At the last moment, I was convinced by my wife to go to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. This irritated me for two reasons: (a) I'd wanted to go all along, but couldn't convince
her to go, and (b) I'd already declined staying at the immaculate Gracely estate before scrambling to find a room at a Marriott in Raleigh.
I have limited experience attending majors (sort of). I attended last year's open at Shinnecock Hills. I've attended about a dozen Masters. Of the three venues (Augusta National, Shinnecock Hills, Pinehurst), Pinehurst is my least favorite to watch a tournament at.
While the greens may be fascinating to play, and while they may require exceptional management to perform well consistently, they are absolutely the most difficult greens to watch a tournament on. Because of the crowned greens, you could not see the hole once the pin was removed. (From the bleachers, you can see the hole--at least until the weather requires the USGA to empty them--which seems to be on all weekdays and weekends.)
Without being able to see the hole, it erased any suspense from putts. You would just sit there and try to judge from the player's posture and demeaner whether there was any opportunity for the putt to drop. When considering that the preponderance of putts were struck from greater than fifteen feet, that made their reaction less relevant.
I wish I'd simply listened to the tournament on radio.
(That being said, I can't wait to
play the course as soon as possible!)