Pete, you make a good point. I think we overrate Pinehurst's firmness a bit. I've played it during perfect weather at the end of the summer/early fall. The courses in the area were all about equally firm and fast for me, and while the ball rolls in Pinehurst, it's still Bermuda and thus still a little bit sticky. The ground game is certainly alive, don't get me wrong. But compared to typical US Open conditions, I don't think Pinehurst is going to be much firmer than Olympic, Oakmont, Shinnecock, or any other venue when the weather cooperates.
I have a good friend and former superintendent who played Pinehurst and Muirfield Village during stretches of good weather last year, and when I asked him which he preferred, the answer surprised me. He said "Muirfield Village. Pinehurst was great, but Muirfield was much firmer and faster and that's what makes a course come alive for me." He cited several holes at Muirfield Village where he got 60 yards of roll when playing a lower shot, while Pinehurst was just an average "firm and fast" but not uniquely so. I haven't played Muirfield Village, but his perception of Pinehurst matches mine. It plays nicely, but it's no Kingsley or Wild Horse.
It'll be firm this week because it's a US Open, but I doubt an Iron Byron would get more roll at Pinehurst this week than it would've received at Olympic a couple years ago or Oakmont when Cabrera was hitting 380 yard drives.