing dichotomy between the par 5s and pars 3s. The par 5s (5, 8, 10, 16) from the white tees measure 462, 440, 455, and 478 yards. Even playing them in 45-50f weather, they can be had, though greens like the 5th and 8th produce John Daley-isque temper tantrums.
Conversely, the par 3s (6, 9, 15 and 17) are tough as nails. The same guy talented enough to reach the par 5s in two can easily double each of them (though the 17th is admittedly a notch easier than the three brutes before it).
I find it fascinating, especially because one always follows the other (the par 3 6th follows the par 5 5th, the par 3 9th is sandwiched between the par 5 8th and 10th, the par 3s on the back bookend the par 5 16th, etc.). The alternating prospects between hope and disaster holds great appeal and bizarre things are virtually guaranteed to happen in your group. Birdieing the 5th and then taking one shot more on at the 6th that is 300 yards shorter isn’t an unusual occurrence. Maybe the golfer battles back gamely at the 8th with another birdie only to see his universe implode at the 9th (which Phil H. hilariously dubbed an ‘upturned punchbowl green’ yesterday).
This attribute – which epitomizes give and take course set-up - crystalized as I witnessed firsthand the full gamut of scores. Below are the high and low scores over the 8 holes in question from my two rounds with six different sub-10 handicap golfers:
5 – birdie/double
6 – par/pick up
8 – birdie/ double
9 – par/ pick up
10 – near eagle but a birdie/triple
15 – birdie/double
16 – par/double
17 – par/double
In sum, lots of birdies and doubles and those 8 holes compromise 45% of the course. With such would swings of fortune available, the golfer is encouraged to stay engaged throughout the round. You are hitting in three woods in hopes of getting a birdie or eagle and then getting demolished with a 4-5-6-7 iron in your hand at the one shotters.
Which brings me to the point of the post: which courses in the ~6,300 yard range offer something similar?
The obvious one is Augusta National from the white tees but in the winter months, my limited experience is that the par 5s play much longer than the advertised distances. Reaching 13 and 15 in two is out of the equation and the downhill wedge into 15 is as hard as any 100 yard shot in golf so .... I am not sure that it counts. Royal Melbourne West comes close with its par 5s in providing opportunity but to me, only the 7th screams DOUBLE as loud as the par 3s at Pinehurst. As great as RM West 16 is, you still should get a 4. I thought of England - the home of 6,000 to 6,400 yard courses – but no set of one shotters stood out as similarly vicious to the ones at Pinehurst. How about Swinley Forest, you say, but it doesn’t have enough par 5s acting as a counter balance.
A few points: First, you can say par doesn’t matter and that some of these holes are really par 4s but … the fact is par does matter to the retail guest. It just does. Second, you can say this strategy applies to the bomber on every course (i.e. crush the par 5s and hang on during the par 3s). Well, okay but the bomber is playing one set back (the Blue tees at Pinehurst measure an additional 600+ yards and the US Open tees are 600 yards on top of the Blue tees). So, bombs away guys – let me know how it works from back there.
Yes, some things have changed with time (the 4th and 5th holes switched pars and 8 and 16 are treated as par 4s for events). Today’s agronomy renders the 6th and 9th at Pinehurst like Shinnecock Hill’s 11th: ‘the world’s shortest par 5’. Nonetheless, for decades, Pinehurst No. 2 has acted as a siren to the winter golfer. For people like you and me, the differences at Pinehurst are so stark between the 3s and 5s and none of it is wind-related. As a set, the par 5s average just under 460 yards. That is short but no one walks off the course thinking that they were pandered to and how easy that was. The par 3s average in length from the white tees 165 yards, which seems neither long nor short but do-able (unlike you play the 6th). Add it all up and you are playing a 6,300 yard course with gobs of possibilities.
I was on the phone last night with Jim Urbina and he puts Pinehurst No. 2 in his world top 6. Doak gave it a perfect 10 in The Guide. Kyle Franz told me he gives it a 10 too. You have the history, the soil and the greens but surely some of the affection that it stirs is derived from the variety that the 5s and 3s combine to present for the resort guest.
There might be a handful of courses that do the same (please identify them!) but I wish many more clubs/resorts could capture the dynamic nature of the holes on No. 2, all wrapped up in a 6,300 yard package.
Best,